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Lai liao, lai liao. LTA chut new pattern. Brace for impact! 'Ineffective' car emission scheme being reviewed Christopher Tan | The Straits Times | Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) is reviewing a scheme that rewards or penalises motorists based on the amount of carbon dioxide their cars emit. The carbon emissions-based vehicle scheme (CEVS), which was introduced on Jan 1 last year and is slated to run till June 30 next year, has been criticised for being lax, biased and ineffective. Cars with low carbon emissions receive rebates of between $5,000 and $20,000, which are offset against the vehicle's Additional Registration Fee (ARF). But motorists have complained this lowers the residual cost of the car. Cars with high carbon emissions pay a registration surcharge of between $5,000 and $20,000. Motor traders said the main beneficiaries have been sellers of European makes with small-capacity turbocharged direct-injection engines. Experts have also questioned the effectiveness of CEVS in reducing air pollution. Asian Clean Fuels Association executive director Clarence Woo said: "You can lower CO2 and yet not lower pollutants such as particulate matter." Since Singapore plans to adopt the Euro 6 emission standard, which specifies a big reduction in pollutants such as fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, the CEVS could be refined towards meeting this objective, he said. LTA met motor industry representatives on Tuesday to inform them of the review and gather feedback. The Straits Times understands several industry players have suggested rewards be delinked from ARF. One dealer, who did not want to be named, said: "Often, dealers use the CEVS rebate to fatten their own margin." LTA would not comment on what changes it is considering. "We will share more details once the review is completed," a spokesman said. Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chairman Cedric Foo said road tax is based on engine size, which is a proxy for the amount of pollution a car causes. "It would be good if we can extract the pollution element and build it into the CEVS," he said, adding that pollution should not be confined to CO2. National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der Horng agreed: "The current CEVS may send a wrong message that the higher the rebate, the more environmentally-friendly a car is." Motorist Leslie Chia, 49, said the CEVS in its current format is an "oxymoron". "You give a rebate, but you also reduce the scrap value of the car," the businessman said. "So actual savings as a percentage of car cost are insignificant." Motorists suggest tying rebates and penalties to road tax or income tax. Observers said the current scheme is not stringent enough as nearly two-thirds of new cars qualify for it. According to LTA, the CEVS has cost the Government about $62 million to date - nearly double the amount originally expected. http://transport.asiaone.com/news/general/story/ineffective-car-emission-scheme-being-reviewed?page=0%2C0

In particular, she took issue with a booklet distributed during the workshop, which she said ”seemed to emphasise and enforce traditional gender roles in a relationship”. Dr Hon did not comment on the contents of the booklet in his letter, saying only that it was a “source of unhappiness”. http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hwa-chong-design-its-own-workshops-future SINGAPORE — Following feedback from a student that a workshop on managing relationships was sexist in content, Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) said it plans to design its own workshops in the future. In a letter to students and teachers yesterday — a copy of which was seen by TODAY — HCI principal Hon Chiew Weng said the school had concluded its internal investigation into the complaint and found that the facilitators of the workshop in question were ineffective in addressing the participants’ concerns. Earlier this week, HCI student Agatha Tan set off a wave of controversy with a Facebook post on her concerns about the workshop conducted by Focus on the Family Singapore, a vendor appointed by the Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF). In particular, she took issue with a booklet distributed during the workshop, which she said ”seemed to emphasise and enforce traditional gender roles in a relationship”. Dr Hon did not comment on the contents of the booklet in his letter, saying only that it was a “source of unhappiness”. He pointed out that the feedback from the students was that one facilitator in particular was unable to address their concerns “satisfactorily” when several of them objected to viewpoints that had been raised during a discussion. The workshop, one of several on managing relationships, was held for the HCI students last week. Students who attended a similar workshop held in another venue were happy and the facilitators were professional and qualified their claims, added Dr Hon. These facilitators recognised that the views put forth in class were generalisations that do not apply to everyone and when referring to controversial viewpoints, they were open to alternative explanations and perspectives, he added. He added that the school had previously used the vendor’s services and the students’ feedback had been positive.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/260572/1/.html ://http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stor...260572/1/.html ://http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stor...260572/1/.html ://http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stor...260572/1/.html Yet another case of car thieves.... seems like these buggers getting bolder and bolder. They even break the door screen, right under the nose of security guards....goodness. Looks like car thief risk getting higher and higher in JB....