Crocodile feeding in Sungei Buloh

A couple of shots taken yesterday at Sungei Buloh Wetland. This guy snapped his jaws so hard that pieces of the fish splattered all over, out of its mouth. There are a few of them at the river next to the entrance and there is no need to trample deep into the park to see them. Timing is crucial and they are normally seen at low tide. The best is one or two hours after the published low tide when the water starts to flow back in, bringing along the fishes for the hunt.

I was there one afternoon when the tide was high and everyone was desperate looking for the crocodiles. Every little movement or shadow in the water would attract attention and finger pointing, 'There, there, the croc is there.'  A little girl in her father's arm was bewildered by the antics of the adults. She was so exasperated and shouted, 'There, there, over there' and pointing to another direction. The daddy asked her where. She said inside the triangle.

There was a triangle sign hanging in the observation shed with a picture of a crocodile in it.

The plight of Singaporean PMETs

Thanks to the internet, the pathetic plight of Singaporean PMETs are getting an airing that otherwise would not be heard. A blogger, SNG’s article in Gilbert’s Transitioning Org blog, dedicated to jobless Singaporeans, is being reposted in TRE. Another article of a graduate Singaporeans who had to hide his degree qualification just to get a temp job and was asked to leave when he applied for a permanent position was also posted in TRE. They discovered that he had a degree and not just a diploma.

Some may denounce him for lying. But why must he lie about his higher qualification? Isn’t that something to be proud of, to be added in the CV to enhance the chances of an application and higher pay? How can the situation become so ridiculous that I can’t even laugh? Singaporeans hiding their higher qualifications in order to get a lower grade and lower paying job? If this is the case, the call for Singaporeans not to pursue university education may be the result of this new reality. And there is no need for more universities unless to cater for foreign students.

In SNG’s case, he managed to work 17 months out of 36 months, and not that he is not qualified and lack experience. He has worked overseas as an expat as well which means he was good enough. And now finding a job here is so difficult for him.

And we have more than a million foreigners happily working here, maybe nearer to two millions if PRs are included. And many more foreigners are happily rushing here as jobs are plenty and easy to get except for Singaporeans. What the hell is going on?

What is happening? Dunno leh. Maybe Singaporeans are really daft. Maybe the local universities, despite their world class rankings, are teaching craps or producing crappy graduates. Maybe Singaporeans are basically unemployable because they are Singaporeans and companies, organisations, institutions and even ministries are finding it more beneficial to hire foreigners or PRs.

I have only one conclusion. Singaporeans are simply disease. They carry a disease that made them unemployable. Or if they are employable, at most up to 50 or maybe lower, about 40. After that their mind will shrivel and their intellect and ability to work just diminished and no longer productive. They should then be despatched to the lepers colony till death comes.

So it is paramount that the City must import more foreigners to boost up the City’s productivity and to replace the diseased Singaporeans.

The haze poll is working fine at the moment

75 have voted. 65 said the govt is reactive and 10 said dunno or blur. The result is quite expected. It would be worst if 65 voted blur and 10 voted reactive.

Being reactive means still trying to do something, whether right or wrong or effective or ineffective is another thing. And don't try to explain this away as not the right thing or the people are misguided. This is the perception of the govt and from the way things are happening daily, you can see that the Govt is reacting on a day by day basis.

The big plan, the proactive part, the thinking ahead to prevent things from getting to such a stage, are totally absent. They may argue that there is a haze plan and every reaction is part of the big plan. How many would believe so?

The distribution of the mask, the PSI, PM 10 and PM 2.5 are all hot issues with everyone contradicting and disagreeing with everyone. It is just like a circus in town.

We still have a few more days for the poll to run and the numbers are still coming in.

Thanks for the feedback.

SMRT free ride trial run

Five days into the free ride scheme for early commuters and things are running smoothly. The number of early commuters has increased slightly but still bearable.

Two factors could contribute to the situation at the moment. One, more trains were added to reduce the waiting time. At times train would arrive at 1 or 2 minute intervals. This frequency helps to get the commuters moving at a faster rate.

The second factor waiting to happen is the presence of student commuters. They will join the crowd on Monday and the picture could change. Whether having more trains and higher frequency could cope with the 300,000 students in the system is yet to be seen.

The strange thing or miracle that has happened these few days is that the trains could be spaced out within a 2 min interval, with some arriving within one min. Now why would I call this a miracle?

How many of you still remember a couple of years back when the jam problem first surfaced and there was a call for more trains on the track. Then some wise guy claimed that in order for the train to increase the frequency for a separation of 2 min interval it would need a sophisticated monitoring system that would cost a few billion bucks. Now it seems that without spending a few billion bucks, the train can still run with a 2 min separation. Is this strange or the public has been hookwinked? Or has SMRT already bought and installed that multi billion dollar train management system?

Another small miracle is that with higher passenger loads, the jams could be reduced or at least minimized by increased frequencies. Why was this not possible or not done in the past? Let me guess. High profits and sardine packed trains go hand in hand. To increase the comfort of commuters by having more trains running and higher frequency are incompatible with higher profits and higher bonuses. Can this be an explanation for the jam packed trains? Just thinking aloud. 

Monday is just around the corner and if not delayed be the reappearance of dense haze, the system will be put to the real test. It would be more crowded for the early birds and the students. It is only a matter of how crowded would it be. This week was a good break for the SMRT to sort out the details and fine tuning for the free ride to prove itself. This free thingy would not have been even considered under the previous regime when profit was everything.

Testing out a new poll on haze

The last time I put up a poll, the result was unmanageable as the votes kept changing and even went missing. I have just put up another poll to have a feel of the perception of the people on the Govt's handling of the haze situation and see if the poll function is working.

Cheers.