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I did not know ICA celebrate April's Fools so early …. ICA says paying for ICs brings “a stronger sense of pride and ownership” but netizens feel differently After journalist Bertha Henson wrote a forum letter questioning, “Why charge Singaporeans for new ICs?”, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) responded saying that they “believe that a system where the applicant pays a small sum is better: It brings a stronger sense of pride and ownership of the card”. ICA's statement drew mixed reactions from netizens, with some finding the fee completely unnecessary, much like Henson. In her letter, Henson wrote that she agreed with and saw the “logic of this (changing her IC) as no one would be able to recognise me from my IC photograph”. However, she adds, “As a Singaporean who has never had to pay for her IC in her life, I was flabbergasted. For me, it’s not a question of affordability. It is about what this payment smacks of — a transaction to re-affirm your citizenship”. She wrote, “ICA said that the cost is subsidised for citizens, but my question is why a fee should even be levied for a replacement card”. Concluding her letter, Henson said, “I want my new IC to be a celebration of my citizenship, something I will be happy to have and to hold. Not something I paid S$10 for”. Replying to Henson, ICA responded saying, “The cost of replacing an NRIC is about S$60. Citizens pay S$10 and the balance of S$50 is subsidised. PRs pay a higher fee of S$50. "These fees have been charged and unchanged since 2000. The change is that re-registration is now also required at age 55. This has been the case since Jan 1, 2017." They add, “Ms Henson wants the whole sum to be subsidised. That is possible, but in effect, it means the taxpayer in general would pay the full sum, as opposed to S$50. The applicant would pay nothing, as opposed to S$10”. The line in their letter that proved to be controversial was when they wrote, “We believe that a system where the applicant pays a small sum is better: It brings a stronger sense of pride and ownership of the card. The S$10 sum is very manageable for most people”. Netizens came with mixed reactions as some felt that having to pay the S$10, though a small amount felt to them like putting a price on their citizenship. Conversely, others felt that their IC was a part of their identity and that a small fee was a very affordable price to pay.

If you’ve ever wanted to work at the Istana, now might be your chance. The official residence and office of the President of Singapore has put up a job advertisement on the Careers @ Gov portal. The opening? A butler position. Responsibilities Under the title “Assistant Senior Butler/ Butler”, the advert says that the responsibilities include providing hospitality services, along with food and beverages to guests at the Istana. Butlers will also have to perform housekeeping duties such as readying the Istana for events, setting up ceremonial props or tables, and helping in various places such as the kitchen, linen room or floral arrangement room. There is even an opportunity for applicants with relevant past working experience to be appointed at a higher level, leading a team of butlers and performing other administrative and logistical duties. In order to apply, applicants must be Singapore citizens, and if successful, will be offered a one or two year contract in the first instance. Butlers will also have to perform housekeeping duties such as readying the Istana for events, setting up ceremonial props or tables, and helping in various places such as the kitchen, linen room or floral arrangement room. There is even an opportunity for applicants with relevant past working experience to be appointed at a higher level, leading a team of butlers and performing other administrative and logistical duties. In order to apply, applicants must be Singapore citizens, and if successful, will be offered a one or two year contract in the first instance. https://mothership.sg/2019/07/istana-butler-job/

Cafe in Tanah Merah posts job ad hiring ‘helpers to chase away birds’, pays S$1,700 – S$1,900. Lol.... Anybody interested? Maybe can call my mum go apply since she retired alr. prob can bring my dog along too. my dog favorite pastime is kill and chase birds. But come to think about it, not exactly very ez. Tiring to keep running around chasing those pesky birds. Some birds also damn fierce. Lol. https://mothership.sg/2018/10/cafe-tanah-merah-helper-chase-birds/?fbclid=IwAR3rCrieu6I5MTK5RrZutDDKU4TUVUabJitIUS1jQ8_uHQZhosygqKfVILc

Lai Liao https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/teachers-schools-and-jcs-pay-parking-soon I wonder why the govt has to take away this privilege for their own staff. Schools are not public carparks where the general public can park.. like MOE HQ. Why charge then?

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/owners-of-older-motorcycles-will-get-up-to-s-3-500-for-de-10110120 I am not sure if I am reading this wrong, but this means that you can ride your lao kok kok bike until 20 years and still get $3500 back, which would be impossible if you sell or scrap!!! Resale values of old bikes with <5 years left on their 2nd COE are going to increase significantly liao, taking into account the $3500 you can get back at the end of COE. Honestly I am cursing now becos I just sold my 16+ year old CB400...dammit.

My current car is having manual seat adjustment. Due to size difference between me and my wife I have to make major adjustments just to be able to get into the car. My wife sits very close to the steering but I need to sit all the way back because of my height. So far I tested cars with electric seat adjustment, they seem quite slow to adjust and have so many adjustment points. Looks like memory function will be very useful. Unfortunately most of the models need to top up to a higher spec or larger engine to get the memory function. Is it worth it? Maybe I should aim for cars with manual adjustment instead?

I am not that well travelled yet ... but for those who have travelled to many countries, can you tell me which countries has supermarkets that will charge you more for chilled drinks over their ambient temperature drinks - for the same product ?

Kudos to the young man and paying it forward! Inspiring Surgeon who saved life of a young chap, inspired to be a doctor, and starts to work in the same hospital that treated him

By Dinesh Dayani | DollarsAndSense.sg Singaporeans are affluent and busy people. Many times, we end up either not having time to check through our bills or just trusting that everything is in order. The matter of the fact is that service providers, existing for the sole purpose of profiting usually, will always be incentivised to work in fees into their packages to ensure they extract the maximum value from a customer. Checking our bills every month may be hasslesome, but it take a few short minutes. Further, the accumulation of fees adds up to a substantial amount if gone unchecked for long periods. Here are four types of common fees that every Singaporean will face at some point of their life. 1. Credit Card FeesCredit cards have been created to keep people in debt and spend more than we can. Without doing so, credit card companies will never be successful. So working in additional fees and creating “better” features will only ever serve to keep you in debt. With that being said, here are some credit card fees to watch out for i. Annual FeesCredit card companies charge annual fees to ensure anyone not keeping tabs on their spending will automatically lose reward points or actually pay it as part of their monthly payment to the company. ii. Late Payment FeesThey also have strange ways to compute which day you have to repay your bill by. It’s never the same so be sure to look at the due date and pay your bills before then. Interest charges are scary at over 24% and this does not even include the late payment charge. iii. Delayed Payment FeesMany credit cards offer its customers the option of only having to pay $50 or a certain percentage of their bill each month. What customers do not know is that fees have been built into this method of payment either through preferred interest rates (which are still scary) or a processing fee which is charged as a percentage of the amount. These fees are also applicable when you transfer balances from another card. 2. Banking FeesThe lines are a bit blurred when I mention banking fees since most banks also offer credit cards. But we’ll stick to pure banking fees here. So in addition to the fees they collect on credit cards, banks also profit through these other fees.Minimum Amount Fees i. Minimum Amount FeesMany banks require you to keep a minimum balance, usually $500, in your account each month. Failing to do so will activate a fee of approximately $2. However, this is for savings accounts, note that there are also minimum fees for current accounts that require much higher fees and much higher minimum balances. As a side note, some current accounts also charge fees for their cheque books. ii. Short Term Borrowing FeesAdvertised as a quick and easy way to get instant cash, often within a few hours of application. Fees for such are very prevalent and are in addition to the interest rates charged. 3. Early Termination FeesOnce a company has tied you down to a contract, you can be sure they will fight tooth and nail to make you pay for it. Even when we experience the shameful Singtel TV outage, we had to continue paying for the service. And their discount was given on goodwill rather than an obligation. We’ll leave the debate on how fair this system is, and how big companies can bully consumers without the government intervening. And when the government intervenes, you’ll know that the situation has really been atrocious. i. InsuranceInsurance companies are another financial institution that exists only to profit. They profit by offering consumers insurance, this is not a public service they are doing, they are profiting, and if they don’t do it, someone else will. Of course then, once you sign a contract, usually for the next quarter of a decade, you’re pretty much locked with them. At this point, it should be highlighted that we think you should think hard about any decision regarding insurance when you sign up. It will affect you for a very very long time. ii. TelcosAs mentioned in the opening paragraph, you can’t back out even when you’re being offered a terrible deal. You’ve signed up for it. This is far more acceptable, or so people think, because it only locks you up for 2 years at a go. Nevertheless, you should consider your decision carefully before signing up. There are always other options, like not watching TV and being more productive and using pre-paid cards. iii. MortgagesAnother way banks can earn money from customers. The logic is that banks have already “locked in” a certain amount of interest income that you will pay them, and if you want to back out, you have to cough up for it. This is actually the most fair of the fees they charge. Nevertheless, it’s an additional fee for us to consider when determining how fast or slow we can pay back our mortgages. iv. Almost Anything ElseSame logic applies. When you sign up for a deal, you’re going to be held ransom to that signature. Think before signing for any service. Some common ones are gym membership. 4. Convenience/ Booking FeesThis type of fees is cringe-worthy, mostly because it’s term “convenience” when most consumers are being inconvenienced. i. Movie ticketsThere are ways booking fees when booking tickets online or through mobile apps. Golden Village ($2), Filmgarde ($1) and Cathay ($1.50) all have these fees. ii. Budget AirlinesUsually ranging from $16 to $20, these fees put additional revenue in budget airlines’ pockets for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Some, like Jetstar, offer free payment options via Singpost or 7-11 outlets. We say, why not reward the airlines that offer better deals for their customers. Help them make up for it with greater revenues. They deserve it. iii. Many Other ServicesWe can list down everything under the sun, but the basic premise is that service providers will try to take more money, every possible way, this includes services offering you convenient methods to top up your EZ link card via mobile apps or with credit cards (under $1). In Summary You will have to decide for yourself what fees are acceptable and what fees are not. If you ask us, we will try to cut out all the fees, as the additional headache will be rewarded in the form of huge savings over our lifetimes. Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call, and other times, we have to be a little more firm. Regardless, we think everyone can adjust their lifestyles to not have to pay these kinds of fees. https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/4-types-fees-singaporeans-not-003015173.html

His parents want you to watch this video. 24 Sep 2015 - Michigan Man Jailed Over Traffic Fine Suffers 17 Days of Untreated Drug Withdrawal, Dies Naked on Cell Floor

Court punishes Hewlett-Packard for under paying sales rep……. SINGAPORE — A retrenched sales product specialist with IT firm Hewlett-Packard (HP) is entitled to about S$600,000 in incentives for winning back a client, the High Court has ruled. In a judgment made public today (Aug 5), Judicial Commissioner Edmund Leow ruled that Ms Corinna Chin Shu Hwa had helped win back electronic payments provider NETS as a customer for the Singapore subsidiary of HP, and the contract fell within the definition of “new business” for HP. NETS was a HP customer but decided in late 2010 to buy IBM servers. The platform-migration process ran into problems and Ms Chin and her colleagues tried to woo NETS back in 2011 by, among other things, refusing to extend maintenance services for the existing servers unless NETS inked a new contract with HP. This put pressure on NETS’ planned migration to the IBM servers, and it eventually ordered new HP servers in a March 2012 contract worth about S$5.38 million. HP had argued that the NETS contract failed to meet the criteria for new business, and paid Ms Chin S$229,370.60 in incentives when it retrenched her in June 2012. JC Leow ruled that HP’s meaning of “new end user customer” – part of how sales specialists’ performances were assessed from November 2011 – was ambiguous. The justice of the case demands that the company bear the risk of this ambiguity, he added. “In terms of sales, NETS had been lost as a customer” when it decided to buy IBM servers in late 2010, the judge wrote. Although NETS’ platform migration was from existing HP servers to new HP ones, it was because NETS was won back as a customer before the migration process was complete, and was hence not a “technology refresh contract”, JC Leow noted. “Therefore, NETS was a ‘win back’ – i.e. a new end user customer – when it signed a contract for HP’s NonStop Blades servers in March 2012”, and was considered “new business”, he ruled. And as Ms Chin was involuntarily terminated in June 2012 before the end of HP’s financial year, the calculation of her incentive pay should be on a pro-rated basis rather than a full-year basis, JC Leow said. http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/court-orders-hewlett-packard-pay-retrenched-sales-specialist-about-s627000 http://www.stjobs.sg/career-resources/money-matters/former-exec-sues-hp-for-more-than-600000/a/159351

There were a lot of argument car is so expensive due to high COE and profit margin by AD/PI. It will be interesting to see how many people who purchase car in recent time paying for their own car OR someone else pay for it. You may stay anonymous without owning up..

closed moved here http://www.mycarforum.com/index.php?showtopic=2689415

Top Ten paying jobs in Singapore I dont know if this writer is playing a joke or what

A genuine case of forgetfulness or plain chow kuan? [shakehead] MCF bros who are part of the "Ramen's 11" better return to pay up or else the next time you frequent this joint, you may find your photographs taken via any CCTVs being pasted on the restaurant walls... [blush] From STOMP: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sg...out_paying.html Posted on 25 May 2012 So cheapskate! 11 office workers sneak out of restaurant without paying STOMPer skylighter is shocked that 11 office workers left Ajisen at Changi City Point without paying for their meals yesterday afternoon (May 24). Said the STOMPer: "Eleven office workers came into Ajisen at Changi City Point for lunch on May 24. "I was working at the shop and the staff were all very busy and shorthanded during peak hours. "We were shocked to realise that the eleven office workers left the shop without paying for their food. "Such a disgrace! "Since they decided to come into the shop to eat, why can't they pay for their food?"

Reading through some posts here, I found that quite many of the forummers here actually paid out of their own pocket for road incidents that are no fault of theirs. Claiming from insurance affects their NCD too. These usually occur when the defaulting party at fault lied in the reporting, no guts to admit or ran away etc. I never understood how these people can be so low life. They should just own up, pay up and move on with their heads held high like a man. Anyway, has these kind of incidents happened to you before? where you need to pay for the mistakes of others? I guess its just part and parcel of driving?

So, who owns the land beneath your property? 14 Feb 2012 Straits Times ACCORDING to the Land Titles Act of Singapore, land is defined as 'the surface of any defined parcel of the earth, all substances thereunder and so much of the column of airspace above the surface'. In other words, a land owner enjoys the exclusive use and enjoyment of his or her land, the space on top of it, and below all the way to the centre of the earth - to borrow the words of my lecturer at the Institute of Estate Agents. With the Government's plan to build an extensive underground network, for various public purposes and amenities, it is possible that the subterranean space of private land owners may be used. Is there a provision under the Land Titles Act - or any other Act - that allows the Government to do so, and under what specific circumstances? What is the compensation awarded to the land owner for the use of such space, if any? Tan Han Sing

Can be frustrating searching for empty lots especially at those popular coupon-parking car parks near schools or shopping centres with many such "parked" vehicles From ST Forum: 'Cheapskate' motorists hog parking space without paying Published on Nov 17, 2011 THE public carpark behind Far East Shopping Centre is popular because it provides cheaper parking for the Orchard Road area. Unfortunately, there are motorists who exploit this by waiting for their friends or family members in their cars, without displaying carpark coupons. I had an unpleasant experience there on Monday about 11.30am while trying to find a parking space. The driver of a Mercedes-Benz was reading newspapers at the wheel, without coupons being displayed on the dashboard. I approached her to check if she intended to park her car. She said she was waiting for her daughter but did not intend to use a parking coupon. That driver was not alone. Other motorists were also occupying parking spaces without paying for them. The carpark was full and there were many motorists queuing for parking spaces. How does the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) deal with such motorists who prevent others from legitimate use of parking spaces? Jeyarani Anita Henry (Ms)

Recently the postman came to my place and told me to pay $1.28 for a letter send to me without postage stamp the letter was in a white envelope without any company logo my name and address were printed rather than hand written making it look official I made payment was totally disgusted the letter was a letter from ERA property agent these agents have found new ways to cut cost at the expense of the public this is not the first time

ST Briton cleared of molest after paying $5,000 to compound case By Elena Chong A Briton was acquitted on Tuesday of molesting a woman at Clarke Quay after the case was compounded. Recruitment executive Austin Charles Arnold Cowburn, 35, had compounded the matter by paying $5,000 to the 30-year-old woman, who was in court with her husband. Mr Cowburn, originally accused of grabbing her buttocks at China One Pub at Clarke Quay on April 3, apologised to the woman in open court. He was on holiday here when the alleged offence took place. He said outside court that he was looking forward to going back to Britain, and to seeing his mother and father. Anyone convicted of outrage of modesty may be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received any combined punishment

Yet another person pulled off this stunt successfully STOMPer Justin's father, who is a cabby, encountered this man who reportedly refused to pay the $10.20 fare after reaching his destination at Normanton Park. According to his father, the man had got on the cab near Boat Quay and appeared to be drunk. When his father made a police report, the police told him that they could not help, said the STOMPer. STOMPer Justin wrote: On May 17, my dad, who is a taxi driver, came back home after an ugly encounter with a drunk passenger. "As shown in the police report, my dad picked up this Caucasian from around Boat Quay. "Upon reaching his destination at Normanton Park, the drunk passenger unreasonably refused to pay the fare. "He then argued, saying 'Why should I pay?' "My dad then told him that he will call the police if he refused to pay the fare and he challenged my dad to 'carry on'. "Two policemen arrived on the scene five minutes after my dad called the police. "However, all they did were to find out what happened and recorded my father's ID and told him to go to the police station the following day to make a report. "They never even tried to look for and question the passenger, who by then was in his house. "After my dad made the police report, they told my dad that they cannot do anything to help also. "Throughout this incident, the police did not even try to contact the passenger. "My dad, who has no details of the passenger, also cannot seek help from his company. "We did not post this story because we want him to pay up. "The issue of the money is small, but, in this case, if even the police cannot do anything, then what are the taxi drivers going to do if this type of incident happens more? "I believe this could happen to any taxi driver in Singapore. "The sad thing here is that the passenger got off so easily, while my poor dad does not even know what else he can do."

as above sorry should be a statement not a question

in the news yesterday. he said Singaporean understand and agree to pay higher for water supply. did u agree? did someone actually interviewed u?

Recently had a small dent on my fender thanks to my gf's fantastic driving... Went scouting thru the web for reasonable workshop for knocking and painting. From a few website, saw a few good reviews with a so call good quality dent expert in AMK autopoint. Went over to autopoint expert to ask for a quote, was shocked to find out for the dent, was quoted 130 bucks just for knocking, 280 for spraying the section of affected area. My dad fixed similar dents before for his ride and knows this is a cut throat price Decided to go over to my dad's regular budget wksp in sing ming for a quote. For both knocking and painting, sets me aside 180 bucks. Decided to go ahead and surprisely pleased with the results, even my gf who scratched the fender against the wall says its a job well done. Sure the so called expert may do better, but is it worth paying 2.3 times more for a simple dent and re-spray? With the result i got from a budget one, i couldn't even spot if the fender had been patched and re-spray before. Sorry for the rant, juz feel that some wksp is trying to rip drivers off with their so call repution for minor jobs. No one knows the integrity of the reviews anyway. Lastly, if ur gf is a kuku in driving, dun let them take control of the wheels not matter wat they say!!!

Come 2015 or 2016 ............... CNA News : Tenders to develop new ERP system awarded SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded tenders for trials to develop the next generation of the electronic road pricing (ERP) system. What's being explored is a satellite-based method for road tolls, which reduces dependence on physical ERP gantries. Four groups of companies have secured the tenders. They are Kapsch TrafficCom AB, MHI Engine System Asia and NCS, ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) and IBM Singapore, and Watchdata Technologies as well as Beijing Watchdata System. Each group will be given seed funding of S$1 million to develop and demonstrate technological solutions. The 18-month trials starts next month. LTA said it will assess the performance of the various solutions at the end of the trial, to determine whether an appropriate technological solution is available and can form the basis of a next generation ERP system. It added the development of the project is in its very early stages and that the next generation ERP system, if technically feasible, is still some years away before it is ready to be launched and implemented. As reported in today ST, that will be in 2015 or 2016, the new ERP system will be implemented.