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12 Dec 2019
Smart Nation
Negative View - 3
Are tech advances always for the better?

Technology is omnipresent. It has changed the way we live, work and play. But is it always for the better? Marrying capacity and computational speed of computers has resulted in intelligence far surpassing man. Artificial intelligence, the technology behind facial recognition, rides on this prowess in establishing relations. It identifies people quickly without contact or input from subjects. But it can also track our movements. Do we feel intruded upon with this unwitting monitorin......



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12 Dec 2019
Ministry of Finance
Reply View - 5
Pofma case: Brad Bowyer's Facebook post contained several factual falsehoods

Ms Avantika Narayan sought clarifications on the distinction between fact and opinion, in relation to the use of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) against a Facebook post put up by Mr Brad Bowyer (Pofma: Can the distinction between fact and opinion be clarified?, ST Online, Dec 9). Pofma does not pr......



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12 Dec 2019
Singapore General Hospital
Suggestion View - 2
Build LRT system at SGH campus

In 2016, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a masterplan for the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) that showed the amount of space devoted to patient care at the Outram campus would treble over the next 20 years. The plan also showed that the entire SGH will be relocated to be nearer the two MRT stations in Outram Road and Eu Tong Sen Street. This will be a costly and massive undertaking. SGH comprises not only the general hospital, but also medical education......



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11 Dec 2019
Prime Minister Office
Negative View - 64
Singpass Mobile failed

I logged in to the website of IRAS. I have to sign in with my username and password. I did not get a message from my SingPass mobile to authenticate my login.  I tried again. There was no response. There was a message that SingPass mobile would undergo maintenance from 3 am to 6 am on 12 December. I had logged in 4 hours earlier. I asked for a PIN to be sent to me by SMS. I received it.  During the past two days, I experienced......



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11 Dec 2019
Out of the box
Feedback View - 192
Do not be jealous of permanent residents who made a profit on HDB flats

Many Singaporeans are unhappy that many permanent residents made a profit when they sell their HDB flats to return to their countries.  There permanent residents were allowed to buy the resale HDB flats at the market price from the original owners, who were Singaporeans.  During the past two decades, property prices in Singapore had gone up by a lot. The permanent residents benefited from this increase.  We should not overlook the fact ......



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11 Dec 2019
Land Transport Authority
Suggestion View - 75
Adopt the Ang Mo Kio way to name roads in HDB estates

The names of the roads in Sengkang and Punggol are confusing. They do not follow any logical order. It is difficult to remember these names.  I have proposed a method to name the roads that run from west to east as Punggol Way 1, 2, 3, 4, etc and from north to south as Punggol Drive 1, 2, 3 etc. There is another method that has been adopted successfully in Ang Mo Kio. The roads are named as Avenue and those those running from west to east use odd numbers, i.e. ......



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11 Dec 2019
DBS Bank
Negative View - 84
Unable to make a transfer

I dislike the complicated system adopted by DBS Bank for internet transfer. After going through a complicated process to sign in with user ID, password, and 2FA, I have to complete another complicated procedure for any transfer, regardless of amount.  I have to receive a PIN sent by SMS from the bank and use my device to convert the PIN to a "secure PIN" and enter it into the webpage. When I make a transfer by PayNow, I did not get the SMS. I tri......



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11 Dec 2019
Parliament
Suggestion View - 3
Give MPs more money for legislative assistants

Reading about the legislative assistants (LAs) who help the various MPs (Unseen backbone of Parliament, Dec 9), one cannot help but feel a sense of respect for all LAs on both sides of the political divide. These LAs help MPs to be better prepared to scrutinise details of Bills and the Budget. Indeed, MPs are spending more time debating each Budget and contentious Bills, a sign of a maturing legislative branch. Such research will only get more importa......



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11 Dec 2019
Ministry of Health
Suggestion View - 2
Review policies for subsidising non-standard drugs

To help keep healthcare costs affordable, especially for those with multiple chronic medical conditions requiring frequent treatments, I suggest that the Ministry of Health (MOH) review two issues. First, subsidies for drugs that are not on the Standard Drug List (Cholesterol management drug being evaluated, Dec 9). If the consulting doctor in a public healthcare institution assesses that a patient needs non-standard drugs that are clinically necessary and appropriate, then subsid......



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11 Dec 2019
Police
Feedback View - 2
Impose tough measures on online scammers

According to the Singapore Police Force, online scammers cheated Singaporeans of more than $83.1 million from January to June. The number of cases and the amounts scammed have been rising steadily over the years. I used to think that these scams happened only to other people, until my own family member fell victim to an Internet love scam. Anyone can be hit by a scam, and stories, statistics and research have proven that the younger generation is just as likely as t......



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11 Dec 2019
M1
Reply View - 2
M1 customer's bill correctly reflected charges

We thank Ms Sissi Goh for her feedback, and have since contacted her and resolved her issues (Telco could not explain how charges were incurred, Dec 4). The detailed reports showed there were several global SMSes sent from Ms Goh's mobile number and the local data bundle usage had also been exceeded, as correctly reflected in her October bill. We would like to remind our customers that the monthly free bundled SMS is not applicable for global SMS. To generate an ite......



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11 Dec 2019
Ministry of Culture, Comm & Youth
Reply View - 1
Re-recording of National Anthem by Singapore Symphony Orchestra is official version

We thank Mr Sean Lim Wei Xin for his letter (Does Facebook post making false claim about National Anthem fall under Pofma?, Dec 7), and also thank Singaporeans for their passion for the National Anthem. The National Anthem represents what we stand for and unites us as a people from different backgrounds and all walks of life. It has endured and continues to endure across generations. The official re-recording by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra this year retains Mr Zubir Said's or......



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11 Dec 2019
Out of the box
Feedback View - 671
HDB lease decay - real or not?

There is a lot of discussion about the HDB lease decay. I will now add my view.  The HDB lease decay is used to describe the situation that the value of the HDB flat will become $0 at the end of the 99 year lease, and the value will start to drop after the remaining less becomes less than 30 years.  This is a fact. It cannot be disputed. If so, why did our government leaders said that the HDB flat was a good investment? Indeed, a generation ......



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10 Dec 2019
Land Transport Authority
Feedback View - 3
LTA should have anticipated and addressed traffic problems caused by marathon

The organisers of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon have been receiving a lot of brickbats for the traffic chaos caused by the road closures (Organisers to learn from race problems, Dec 6). While I agree they could have done better, I feel it is unfair to lay all the blame on them. It was unfortunate that the marathon coincided with other events held around the area, including Black Friday sales. As the approving authority for road usage and closures, the La......



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10 Dec 2019
Ministry of Health
Suggestion View - 2
Healthcare cost: Help those who have lost co-pay option

One of the benefits of the Merdeka Generation package is the subsidy for outpatient healthcare. I was disappointed to learn that patients do not enjoy this subsidy if referred by a private general practitioner to a specialist in a government restructured hospital. I understand that only patients referred by polyclinics can enjoy this subsidy. Most people who are employed can visit their company's panel of GPs, with the employer co-paying for each visit. However, they still need to......



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10 Dec 2019
National Environment Agency
Suggestion View - 2
Set up permanent night markets here

I agree that there are too many shopping malls in Singapore (Do we need more shopping malls and apartments?, Dec 2). Singapore also lacks the permanent night markets found overseas. The night markets in places such as Thailand and Taiwan sell items ranging from street food to apparel and footwear. These items are often more affordable than those of shopping malls and customers have many varieties to choose from. To remain competitive as a food and shopping haven, Si......



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09 Dec 2019
Land Transport Authority
Suggestion View - 98
Renaming the roads in Punggol Estate

The current names for the roads in Punggol HDB estate are confusing. I give my suggestion to rename these roads. a) Roads running from west to east will have the name - Punggol Way 1, 2, 3, etc b) Roads running from north to suoth will have the name - Punggol Drive 1, 2, 3 etc.  Here are the new names: a) Punggol Field will be renamed Punggol Way 1 b) Punggol Central will be renamed Punggol Way 2 c) P......



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09 Dec 2019
Ministry of Health
Suggestion View - 1
Antidepressants should carry prominent warning about adverse side effects

Informed consent is key to ensuring patient safety and welfare. I fully support the recommendation to have clear standards on what doctors should tell their patients about treatments and procedures in each speciality (Doctors to get guidelines on what to tell patients, Dec 4). I believe that doctors must fully disclose the possible significant complications and risks of treatments. I lost my son Zen, who had depression, to suicide last year. He was 17 years old.br ......



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09 Dec 2019
Ministry of Health
Reply View - 1
Cholesterol management drug being evaluated

We thank Mr Chew Chee Weng for his suggestion (Subsidise cholesterol drug - a last-resort treatment for some, Dec 6). To keep healthcare affordable for Singaporeans, the Ministry of Health (MOH) provides subsidies for drugs that are clinically-and cost-effective. Patients prescribed standard drugs under the Standard Drug List will receive subsidies of between 50 per cent and 75 per cent, depending on their means-test status. Those assessed by their do......



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09 Dec 2019
Sing Tel
Reply View - 1
Wrong SMS was sent to customer with billing issue

We thank Mr Alex Kot Yiu Kuen for his feedback (Singtel downplaying system error and erroneous charge, Dec 4) and have since been in touch with him. As soon as we were aware of a billing issue that affected some of our customers' November bills, we immediately sent an SMS to all affected customers, including Mr Kot, informing them about the error and assuring them that the charges would be waived. A second SMS was later sent in response to Mr Kot's billing inquiry.......



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09 Dec 2019
Health Promotion Board
Reply View - 1
Measures in place to prevent cheating in health incentive system

We thank Mr Cheng Choon Fei for his feedback (Don't let people cheat with Healthy 365 app, Dec 4). The Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge was introduced to encourage Singaporeans to choose healthier options when they dine out or buy their groceries, and we agree with Mr Cheng that the incentive system must support this intent. Singaporeans can earn points when they buy healthier options from our retail and food and beverage partners, and we publicise this widely to ......



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09 Dec 2019
Ministry of Home Affairs
Suggestion View - 287
Police call Gilbert Goh for questioning

The Police called Gilbert Goh for questioning concerning the rally that he held in Hong Lim Park. I was a speaker at the rally, so I have an interest in knowing if any offense had been committed.  I learned later that the Police called Gilbert Goh in response to a police report made by somebody (identity not disclosed) that a foreigner had participated at the rally. An Isreali tourist had attended the rally and asked a question at the rally. Does this amou......



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08 Dec 2019
Land Transport Authority
Suggestion View - 334
A more sensible way to name our roads

The naming of our roads in the new housing estates of Sengkang and Punggol is quite ridiculous. Take a look at the map below. Here are some of the faults: a) There is no logical order b) There is no respect for hierarchy, with the name Street, Way, Avenue, Road used for roads of similar sizes. What is a better system?  We can follow the approach adopted in many cities. They gave a different name to major road and n......



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08 Dec 2019
Ministry of Law
Feedback View - 92
Prefer to go to jail

My friend told me. A few years ago, he went to jail for a few weeks because he refused to pay a traffic fine of a few thousand dollars. He said that being jailed for a traffic offense is NOT a criminal offense, so there is no criminal record. In the jail, he met another prisoner who had been in jail off and on for several years. The long term prisoner related his personal circumstance. He come from a large family. He has been jobless. He committed an offense and spent some......



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08 Dec 2019
NTUC
Suggestion View - 2
NEA guidelines for cleaning table tops not being followed

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has guidelines on cleaning table tops at retail food and beverage premises. However, I have noticed that these guidelines are not practised at hawker centres, coffee shops and even the foodcourts operated by major players. For example, the guidelines suggest that two different cloths should be used for cleaning and sanitising. But in practice, I see cleaners using the same dirty cloth for multiple tables and have never seen sani......



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08 Dec 2019
Ministry of Environment
Feedback View - 116
Divert savings from Cross Island Line to local conservation efforts

The Ministry of Transport's decision for the MRT Cross Island Line (CRL) to run directly under Singapore's largest nature reserve is unfortunate (Cross Island Line to take direct route under nature reserve, Dec 5). Although the plan has come a long way after six years of consultation with experts and nature groups, it still ignores the fundamental sanctity of a nature reserve. This sets a worrying precedent of development being prioritised over the protection of nat......



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06 Dec 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 3
HDB should leverage tech for more efficient use of carparks

With the majority of Housing Board multi-storey carparks now employing electronic payment collection systems, the HDB should have a wealth of information about carpark utilisation at various times of the day. Yet it still persists with blanket rules regarding the use of reserved parking spaces, such as disallowing casual parking after 7pm on weekdays and for the whole day during the weekend. I have, on numerous occasions, driven past countless empty reserved spaces ......



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06 Dec 2019
Singapore Sports Council
Reply View - 1
Options for squash facilities being studied

We refer to Mr Lim Jit Uei's letter (Kallang Squash Centre worth saving, Nov 29). Under the Sports Facilities Master Plan, we take into account the needs of our national sports associations and the overall trends in the sporting landscape. We have been engaging the Singapore Squash Rackets Association since January last year on the provision of squash facilities. We have shared some options with them while studying the feasibility of each. We will announce the plans......



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05 Dec 2019
Singaporeans
Suggestion View - 3
Be realistic about public transport improvements

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-on-the-web/forum-allow-pmds-other-than-e-scooters-on-footpaths-and-monitor-them-forAt just 19, Ms Suu Waddy Soe is a realist when she said a world-class transport system "comes with a heavy price tag" (Voices Of Youth: The price of better public transport, Dec 2). It is heartening to hear some realism from this youth writer. In comparison, Mr Andrew Seow Chwee Guan asked for the gap between the shelter and the bus at bus st......



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05 Dec 2019
Land Transport Authority
Suggestion View - 2
Allow PMDs other than e-scooters on footpaths and monitor them for six months

The recent and sudden ban of e-scooters on footpaths has put a dent in Singapore's car-lite vision. Another group of users of personal mobility devices (PMDs) - skateboards, hoverboards and unicycles - will also be affected by the footpath ban by the first quarter of next year. The fact that the ban was imposed on e-scooters first means the safety problem faced by the public was due mainly to the e-scooter community rather than skateboard, hoverboard and unicycle us......



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