Search the Community

After having lived with it for two decades, I no longer question it: Any trip towards Punggol MRT, and out of the estate, requires me to take the LRT first. I’ve always known at the back of my head that my estate is sort of a special one-out-of-three. (Or three-and-a-half.) Only Sengkang and Bukit Panjang also have full LRT loops, while the latter also has a single-line that connects to Choa Chu Kang MRT station. But since I’ve been relatively shielded from the woes of commuters on the other end of Singapore, I never realised how badly planned out the LRT system in Bukit Panjang was. This video that I had saved in my 'Watch Later' playlist for more than a year (I'm the worst at procrastinating when it comes to my own interests and hobbies...) goes into all of the issues in a really engaging and witty manner. Mostly, a lot of criticism over the years has been directed at the fact that the system was built as an afterthought to an estate that had already been independently developed - rather than integrated into its design from the start. Reliability woes didn’t help, and in all, it seems that a lot of money has been sunk into its upkeep over the years. I'll be the first to say that I'm no public transport or urban planning expert. As such, I don't really have anything meaningful to add to the video except for the fact that there were a couple of interesting concepts that really caught my attention: 1) “Access penalty” In explaining why he thinks buses may be superior, the video creator brings up the point of an ‘access penalty’, which refers to the time required to get from the station entrance to the vehicle. As a regular LRT-taker, I’ve never quite been able to put into words the reason why taking the bus is just an overall more comfortable experience, but I feel like this concept does it quite well. Bus stops impose virtually no access penalty on commuters - you simply get onto the bus (Image credit: Unsplash/isaac.) Because LRT stations are elevated quite high up, quite a fair bit of climbing and descending is required with any trip. It’s actually worse for those with mobility issues because the lifts on my line somehow operate slower than the average ones - and you need to take two of them separately to finally reach the platform level. On days when I’m simply too exhausted after work and there’s no proper ‘reporting time’ for getting home, I prefer just waiting for the bus at the interchange. 2) The LRT is technically not ‘light rail’-like Light rail is conventionally understood to have two characteristics. It’s a) surface-level, and 2) ‘Steel on steel’, or steel wheels on steel rails. Our LRT trains, you’ll notice, are rubber-tyred - and of course, very far off the ground. As such, the video creator goes on to make the argument that there's been some level of mis-branding with what we know as the LRT today. Manchester's trams are an example of what light-rail is technically supposed to look like (Image credit: Unsplash/Hala AlGhanim) And finally, as a third, not-video-related surprising fun fact that surfaced as I was digging down this rabbit hole... 3) Singapore almost got a fourth LRT line I also learned that the government initially intended to build another LRT line in the Western part of Singapore, to connect NTU to Jurong East. It has since apparently been canned, with the route subsumed (or expanded, depending on how you think about it) into the Jurong Regional Line, which will be a proper MRT line. Putting things into context Again, I think a lot of the criticism towards LRTs in Singapore is isolated within the Bukit Panjang area, which the video in question - and also the following one that gives a quicker but no less effective overview - make sure to caveat. Sengkang and Punggol both had their LRT systems conceptualised within their town plans for day one - and so, these have been far less problematic (although they also remain notoriously difficult to navigate for first-timers). In their defence - and as daily LRT-commuter, there’s also one good reason why I choose to take the LRT instead of the bus route running parallel to the MRT station (62) no matter what: Regularity. Since our LRTs are automated and programmed according to regular intervals, you know for sure that the next ‘train’ will arrive by a certain time even if you’ve seen it just depart when you reach the platform. It does remain intriguing nonetheless that the LRT model hasn’t been replicated anywhere else in Singapore, despite the fact that new estates continue to be sprouting up. Thoughts on what else Singapore can do to better its last-mile public transport support? - Matt (Cover image credit: Unsplash/Jeyakumaran Mayooresan)

Is it a marker of age, slowly but surely creeping up? Or of a latent desire to appear more appreciative of the finer things in life than I’m naturally inclined to do? Either way, it started about two months ago when I stumbled upon an old room spray that I used to give a few puffs through my revolving door of dorm rooms through uni. I’m not going to reveal my age but my uni days were... let's just say, more than a few years back - and also more than enough time for you to seriously start questioning if a product has expired. But before doing the sensible thing of embarking on a quick Google search, I found myself giving the nozzle a few squeezes and… as it turned out, it smelled the same as before. This bottle has certainly seen better days... Nice! Thus ensued a once-every-two-days spray right before bed. The scent for this pink bottle is Red Berry and Fir, to be clear - with very sweet, almost cloying notes that are fruity at the same time. Perfect for alleviating anxiety (deadlines and existential questioning alike simply move from a schooling environment into a working-world one, eh?), and activating some drowsiness. (Aside: My internet sleuthing later on brought me to the conclusion that room sprays don’t technically.. expire? They generally only diminish in potency, although it’s still possible that some concoctions can go bad. The best way to tell, again, is with how the smell goes.) This past week, I rediscovered a door gift we had received when attending the reopening of the Mercedes-Benz Centre at Alexandra (which coincided with the launch of the current-generation E-Class): An AMG-branded scent! Described as a “classy tea-like scent in a harmonious blend of freshly brewed white tea, delicate white florals and a hint of citrus notes”. Yum. For now, I’ve defected over to this side (unless you work for a rival German brand, who doesn’t want their room to smell like a Mercedes-Benz showroom?). But having two scents to play around with is great for whenever I want to switch things up. I suspect I will spend the remaining half of the year assembling an even larger collection... Room improvement program? It’s no secret that there is more than meets the nose when it comes to scents. The impact of smells on our psychology is one well-documented and researched part of the equation. The other half, of course, comes down to the idea of image-building (self-image too). I’d venture that a scented apartment feels immediately more expensive than a non-scented one, while adults who wear perfume just have… a different sort of aura (whether or not it’s always a good aura is another topic altogether). This portion arguably has a (dollars and) cents aspect too: The perfume industry was valued at USD 50.8 billion (!!) in 2022 alone. In this case, I’d say my recent intrigue with scents is a mixture of both. I’m super thankful that since my mid-20s, I’ve had a room to call mine and mine alone - but as a generally fickle-minded person who shared a space with my brother/sister for more than half my life, I’ve also found that I still have little clue as to how I consciously define a welcoming and cosy space. While a ‘room improvement program’ - based on the bare canvas that I inherited - has technically been in the works ever since my sister got married and moved out, all I see now is essentially extra clutter over that two-year period. And unfortunately, until that clutter disappears (I'm working on it...), this will also never truly be a calming space. To that end, there is a large part of me that believes that infusing the room with a distinct, ‘upmarket’ smell may forcefully induce a sense of familiarity and ease whenever I step back in after a long day out. But the other big part is just the impression that I have that it will help zhng it. Another slight aside: I started writing this mid-week, got sidetracked by other work/events, and in the interim, my TikTok algorithm started feeding me a ton of ‘room transformation’/ideal room/ideal apartment videos. Here's one that I enjoyed: I know it's very idealised and that most rooms that appear on social media are rarely kept in a pristine state, but here's another... (I'd say even the pre-cleaned-up iteration was quite nice already.) At this point, I must also quickly note: I'm fully aware that the idea of having a picture-perfect, Pinterest-ready room in your mid-20s feels can feel very rich in Singapore. Having one’s own room already - much less one that is so beautifully curated - is likely still a massive privilege to the average Singaporean at this age. Still learning When thinking about my “room improvement program”, the platitude that kept popping into my head was ‘The grass is greener where you water it’. If I had to distil the recent scent-obsession down to one goal, I guess I’m trying to make the metaphorical pasture that is my room as green as it can be. Anyway, does anyone have any tips or special things they do for their own rooms to make it a welcoming space to return and retreat to? Hit me with anything - I’m keen to learn! - Matt Additional photos from Unsplash (Jeroen den Otter, volant)

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/much-earn-above-singapore-average-000031337.html How much do you need to earn to be above Singapore’s “average”? Forbes has named Singapore as the third richest country in the world. This wealth is measured using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Simplistically, it adds up everyone’s income for the year – to obtain GDP – before dividing it by the country’s population. So how much should the “average” Singaporean be making based on this calculation? Read More: Singapore, world’s richest. At what cost? The golden number is $5,943! At end-2014, Singapore’s GDP was recorded at SGD390.1 billion with population size of 5.47 million (Singapore residents + foreign talents). Table 1: National Accounts and Population in Singapore FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 GDP(SGD mils) SGD 346,354 SGD 362,333 SGD 378,200 SGD 390,089 Population (mils) 5.18 5.31 5.40 5.47 GDP per Person SGD 66,816 SGD 68,205 SGD 70,048 SGD 71,318 Income per month SGD 5,568 SGD 5,684 SGD 5,837 SGD 5,943 Source: Singapore Department of Statistics Since simplistic GDP means adding up everyone’s income for the year, we will also assume that CPF contributions are included into this number. Add your gross salary (take home salary + CPF contribution) to your employer’s CPF contribution. If this number is not greater than SGD5,943, you are below the average amongst our population. Is $5,943 the correct number as the average wage? As mentioned, GDP per capita is a simple method to define how rich a country is by understanding how much everyone in the population earns per annum. However, using the entire population is not a good gauge, as children, students and retirees are not working, and hence should be excluded from the calculation. Table 2: National Accounts and Labour Force in Singapore FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 GDP (SGD mils) SGD 346,354 SGD 362,333 SGD 378,200 SGD 390,089 Labour Force (mils) 3.24 3.36 3.44 3.53 GDP per Worker SGD 106,995 SGD 107,779 SGD 109,824 SGD 110,482 Income per month SGD 8,916 SGD 8,982 SGD 9,152 SGD 9,207 Note: The labour force comprises of people who are working or seeking work Source: Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, Ministry of Manpower Using labour force instead of total population will be more accurate since we are basing our calculation only on those who are working. In this case, average wages inclusive of CPF contribution would be SGD9,207 per month per person. So what are your numbers telling me? If you are like us, then this number may appear exceedingly high to you, perhaps even unattainable. Do not worry, you’re not alone. The median salary in Singapore is SGD3,770. That means the majority of us are not earning the average. This is normal, as wages are usually skewed towards the higher income earners and thus medium hardly ever equates to mean. What you should make out of this number is that you have the potential to increase your wages. Unlike poorer countries, where your future growth in earnings would be easily capped by the low potential in the country, we do not lack this in Singapore. There is money to be made, somewhere and somehow, in Singapore. You just need to figure our where and how. If you require upgrading and improvements, do check out skillsfuture to see how can our government help you achieve better productivity and higher wage growth.