As expected, the ruling party still rules, of course.
Yet, the opposition won 6 seats this time. This is considered a great breakthrough for Singapore.
It's time for bed now.
Labels: singapore
Cogito ergo scribo
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Breakthrough
Finally, the last seat has been announced.
As expected, the ruling party still rules, of course.
Yet, the opposition won 6 seats this time. This is considered a great breakthrough for Singapore.
It's time for bed now.
As expected, the ruling party still rules, of course.
Yet, the opposition won 6 seats this time. This is considered a great breakthrough for Singapore.
It's time for bed now.
| Cogitated @ 6:53 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
| 
6 seats and 2 constituencies. if only sarawak had GRC voting system for kuching, and kl and some other big cities, the opposition might already win in malaysia....
win aljunied but lost potong pasir. and so much of hoohaa for marine parade (isn;'t it interesting to have one stomping feet in parliament .... ). hopefully the coming 5 years things will improve and getting much better lor for the singaporeans. gee, sleep so late, don't tell you dozed off in church again today.... cheers.
, at 8/5/11 7:44 pm
Erm... i was supposed to go to the church in Singapore with my aunt this morning, and i could not wake up at all and missed it. I prayed to God to forgive me for missing the Sunday service because of SG election. :P
PinPin 彬彬, at 8/5/11 8:14 pm
.... like that also can.... oh well, it's better than being spotted sleeping (with drooling and snoring somemore) whilst the pastor is giving sermons. next time don't be so unchecked when you want to wake up early in the next morning lor... cheers. , at 9/5/11 5:28 am
Waiting for the results
I'm now sitting in front of the TV at my uncle's house, together with my aunt. Needless to say, like many other Singaporeans, we are waiting eagerly for the polling results.
This kinda reminds me of year 2008 when we Malaysians waited anxiously for the election results and were ecstatic to know that the people had finally taught the government a hard lesson through our votes.
However, i do not think similar thing will happen in Singapore. In fact, the opposition parties have taken drastic moves in this election and may risk losing the only 2 parliamentary seats (out of 84) they had. If that happens, Singapore parliament will be dominated 100% by the ruling party.
Nevertheless, i am still hoping for a miracle. The ruling party will of course still form the government, but there must be a breakthrough to bring on changes. Yet, it is human nature to be fearful of the unknown and to be resistance to change. It is even more so in Singapore, since the government has been doing a good job in making this small island into a successful and internationally renown country.
What many people fail to recognise sometimes is that what happened in the past is not a guarantee of the future. And i firmly believe in what Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This is just human nature - when one has unlimited and unrestrained power, the mind will be corrupted and slowly becomes complacent and arrogance. There is always a need for check and balance, control and governance.
So far, results of a few seats have been announced and the opposition has only won one. (When that one opposition seat was announced, i could hear the roar of victory from afar.)
Whatever it is, Singaporeans will have to live with their own choices for another 5 years. Good or bad, they should not complain about it because they have a hand in making it.
This kinda reminds me of year 2008 when we Malaysians waited anxiously for the election results and were ecstatic to know that the people had finally taught the government a hard lesson through our votes.
However, i do not think similar thing will happen in Singapore. In fact, the opposition parties have taken drastic moves in this election and may risk losing the only 2 parliamentary seats (out of 84) they had. If that happens, Singapore parliament will be dominated 100% by the ruling party.
Nevertheless, i am still hoping for a miracle. The ruling party will of course still form the government, but there must be a breakthrough to bring on changes. Yet, it is human nature to be fearful of the unknown and to be resistance to change. It is even more so in Singapore, since the government has been doing a good job in making this small island into a successful and internationally renown country.
What many people fail to recognise sometimes is that what happened in the past is not a guarantee of the future. And i firmly believe in what Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This is just human nature - when one has unlimited and unrestrained power, the mind will be corrupted and slowly becomes complacent and arrogance. There is always a need for check and balance, control and governance.
So far, results of a few seats have been announced and the opposition has only won one. (When that one opposition seat was announced, i could hear the roar of victory from afar.)
Whatever it is, Singaporeans will have to live with their own choices for another 5 years. Good or bad, they should not complain about it because they have a hand in making it.
| Cogitated @ 5:09 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
it's like underdog fight, or david vs goliath like that. unlike malaysia where the results are always disputed with postal votes, vote buying, don't think this is happening in singapore though. but judging from the cyberspace as well as kopitiam rants, gee, the actual result is always contrasting one. hmm ....
it's interesting to know who emerges as winner for aljunied and marina parade since these 2 constituencies so far are the most talked about, and the former is the fight of the bigwigs.... oh, i never know about there's this cooling off day. cheers. , at 8/5/11 5:51 am
Friday, April 22, 2011
1Malaysia email
I guess one of the hottest news now (after the Sarawak election) is the recently-announced
Naturally, i would not miss such fun. Besides supporting the petition page against this pointless and dubious project, i also voted (with comment) on a survey conducted on Facebook about my opinion on this idea.
Then the survey led me to the page that posted this question (i am not sure if this is really the official site set up by the company chosen by the government to run this project).
I of course then took the chance to say my piece on this page, just like many other fellow citizens.
Oh, and by the way, for those who think that this idea is the same as the OneInbox initiative from IDA Singapore, it is not. Do note that Singapore government is more like adding an inbox to the already existed single platform of SingPass, whereas the one suggested by our government so far seemed to suggest that it is an email service just like gmail, hotmail, etc.
Furthermore, such concept of "single point of contact for all government correspondences" will only be beneficial in countries with high Internet penetration rate and coverage, such as Singapore. The initiative will also only work when it goes in tandem with other effort, such as how Singapore government put in place projects to develop the infrastructure as well as educating the citizens (even the elderly) to be IT literate. It will simply be a waste of time, money and resources when it is implemented in a country where the government does not even put in proper plan to improve the overall national IT infrastructure or is more than happy to keep a low education standard for the citizens so that they can have credulous citizens who will continue to vote for them blindly.
Naturally, i would not miss such fun. Besides supporting the petition page against this pointless and dubious project, i also voted (with comment) on a survey conducted on Facebook about my opinion on this idea.
Then the survey led me to the page that posted this question (i am not sure if this is really the official site set up by the company chosen by the government to run this project).
I of course then took the chance to say my piece on this page, just like many other fellow citizens.
Oh, and by the way, for those who think that this idea is the same as the OneInbox initiative from IDA Singapore, it is not. Do note that Singapore government is more like adding an inbox to the already existed single platform of SingPass, whereas the one suggested by our government so far seemed to suggest that it is an email service just like gmail, hotmail, etc.
Furthermore, such concept of "single point of contact for all government correspondences" will only be beneficial in countries with high Internet penetration rate and coverage, such as Singapore. The initiative will also only work when it goes in tandem with other effort, such as how Singapore government put in place projects to develop the infrastructure as well as educating the citizens (even the elderly) to be IT literate. It will simply be a waste of time, money and resources when it is implemented in a country where the government does not even put in proper plan to improve the overall national IT infrastructure or is more than happy to keep a low education standard for the citizens so that they can have credulous citizens who will continue to vote for them blindly.
| Cogitated @ 7:34 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
gee, can't find the 'like' button in this blog, haha... you just sacrificed yourself to be exposed as gov non-supporter lor .....by the way, your opinion of giving free WiFi is already shared by the penang CM, no no, you don't need to swear that you did not copy from him ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mcmco_2sY8&feature=player_embedded
as for the email account, it's just like any other scam and no point of arguing it at all. if the government really does have people in mind and being initiative, there is so much can be done, especially when there are many examples (like singapore) they can follow and further improve it. wonder why they don't announce it prior the election?
oh, how dare you expose the government grand strategy to keep rakyat continue being illiterate and ruin the fixed deposit! treachery! but still, i like your blog :) and hey, don't spoil your holiday by sleep and wake up late. darn, it's belated message. cheers. , at 23/4/11 3:32 am
Seriously, believe it or not, i did not get my idea from Mr. Lim. The thoughts came from taking Singapore as example. PinPin 彬彬, at 25/4/11 4:10 am
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
NTU ranking
Received an email from NTU President to all alumni and thought i should share it here (it's a long one!):
Seriously, that is sure one long and elaborated explaination!
Subject: Letter from NTU President: NTU did not plunge in university rankings
Dear alumni
In the last week, my colleagues and I have received emails and letters of concern and outrage from students and our alumni about recent media stories saying NTU has dropped 101 places in university rankings.
The NTU community is understandably upset, confused and alarmed and is right in asking what the NTU leadership is doing about this. As NTU’s President, I can understand your feelings and realise how our hard work and efforts in recent years to build NTU’s reputation have been damaged by these media reports.
Let me state categorically that NTU did NOT drop 101 places in university ranking.
This misperception came about because in The Straits Times article (17 Sep 2010), the results of two ranking systems based on entirely different methodologies were erroneously compared and highlighted in the headlines and opening paragraph.
To set the record straight, I wrote a 900-word commentary in Monday’s issue of The Straits Times (attached here) so the public and the NTU community can have the right perspective with which to view the rankings of universities, We initially wanted to address the concerns in The Straits Times’ Forum page but as there is a strict enforcement of space on that page which would have limited our explanation of such a complex issue thoroughly, I chose to write an editorial piece in The Straits Times’ Review page instead.
At the same time, NTU also sent letters signed by me to Lianhe Zaobao and Berita Harian explaining why their media stories which had mentioned that NTU had dropped in university rankings were incorrect, Let me give you some background to the rankings here so you can make your own intelligent conclusions.
Since 2004, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (Times), two commercial organisations, had been collaborating on the Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. From this year, they parted ways and now produce their own separate university rankings.
The QS World University Ranking was released on 8 Sep 2010, The results of that ranking, where NTU came in 74th and NUS, 31st (both down by one position from 2009) were published in Lianhe Zaobao and TODAY, but not in the Straits Times. QS 2010 continued with the same methodology it had used since 2004 when it had partnered Times.
Times, together with their new partner, Thomson Reuters, designed a completely different methodology. They lean towards classical research parameters that advantages older, more established universities. The five areas measured include Citations (32.5%), Research (30%), Teaching* (30%), International Mix (5%) and Industry Income (2.5%). This ranking was released a week after QS 2010.
All that is fine, except when results from the two rankings based on different methodologies are compared. Doing that is highly erroneous because as I had written in The Straits Times’ commentary, it is like comparing apples with durians.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you are the top student in your school. But you emerged in the 200th place in the school’s debating contest. Does that mean you have dropped 199 places? There’s really no comparison at all.
The importance of not making comparisons between the two was stressed by Times’ rankings editor Phil Baty and reported in The Straits Times story: “Any movement up or down the ranking table cannot be seen as a change in performance by an individual country or institution, and it’s not relevant to make comparisons.”
Despite that, The Straits Times made that comparison in the headline and opening paragraph and said that NTU had plunged 101 places in ranking.
Many world-renowned universities have responded to the Times rankings, highlighting some bizarre results and advising the public to take the rankings with “a truckload of salt”. I attach below some hyperlinks to these articles so you can have a better idea of what the international university community is debating about on this matter.
Internationally, the QS 2010 Ranking is the more established of the two. University rankings don’t tumble overnight like stock prices. It takes years to build a university; so its standing does not swing wildly in a year or two. In the QS ranking, both NTU and NUS were both down by one position from last year. The performance of both universities has been consistent over the last four years and this shows the stability of the QS ranking.
On the other hand, Times’ 2010 rankings is entirely new and its criteria have yet to be accepted. A detailed analysis shows it is 88 per cent computed from research-related indicators and being retrospective, it favours the more established universities with longer histories in research.
For example, as the citations are for 2004-2008 and given that it typically takes 10 years or more from the time one starts on a research, gets it published to the time citations build up for that research project, this parameter is in effect measuring the performance of NTU and that of the other universities from as far back as 1995.
Although the roots of this university go back to 55 years ago, NTU really started as a practice-oriented, teaching university only in 1991. We ramped up our research intensity more recently, accelerating from 2006. In the past five years, NTU has been awarded $887 million in external competitive research grants. It will, however, take many years for NTU’s research efforts to make an impact in rankings such as Times’ that have retrospective parameters.
Despite that, NTU today is widely seen internationally as one of the fastest rising universities in the world. In fact, considering that we started out only in 1991, NTU is the youngest university in the Top 100 universities ranked in the QS 2010.
We are currently starting on a branding exercise for NTU and our position in the established QS ranking will be one of the pillars of NTU’s branding.
The NTU leadership is confident that we will continue to make great strides and that we will realise our potential to be a great global university. This is not empty talk but stems from the confidence bestowed on us by our world-class faculty and partners, our students, our alumni and their employers.
You would probably have read about our plans to partner Imperial College London, ranked among the top five universities in the world to set up Singapore’s third medical school.
The results of our good work may not be immediately captured in rankings such as Times'. But our students know the immediate benefits of our world-class facilities and being taught by outstanding faculty.
For example, Nanyang Business School’s MBA programme has consistently been ranked in the world’s top 30 by Financial Times and achieved its best score of 69th place worldwide in the annual ranking by The Economist this year, up two places from last year. The two use different methodologies but NBS’ performance in both rankings has been consistent. The NBS’ programme has been the number one MBA programme in Singapore for several years already and is regularly placed among the top four in Asia-Pacific.
Today, NTU is the choice university for the majority of young international researchers awarded scholarships by the National Research Foundation. In the recent L’Oréal Singapore for Women in Science National Fellowships 2010, NTU’s women scientists were awarded two of the three fellowships.
In last month’s Crowbar Awards, an international award for students to showcase their creative talents, NTU made a clean sweep of the Best of Categories and Best of Show awards despite stiff competition from 39 schools worldwide. In this year’s F1 Race held in Singapore, our engineering students, whose solar car took top spot in the inaugural Singapore Green One eco-car race, won the privilege of being the curtain raiser in this international race.
As I said in The Straits Times article, not many Singaporeans realise that in the more established QS World University Rankings, Singapore has two universities in the Top 100 universities worldwide. Aside from Switzerland, Singapore is the only other small country to have achieved this feat.
Besides cheering our sister university NUS on, all of us at NTU can hold our heads high. There are 14,000 universities worldwide and NTU is clearly within the world’s top 1% of universities.
DR SU GUANING
PRESIDENT
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
*A closer analysis shows this score to be highly misleading, comprising views of authors of research paper and factors related to the production of PhDs.
Dear alumni
In the last week, my colleagues and I have received emails and letters of concern and outrage from students and our alumni about recent media stories saying NTU has dropped 101 places in university rankings.
The NTU community is understandably upset, confused and alarmed and is right in asking what the NTU leadership is doing about this. As NTU’s President, I can understand your feelings and realise how our hard work and efforts in recent years to build NTU’s reputation have been damaged by these media reports.
Let me state categorically that NTU did NOT drop 101 places in university ranking.
This misperception came about because in The Straits Times article (17 Sep 2010), the results of two ranking systems based on entirely different methodologies were erroneously compared and highlighted in the headlines and opening paragraph.
To set the record straight, I wrote a 900-word commentary in Monday’s issue of The Straits Times (attached here) so the public and the NTU community can have the right perspective with which to view the rankings of universities, We initially wanted to address the concerns in The Straits Times’ Forum page but as there is a strict enforcement of space on that page which would have limited our explanation of such a complex issue thoroughly, I chose to write an editorial piece in The Straits Times’ Review page instead.
At the same time, NTU also sent letters signed by me to Lianhe Zaobao and Berita Harian explaining why their media stories which had mentioned that NTU had dropped in university rankings were incorrect, Let me give you some background to the rankings here so you can make your own intelligent conclusions.
Since 2004, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (Times), two commercial organisations, had been collaborating on the Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. From this year, they parted ways and now produce their own separate university rankings.
The QS World University Ranking was released on 8 Sep 2010, The results of that ranking, where NTU came in 74th and NUS, 31st (both down by one position from 2009) were published in Lianhe Zaobao and TODAY, but not in the Straits Times. QS 2010 continued with the same methodology it had used since 2004 when it had partnered Times.
Times, together with their new partner, Thomson Reuters, designed a completely different methodology. They lean towards classical research parameters that advantages older, more established universities. The five areas measured include Citations (32.5%), Research (30%), Teaching* (30%), International Mix (5%) and Industry Income (2.5%). This ranking was released a week after QS 2010.
All that is fine, except when results from the two rankings based on different methodologies are compared. Doing that is highly erroneous because as I had written in The Straits Times’ commentary, it is like comparing apples with durians.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you are the top student in your school. But you emerged in the 200th place in the school’s debating contest. Does that mean you have dropped 199 places? There’s really no comparison at all.
The importance of not making comparisons between the two was stressed by Times’ rankings editor Phil Baty and reported in The Straits Times story: “Any movement up or down the ranking table cannot be seen as a change in performance by an individual country or institution, and it’s not relevant to make comparisons.”
Despite that, The Straits Times made that comparison in the headline and opening paragraph and said that NTU had plunged 101 places in ranking.
Many world-renowned universities have responded to the Times rankings, highlighting some bizarre results and advising the public to take the rankings with “a truckload of salt”. I attach below some hyperlinks to these articles so you can have a better idea of what the international university community is debating about on this matter.
Internationally, the QS 2010 Ranking is the more established of the two. University rankings don’t tumble overnight like stock prices. It takes years to build a university; so its standing does not swing wildly in a year or two. In the QS ranking, both NTU and NUS were both down by one position from last year. The performance of both universities has been consistent over the last four years and this shows the stability of the QS ranking.
On the other hand, Times’ 2010 rankings is entirely new and its criteria have yet to be accepted. A detailed analysis shows it is 88 per cent computed from research-related indicators and being retrospective, it favours the more established universities with longer histories in research.
For example, as the citations are for 2004-2008 and given that it typically takes 10 years or more from the time one starts on a research, gets it published to the time citations build up for that research project, this parameter is in effect measuring the performance of NTU and that of the other universities from as far back as 1995.
Although the roots of this university go back to 55 years ago, NTU really started as a practice-oriented, teaching university only in 1991. We ramped up our research intensity more recently, accelerating from 2006. In the past five years, NTU has been awarded $887 million in external competitive research grants. It will, however, take many years for NTU’s research efforts to make an impact in rankings such as Times’ that have retrospective parameters.
Despite that, NTU today is widely seen internationally as one of the fastest rising universities in the world. In fact, considering that we started out only in 1991, NTU is the youngest university in the Top 100 universities ranked in the QS 2010.
We are currently starting on a branding exercise for NTU and our position in the established QS ranking will be one of the pillars of NTU’s branding.
The NTU leadership is confident that we will continue to make great strides and that we will realise our potential to be a great global university. This is not empty talk but stems from the confidence bestowed on us by our world-class faculty and partners, our students, our alumni and their employers.
You would probably have read about our plans to partner Imperial College London, ranked among the top five universities in the world to set up Singapore’s third medical school.
The results of our good work may not be immediately captured in rankings such as Times'. But our students know the immediate benefits of our world-class facilities and being taught by outstanding faculty.
For example, Nanyang Business School’s MBA programme has consistently been ranked in the world’s top 30 by Financial Times and achieved its best score of 69th place worldwide in the annual ranking by The Economist this year, up two places from last year. The two use different methodologies but NBS’ performance in both rankings has been consistent. The NBS’ programme has been the number one MBA programme in Singapore for several years already and is regularly placed among the top four in Asia-Pacific.
Today, NTU is the choice university for the majority of young international researchers awarded scholarships by the National Research Foundation. In the recent L’Oréal Singapore for Women in Science National Fellowships 2010, NTU’s women scientists were awarded two of the three fellowships.
In last month’s Crowbar Awards, an international award for students to showcase their creative talents, NTU made a clean sweep of the Best of Categories and Best of Show awards despite stiff competition from 39 schools worldwide. In this year’s F1 Race held in Singapore, our engineering students, whose solar car took top spot in the inaugural Singapore Green One eco-car race, won the privilege of being the curtain raiser in this international race.
As I said in The Straits Times article, not many Singaporeans realise that in the more established QS World University Rankings, Singapore has two universities in the Top 100 universities worldwide. Aside from Switzerland, Singapore is the only other small country to have achieved this feat.
Besides cheering our sister university NUS on, all of us at NTU can hold our heads high. There are 14,000 universities worldwide and NTU is clearly within the world’s top 1% of universities.
DR SU GUANING
PRESIDENT
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
*A closer analysis shows this score to be highly misleading, comprising views of authors of research paper and factors related to the production of PhDs.
Seriously, that is sure one long and elaborated explaination!
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 5:47 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
wah, very long explanation, wonder if UM/USM/UKM also come out with these too. but then when THES released result that NUS beat Tokyo Univ, it's a BIG surprise. of course the ranking is about university and not student quality, and it's quite injustice to Tokyo and UM grads.
by the way, i'm NTU grad too, but i don't feel anything even it slid 100 position. you grad with #1 univ with good degree result and the whole thing is still pointless if you end up small low paying company. at least in UM (I'm not even qualified for it) the fee is < RM20k. , at 7/10/10 11:55 am
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Just in the news
Just saw on the TV news that Lee Kuan Yew's wife has passed away peacefully, at the age of 89.
A few days ago, there was a news of Lee Kuan Yew being admitted to the hospital for chest infection, but a few days later his wife passed away.
Putting aside my opinion about the founding father of Singapore as a politician, i am touched by his love for his wife. It is well known that Lee Kuan Yew loves his wife very much, and she played an important role in his life. I think her passing is gonna be devastating to him.
I think the Singapore media will be flooded with the news of her death for the next few days.
A few days ago, there was a news of Lee Kuan Yew being admitted to the hospital for chest infection, but a few days later his wife passed away.
Putting aside my opinion about the founding father of Singapore as a politician, i am touched by his love for his wife. It is well known that Lee Kuan Yew loves his wife very much, and she played an important role in his life. I think her passing is gonna be devastating to him.
I think the Singapore media will be flooded with the news of her death for the next few days.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 2:30 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
I shall say it with a caveat. The well known facts about his love for his wife are due in many parts to the state controlled media. How much of it is true, I don't know. But what was true, that the only reason why he chose her as a partner was because she was smarter than him.
Just like how the media would portray him as uncorruptable, we only need to look at Nassim Jade to get an answer. Fat4, at 3/10/10 5:35 am
this is quite a surprise, but not unexpected. no doubt LKY loves his wife very much where in his recent interview he mentioned he stayed at his wife's side every night and reading her favourite poems. anyway, like what he had said, though it's devastating life still must goes on. there's saying every successful man there's woman behind it. LKY was one of it. his wife had been with him through thick and thin for 60+ years. to say in those years there was not a single disagreement and quarrel is astonishing, especially when his wife was as brainy as him. hmm, wonder if such story and commitment still applies to our and younger modern generations. , at 3/10/10 3:46 pm
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Renewal of Malaysian passports
Went to renew my passport today at Tampoi together with mom (she renewed hers as well). The entire process took us about 4 hours.
We were at the immigration at around 7.30am. Even before i climbed up the stairs into the building, there was this Malay guy standing at the staircase and asking me if i've taken the photo for the passport. I shook my head and then he asked us to go to get the form from the designated counter, and then led me to a shop and told us to take the picture there. So we took our pictures there, and also paid him to fill out the form for us, because both mom and i were too lazy this morning to read all the Malay words, so we'd rather pay RM3 per form, even though it was a very simple form. Yep, that's the price to pay for being lazy.
After we had our pictures taken and form filled out, that guy led us to the other counter to get a queue number. The queue wasn't long, and we got number 86 & 87. As we left the counter and walked into the inner part of the building, that was when we realised there was another shop that is also taking passport photographs, with the professional photography equipments. Immediately i felt like a fool.
The thing is that this guy made it felt like modus operandi that we didn't even think twice and simply followed what he told us. He took the photos with a simple compact digicam (holding in his hand), and needless to say, i looked terrible. In fact, my face seemed green in the photo, and my hair looked messy. It really sucks to think that i am stuck with a picture that looks like a vampire for a passport that i'm gonna use for the next 5 years.
Anyway, as the queue number that was being processed at that time was number 10, we decided to have our breakfast there. We went to the only roti canai shop at the food court, and ordered roti canai, coffee and tea.
Now here's a piece of advice to everyone here who may be going there one day -- DO NOT order anything from that stall at all. The food tasted terrible! Seriously, this is the worst, again, THE WORST roti canai i've ever tasted so far in my life. It was so bad that i felt like i was gonna puke as i forced myself to finish up the first piece, and then left the second piece untouched. I think what made me feel like throwing up was that the roti canai wasn't really cooked; it was thick and i could still eat the dough inside even though the outer layer seemed cooked in brownish burnt mark. And the curry was tasteless, and the coffee was just a cup of sugar water with milk (i.e. there was no taste of coffee!).
After a very bad start to my day, we went up to third floor to wait for our numbers. We sat there till about 9am+ and it was our turn. We submitted our application form with our passports and IC. We were then asked to stamp our thumb print on the form using the traditional black ink pad, and then again with the digital fingerprint reader. Frankly i do not understand why do we still need to dirty our fingers with the ink when we already have the new technology to image and store our finger prints.
Then we paid RM300 and were asked to be seated. We waited for a while and our numbers appear on the electronic board again for us to collect the receipt. On the receipt, it was written 10.45am, the time when our passports will be ready and could be collected.
It was about 9.30am only and i told mom that i wanna go out to have a cup decent coffee. So we drove to the McD in the nearby petrol station. Yes, i know the coffee at McD isn't really good either, but if you have had what i had this morning, anything would taste good after that.
We returned to the immigration office at around 10.40am and waited for our numbers. Here's where we made a mistake again. We weren't aware that we were supposed to place our receipts into a designated box and then only the officers would get our passports for us. Mom did see the notice on the box that read (in Malay), "place the receipts here", but she wasn't sure what it meant. When she collected her receipt earlier on, she asked the officer what she should do with the receipt and she was told that she should "hold on to it". As for me, the officer didn't even tell me anything and simply passed me the receipt. I guess they assumed that we should all know the procedure.
It was already past 11pm when we felt that things didn't seem quite right. Mom went to enquire about it and then only realised we had been wasting 20 minutes of our time sitting there waiting for nothing. We then placed our receipts in the box, waited for another 15 minutes and then finally saw our numbers appear on the electronic board again. We then collected our passports and left the immigration office at around 11.30am.
So, now i'm have a new passport with a dead person looking photo in it, but at least i can travel overseas again (no plan to go anywhere yet though). Well, i must say the entire process of passport renewal has indeed been streamlined and improved compared to several years ago. I heard that in KL, we even have self-service kiosk for us to renew the passports by doing it ourselves. I hope we can do it online one day soon, just like in SG.
The next step for me, as SG PR, is to process the online transfer of my PR to my new passport. I am glad that we do not need to go to SIR personally to do it anymore, so that i can have a good rest tomorrow.
We were at the immigration at around 7.30am. Even before i climbed up the stairs into the building, there was this Malay guy standing at the staircase and asking me if i've taken the photo for the passport. I shook my head and then he asked us to go to get the form from the designated counter, and then led me to a shop and told us to take the picture there. So we took our pictures there, and also paid him to fill out the form for us, because both mom and i were too lazy this morning to read all the Malay words, so we'd rather pay RM3 per form, even though it was a very simple form. Yep, that's the price to pay for being lazy.
After we had our pictures taken and form filled out, that guy led us to the other counter to get a queue number. The queue wasn't long, and we got number 86 & 87. As we left the counter and walked into the inner part of the building, that was when we realised there was another shop that is also taking passport photographs, with the professional photography equipments. Immediately i felt like a fool.
The thing is that this guy made it felt like modus operandi that we didn't even think twice and simply followed what he told us. He took the photos with a simple compact digicam (holding in his hand), and needless to say, i looked terrible. In fact, my face seemed green in the photo, and my hair looked messy. It really sucks to think that i am stuck with a picture that looks like a vampire for a passport that i'm gonna use for the next 5 years.
Anyway, as the queue number that was being processed at that time was number 10, we decided to have our breakfast there. We went to the only roti canai shop at the food court, and ordered roti canai, coffee and tea.
Now here's a piece of advice to everyone here who may be going there one day -- DO NOT order anything from that stall at all. The food tasted terrible! Seriously, this is the worst, again, THE WORST roti canai i've ever tasted so far in my life. It was so bad that i felt like i was gonna puke as i forced myself to finish up the first piece, and then left the second piece untouched. I think what made me feel like throwing up was that the roti canai wasn't really cooked; it was thick and i could still eat the dough inside even though the outer layer seemed cooked in brownish burnt mark. And the curry was tasteless, and the coffee was just a cup of sugar water with milk (i.e. there was no taste of coffee!).
After a very bad start to my day, we went up to third floor to wait for our numbers. We sat there till about 9am+ and it was our turn. We submitted our application form with our passports and IC. We were then asked to stamp our thumb print on the form using the traditional black ink pad, and then again with the digital fingerprint reader. Frankly i do not understand why do we still need to dirty our fingers with the ink when we already have the new technology to image and store our finger prints.
Then we paid RM300 and were asked to be seated. We waited for a while and our numbers appear on the electronic board again for us to collect the receipt. On the receipt, it was written 10.45am, the time when our passports will be ready and could be collected.
It was about 9.30am only and i told mom that i wanna go out to have a cup decent coffee. So we drove to the McD in the nearby petrol station. Yes, i know the coffee at McD isn't really good either, but if you have had what i had this morning, anything would taste good after that.
We returned to the immigration office at around 10.40am and waited for our numbers. Here's where we made a mistake again. We weren't aware that we were supposed to place our receipts into a designated box and then only the officers would get our passports for us. Mom did see the notice on the box that read (in Malay), "place the receipts here", but she wasn't sure what it meant. When she collected her receipt earlier on, she asked the officer what she should do with the receipt and she was told that she should "hold on to it". As for me, the officer didn't even tell me anything and simply passed me the receipt. I guess they assumed that we should all know the procedure.
It was already past 11pm when we felt that things didn't seem quite right. Mom went to enquire about it and then only realised we had been wasting 20 minutes of our time sitting there waiting for nothing. We then placed our receipts in the box, waited for another 15 minutes and then finally saw our numbers appear on the electronic board again. We then collected our passports and left the immigration office at around 11.30am.
So, now i'm have a new passport with a dead person looking photo in it, but at least i can travel overseas again (no plan to go anywhere yet though). Well, i must say the entire process of passport renewal has indeed been streamlined and improved compared to several years ago. I heard that in KL, we even have self-service kiosk for us to renew the passports by doing it ourselves. I hope we can do it online one day soon, just like in SG.
The next step for me, as SG PR, is to process the online transfer of my PR to my new passport. I am glad that we do not need to go to SIR personally to do it anymore, so that i can have a good rest tomorrow.
| Cogitated @ 3:18 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
you sure have photographic memory to remember so much details :_ well, you're back like old time like you blogged how you replaced your car license.
it reminds me i renewed my passport in kl too in dec 2009. the touts asked me if i had photograph and offered the service (but not as dishonest as larkin bus tout who ran away my pay surplus). i thought the immigration would take the photograph on the spot as mykad but apparently it was not so i took photo from him. i did not aware there was kiosk too in the immigration building until i went in to collect, which was actually much cheaper. the whole process took me 4 hrs, and i did not even aware the parking rate was rm2.5 so ended up paid ~rm10. thinking back, i should have gone back home first and collect it the next day rather than sit idling there for 3 hours and ended paying expensive parking fee.
did the roti canai seller say "you won't find the food elsewhere"? my colleague complained about our company canteen selling red bean soup which is not sweet but sour, and to add insult the uncle said you won't find the soup outside in the market. , at 25/5/10 3:57 am
My dad renewed his in under 3 hours in Telukintan. The system has really improved. Beer Brat, at 25/5/10 7:32 pm
Haha! I'd renew mine 2years ago, I can't really recalled the details already, after read your blog, all the memory comes back. I also don't know need to place the receipt in the box, but I directly go and ask the officer at the due time, then only he told me to place receipt there. :)
Then to me, compare to last time, it already improve a lot, so when I told my colleagues, I'd got my passport at 11plus, and can join them for lunch, they are so shocked.
Aiyo! don't compare with S'pore lah! No matter how we improve, I think there'll always a gap between us, at least in the foreseeable 50years.
by the way, there got self-service kiosk too, but do you dare to place your cash just like that? :p
Lastly, can I see your passport this weekend? Haha! , at 26/5/10 2:02 am
another long weekend :). take a good rest and enjoy yourself.
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5290/passporte.jpg , at 28/5/10 5:45 pm
Monday, October 19, 2009
Update on the suicide incident
For those who read the news in SG may have known about this -- the incident that happened last Wednesday was indeed a suicide.
The saddest part about this whole tragedy is that the person who committed suicide was a 11-year-old boy.
I did not follow the news and i do not know why a kid of age 11 would wanna kill himself. Yes, i've said that even though i do not agree with such action, i do understand why people would make such choice.
However, what i can't figure out is what could possibly be so devastating for a boy as young as 11 years old to even think of ending his own life? He wasn't abused or anything, and i heard that he actually studied very well in school too.
When the incident happened that day, he just returned from school and was even with his friend before he committed suicide. It probably has something to do with the pressure of academic excellence, but then i'm just speculating to find a reasoning for such as young kid to feel that there is no more hope in life and he might as well end it.
I sympathised with his parents. They must be traumatised. It was never easy to lose a loved one, and more so when the loved one is so young and it was death in such manner. My heart goes out to them.
May the soul rest in peace.
The saddest part about this whole tragedy is that the person who committed suicide was a 11-year-old boy.
I did not follow the news and i do not know why a kid of age 11 would wanna kill himself. Yes, i've said that even though i do not agree with such action, i do understand why people would make such choice.
However, what i can't figure out is what could possibly be so devastating for a boy as young as 11 years old to even think of ending his own life? He wasn't abused or anything, and i heard that he actually studied very well in school too.
When the incident happened that day, he just returned from school and was even with his friend before he committed suicide. It probably has something to do with the pressure of academic excellence, but then i'm just speculating to find a reasoning for such as young kid to feel that there is no more hope in life and he might as well end it.
I sympathised with his parents. They must be traumatised. It was never easy to lose a loved one, and more so when the loved one is so young and it was death in such manner. My heart goes out to them.
May the soul rest in peace.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 4:35 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday morning
This has been going on since weeks ago.
Uh huh, the traffic at the two checkpoints on every Monday morning had worsened lately. I can't think of a reason if this has anything to do with the escape of Mat Selamat Kastari, because the inspection for vehicles entering Singapore was the same as before; the security on custom clearance was tightened for vehicles leaving the country.
So really, i don't know why this sudden surge of traffic flow on Monday morning. The probable reasons i can think of are either there are more people coming into SG to work, or more Malaysians who work in SG have moved back to stay in JB.
Anyway, talk about the traffic and i gotta rant a bit here. I totally hate hate hate hate hate those jackass drivers who do not queue up properly in line but think that they are so smart and privileged that they could just cut in front of other cars.
What happens now at 2nd Link whenever there's a traffic jam is that some f*cking SOBs will just drive on the motorcycles lane and try to cut back into the car lane right in front of other cars that are queuing up orderly (such as us). What's even more outrageous is that some bigger assholes will even cut into the queue of the queue jumpers and try to come in from a third lane.
A lot of times, the cars queueing orderly in the car lane will have to tailgate the other car so that these jackass drivers don't get a chance to jump queue. Sometimes, this may result in accident, which really sucks because in a way, we are actually paying the price for the mistakes of those bastards.
So really, here's what i want to say to those f*cking drivers with no courtesy out there (in addition to what i've already said before):
Phew, that feels better...
And no, i DO NOT have anger management problem.
Uh huh, the traffic at the two checkpoints on every Monday morning had worsened lately. I can't think of a reason if this has anything to do with the escape of Mat Selamat Kastari, because the inspection for vehicles entering Singapore was the same as before; the security on custom clearance was tightened for vehicles leaving the country.
So really, i don't know why this sudden surge of traffic flow on Monday morning. The probable reasons i can think of are either there are more people coming into SG to work, or more Malaysians who work in SG have moved back to stay in JB.
Anyway, talk about the traffic and i gotta rant a bit here. I totally hate hate hate hate hate those jackass drivers who do not queue up properly in line but think that they are so smart and privileged that they could just cut in front of other cars.
What happens now at 2nd Link whenever there's a traffic jam is that some f*cking SOBs will just drive on the motorcycles lane and try to cut back into the car lane right in front of other cars that are queuing up orderly (such as us). What's even more outrageous is that some bigger assholes will even cut into the queue of the queue jumpers and try to come in from a third lane.
A lot of times, the cars queueing orderly in the car lane will have to tailgate the other car so that these jackass drivers don't get a chance to jump queue. Sometimes, this may result in accident, which really sucks because in a way, we are actually paying the price for the mistakes of those bastards.
So really, here's what i want to say to those f*cking drivers with no courtesy out there (in addition to what i've already said before):
Hey, you jackass, no one feels good about being stuck in traffic, and more so on a Monday morning. Do you not have the common sense to understand that if everyone just queues up properly, we can all move forward faster and with less frustration?!
Yet, you, with your f*ck-up brains, decided that you are so special that you do not need to queue up and can just cut in front of others as if your grandfather owns the roads. Such behaviour adds on to the frustration of being stuck in traffic, because it takes even more energy to deal with assholes like you.
Do count your blessing that there is still law in this world, and i can still contain my anger and i do not drive a huge truck, or else i'll just drive the truck and crush your cars into pieces.
And if you haven't learnt this in school, let me tell you this, there's an unwritten rule in the world calls "first-come, first-serve" (or FCFS in short), which basically means that if you can't get your lazy ass out of bed earlier to be at the front of the line, then tough luck dude, you gotta f*cking wait at behind as you rightfully deserved.
In case you haven't noticed, the earth DOES NOT revolve around you. There are other human beings living in this world too, and happens to be of better beings than you because at least they know what is common road courtesy.
Phew, that feels better...
And no, i DO NOT have anger management problem.
| Cogitated @ 1:19 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Deep breath in, deep breath out.. , at 2/4/08 9:21 pm
Saturday, March 08, 2008
A long way from home
Everyone has expected that there is gonna be massive massive massive traffic jam at the checkpoints.
It's Malaysian general election weekend, plus start of school holidays, plus terrorist still on the run, so it's not surprising to see this situation at the Causeway when it's almost mid-night now.
But to have the same at the 2nd Link at this hour?
Oh wow, this sure is record breaking.
Gosh, it's gonna be a long long night for the people stuck in the jam now.
Hope my fellow Malaysians get home safely. The country needs your votes.
It's Malaysian general election weekend, plus start of school holidays, plus terrorist still on the run, so it's not surprising to see this situation at the Causeway when it's almost mid-night now.
But to have the same at the 2nd Link at this hour?
Oh wow, this sure is record breaking.
Gosh, it's gonna be a long long night for the people stuck in the jam now.
Hope my fellow Malaysians get home safely. The country needs your votes.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 4:53 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Massive traffic jam
Ok, just to get this straight, i do feel for the people who commute to and fro the two countries everyday.
This horrendous traffic congestion at the Causeway is not gonna end anytime soon, not unless that fugitive is caught.
Gee, he sure is a professional terrorist. You know, he didn't even have to do anything drastic yet. Just ran away and he already caused a havoc and wreck people's lives.
Anyway, back to the massive traffic jam. Sorry that i gotta gloat a bit here, over how we can comfortably resting at home while these fellow Malaysians are fighting the traffic.
I mean, after all, we are spending SGD700 extra every month (to be SGD800 starting next month as the landlady increased the rental), so this is kinda like the gratification for our money spent.
Hey, can't blame us for that. Everything comes with a price.
Well, despite that, i do feel bad for them, you know.
This horrendous traffic congestion at the Causeway is not gonna end anytime soon, not unless that fugitive is caught.
Gee, he sure is a professional terrorist. You know, he didn't even have to do anything drastic yet. Just ran away and he already caused a havoc and wreck people's lives.
Anyway, back to the massive traffic jam. Sorry that i gotta gloat a bit here, over how we can comfortably resting at home while these fellow Malaysians are fighting the traffic.
I mean, after all, we are spending SGD700 extra every month (to be SGD800 starting next month as the landlady increased the rental), so this is kinda like the gratification for our money spent.
Hey, can't blame us for that. Everything comes with a price.
Well, despite that, i do feel bad for them, you know.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 2:20 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
I thot travel by bus would be easier for me to get through the jam... and I was totally wrong! On Monday, I walked all the way from Woodland bus stop to JB customs, in high heel shoes and carried a computer notebook. Discovered that I lost half a kg the next day! , at 6/3/08 5:20 am
Friday, February 29, 2008
Terrorist on the run
I really pity the Malaysians who are travelling home after work via Causeway today. Here's the traffic condition at the checkpoint at 10.52pm.
It has been like this for hours.
No kidding. It isn't a Friday, and there isn't a long weekend either. So why such massive jam?
No thanks to that JI fugitive, who escaped from Singapore detention center yesterday. Now, we are talking about a person who knows how to make bomb and would not hesitate to blast people into unrecognizable pieces in the name of his God. This is serious.
Frankly, for this to happen in Singapore, i was really surprised. There goes their reputation of being a safe country.
To ensure that guy does not run to Malaysia (which i believe he would probably feel right at home), Singapore government has tightened up the security at both checkpoints. So until he is tracked down, we are gonna have this massive jam at the border everyday.
I'm also worried about the safety in Singapore now. I mean, i bet he must bear grudges for being detained for more than a year by the government. If he ever gets the chance to have his hands on some materials that can be made into bomb, the next big news we will be reading may probably be the very first terrorist attack in Singapore, that is if we are still alive to be reading the news instead of being in the news.
I just hope that he can be captured soon.
It has been like this for hours.
No kidding. It isn't a Friday, and there isn't a long weekend either. So why such massive jam?
No thanks to that JI fugitive, who escaped from Singapore detention center yesterday. Now, we are talking about a person who knows how to make bomb and would not hesitate to blast people into unrecognizable pieces in the name of his God. This is serious.
Frankly, for this to happen in Singapore, i was really surprised. There goes their reputation of being a safe country.
To ensure that guy does not run to Malaysia (which i believe he would probably feel right at home), Singapore government has tightened up the security at both checkpoints. So until he is tracked down, we are gonna have this massive jam at the border everyday.
I'm also worried about the safety in Singapore now. I mean, i bet he must bear grudges for being detained for more than a year by the government. If he ever gets the chance to have his hands on some materials that can be made into bomb, the next big news we will be reading may probably be the very first terrorist attack in Singapore, that is if we are still alive to be reading the news instead of being in the news.
I just hope that he can be captured soon.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 3:54 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Friday, August 17, 2007
Postal code in Singapore
Those who don't stay in Singapore may not know that each building, be it HDB flat, apartments, condominium, or commercial complex, has a postal code on its own. Unlike Malaysia where a postal code covers an entire district, the postal code in Singapore is unique to every building on every street.
For the companies that bought the list of postal codes from SingPost and kept the data in their computer systems, it helps to minimize human errors when typing in the addresses. By just asking the customers for their postal code, the block number and street can be auto-populated into the system.
Embarrassed to say that despite being in Singapore for so many years, i didn't know about this until recent years. Then two days ago when we were discussing on the design of the system for phase two, i came to know that for those landed properties, each house has its own postal code. So basically if you are staying in a landed house, the postal code of your neighbour is different from yours. How cool is that?
I'm amazed. This shows how small Singapore really is.
For the companies that bought the list of postal codes from SingPost and kept the data in their computer systems, it helps to minimize human errors when typing in the addresses. By just asking the customers for their postal code, the block number and street can be auto-populated into the system.
Embarrassed to say that despite being in Singapore for so many years, i didn't know about this until recent years. Then two days ago when we were discussing on the design of the system for phase two, i came to know that for those landed properties, each house has its own postal code. So basically if you are staying in a landed house, the postal code of your neighbour is different from yours. How cool is that?
I'm amazed. This shows how small Singapore really is.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 2:56 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Thursday, January 25, 2007
I'm not a Singaporean
During lunch time, my colleagues were talking about the recent cases of mismanagement of funds in non-profit organizations. Then one of them asked me if we have such cases in Malaysia too. I told her that i believe there are but most wouldn't be exposed since the people governing our country are corrupted themselves.
I don't enjoy bashing my own country in front of people of another country, especially one whose government always makes use of its media to perpetuate the perception of how lousy Malaysia is as compared to them. I was actually merely stating a problem that everyone knows but no one has a final solution to it.
I'm never ashamed to let my colleagues know that i'm a Malaysian. Many of them were surprised and said that they thought i'm a Singaporean. I seriously don't consider that as a compliment at all. I'm not sure why they thought so. I don't carry an air of Singaporean with me, or at least i don't think so. Hope it's not because i've unknowingly picked up the behaviours of Singaporeans; i wouldn't wanna be regarded as one, especially when i'm in JB.
Ok, i shouldn't make it sounds like i hate Singapore. I don't. Singapore is a country with many good points that Malaysia lacks, and there's of course a lot of bad points too that i simply abhor. In fact, there are good and bad to all nations; there's no utopia, well, at least not in the real world. So, despite their goodness and all our problems, i would still rather to be a Malaysian, but earning SGD of course.
I don't enjoy bashing my own country in front of people of another country, especially one whose government always makes use of its media to perpetuate the perception of how lousy Malaysia is as compared to them. I was actually merely stating a problem that everyone knows but no one has a final solution to it.
I'm never ashamed to let my colleagues know that i'm a Malaysian. Many of them were surprised and said that they thought i'm a Singaporean. I seriously don't consider that as a compliment at all. I'm not sure why they thought so. I don't carry an air of Singaporean with me, or at least i don't think so. Hope it's not because i've unknowingly picked up the behaviours of Singaporeans; i wouldn't wanna be regarded as one, especially when i'm in JB.
Ok, i shouldn't make it sounds like i hate Singapore. I don't. Singapore is a country with many good points that Malaysia lacks, and there's of course a lot of bad points too that i simply abhor. In fact, there are good and bad to all nations; there's no utopia, well, at least not in the real world. So, despite their goodness and all our problems, i would still rather to be a Malaysian, but earning SGD of course.
| Cogitated @ 4:19 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
I think the checkpoint is ready to impose the RM20 entry fee for foreign vehicles entering JB from Singapore. Pay attention to ? strange looking card reader thing installed at the officer's booth.
If you are driving a Sg registered car, be ready to pay more than RM400 a month... , at 25/1/07 9:14 pm
Ya, i heard about it too on my way home today. What a terrible news to me. :( PinPin 彬彬, at 26/1/07 4:13 am
Monday, January 08, 2007
Singapore is a small country
I knew that Singapore is a small country but i didn't realized how small it was until Saturday. 贝 and i almost drove around the whole of Singapore on that day, and we noticed that one could travel from one end of the country to another in less than an hour.
Here's the route we travelled on Saturday:
Entered Singapore via Tuas --> AYE --> Sixth Lok Yang Road --> AYE --> PIE --> KJE --> BKE --> SLE --> TPE --> my new office --> PIE --> CTE --> Tanjung Pagar --> Vivo City --> AYE --> Exited via Tuas
Uh huh, so with the exception of ECP, we've travelled all the expressways of Singapore on that day. And the total distance travelled wouldn't even bring us from JB to Melaka.
I meant no insult in saying this, but we somehow came to an understanding of why majority of Singaporeans have this island mentality, which is so typical of people living in small island state. I guess now i may have more tolerance for the ugly behaviours of some Singaporeans because they probably just couldn't help it. I think being born and raised in a country where the source of pride must come from being Number 1 in everything they do, it's inevitable that the people become so kiasu and would look down on foreigners whose countries they think couldn't measure up to their small island.
I still disapprove such behaviours of course, but at least i can understand what causes the people to behave in such ways. Hopefully that can help me to see beyond their shortcomings and come to appreciate the good sides of these otherwise annoying people.
Here's the route we travelled on Saturday:
Entered Singapore via Tuas --> AYE --> Sixth Lok Yang Road --> AYE --> PIE --> KJE --> BKE --> SLE --> TPE --> my new office --> PIE --> CTE --> Tanjung Pagar --> Vivo City --> AYE --> Exited via Tuas
Uh huh, so with the exception of ECP, we've travelled all the expressways of Singapore on that day. And the total distance travelled wouldn't even bring us from JB to Melaka.
I meant no insult in saying this, but we somehow came to an understanding of why majority of Singaporeans have this island mentality, which is so typical of people living in small island state. I guess now i may have more tolerance for the ugly behaviours of some Singaporeans because they probably just couldn't help it. I think being born and raised in a country where the source of pride must come from being Number 1 in everything they do, it's inevitable that the people become so kiasu and would look down on foreigners whose countries they think couldn't measure up to their small island.
I still disapprove such behaviours of course, but at least i can understand what causes the people to behave in such ways. Hopefully that can help me to see beyond their shortcomings and come to appreciate the good sides of these otherwise annoying people.
| Cogitated @ 3:18 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Agree with you on the explanation for their behaviour pattern. Another possible explanation is that they cannot tolerate things that are different (from what they are having)- except for Ang Moh's. Also, they think making a complaint makes living quality better. To some extent, I agree with them. They are indeed lucky to have responsive authorities to act on their complaints. So you seldom see holes on their roads. Our authorities... sigh.... In this respect, I don't see how "Continental mentality" of our public offiers could bring any good to our lives....Now wait! I remember these are the people that cannot get a job after graduating from ?? Uni... Derek, at 24/1/07 4:17 pm
Thursday, June 29, 2006
We were fined, again
We kena saman again in Singapore. This time the fine was SGD30, and the offence was committed by 贝.
During the week that i was on medical leave for my wisdom teeth extraction, 贝 had to park the car at the HDB multi-storey parking lot near Jurong Point and then commute to his work place by MRT. He works at city area and it's simply too expensive to park the car there for one full day.
It was actually not cheap too to park at HDB multi-storey parking lot. It costs SGD1 per hour. So in order to save on the parking fee, he kinda cheated by tearing off the time on the parking coupons later than the actual time. Even though he reached the parking lot at 8am+, he put the coupon starting time at 9am.
Well, he might have thought he could save SGD1 each day, but in the end it actually cost SGD30 more. So i guess it never pays to cheat.
During the week that i was on medical leave for my wisdom teeth extraction, 贝 had to park the car at the HDB multi-storey parking lot near Jurong Point and then commute to his work place by MRT. He works at city area and it's simply too expensive to park the car there for one full day.
It was actually not cheap too to park at HDB multi-storey parking lot. It costs SGD1 per hour. So in order to save on the parking fee, he kinda cheated by tearing off the time on the parking coupons later than the actual time. Even though he reached the parking lot at 8am+, he put the coupon starting time at 9am.
Well, he might have thought he could save SGD1 each day, but in the end it actually cost SGD30 more. So i guess it never pays to cheat.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 2:09 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Income tax matters
The traffic at Tuas checkpoint last morning was horrendous. So was this morning. The traffic at Malaysian checkpoint was smooth, but it took us an hour to clear Singapore side. I wonder if it was because the Causeway was too congested that some traffic was diverted to the 2nd Link.
April is the time for filing income tax return. As a Malaysian / Singapore PR working in Singapore, i have to file for income tax return in both countries. I'm not complaining about it, really. I earn Singapore dollars and i'm a PR, so it's only right that i pay taxes in Singapore. At the same time, i'm a Malaysian and it's my duty as a citizen to file for income tax in Malaysia as well. I don't have any complaints on this. None at all.
However, i'm kinda confused now. The problem is that i don't understand how this income tax thing works at all when it comes to double taxation. Well, i thought i understand, until this year when i wanna file for year 2005 assessment.
Filing for tax return in Singapore was never a problem for me. They have a hassle-free system, almost perfect by Malaysian standard. I'm not bashing my own country again; i'm merely speaking from personal experience.
Before the implementation of SingPass, i received the B1 Form together with tax filing IRAS PIN every year via post, without fail. I think it's irrefutable that SingPost is way more reliable than POS Malaysia that often has postal mails lost in transit. Anyway, so i did e-filing for my income tax with the IRAS PIN.
Then came SingPass, a move towards e-government where the residents can get lots of tasks done via the Internet, including tax filing and CPF transactions. It's really convenient. In fact, it's so easy that i filed for year 2005 tax return via SingPass in March, way before the deadline in April.
As for income tax filing in Malaysia, i had done it via post for all previous years. The drill was to fill in the BE Form with an attached list of my
Carol and her hubby told me that for year 2005 assessment, people who don't have any income generated in Malaysia can just put in all zeros in the BE form. I called up the Inland Revenue Board and was told the same as well by a customer service lady. I was, however, puzzled when the lady told me that people whose income was drawn solely from overseas should just fill in all zeros because we've already paid for the taxes of other countries. She said this was the way all the while and not just for year 2005. Then i told her that i had in fact paid for some amount of taxes in one of the previous years. She advised me to make an appeal to have the taxes i paid refunded to me.
Ok, so what gives? Had i been doing it wrong all the while, or that customer service lady gave me the wrong information? If i had been doing it wrong, i.e. i didn't have to report any income in the form, then why did i receive notice of assessment and paid for the taxes? If i was right and this only applies to year 2005, then didn't that lady give me the wrong advice?
Anyway, whatever it is, i'm going to send in the form with all zeros (and yes, i know the deadline is this month-end and i only have a few more days to send the form in). I figured that any of my income tax contribution would end up in the pocket of Gerbang Perdana anyway, either as compensation or for the new contract, so i would rather keep the money in my pocket instead. Hey, at least i earned it.
| Cogitated @ 12:39 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Thursday, April 13, 2006
My thoughts on the crooked bridge
I was so tired yesterday that i turned in at around 10pm, the earliest time for these past two months. 贝 and i had been sleeping late every night, and struggling to wake up every morning for work. Tomorrow's Good Friday and it's a public holiday in Singapore. Unfortunately, we still gotta wake up early tomorrow to send the car for servicing and to practise our golf swings. 
I have some random thoughts on some issues, and i realized that these issues actually center around one core subject: how people make choices. Anyway, these are gonna be random thoughts, so i'm gonna be writing in a random manner as well.
Firstly, it's about our government abandoning the plan of building the crooked bridge. Ok, ok, i know it was called the scenic bridge, but i really couldn't see anything so scenic about it. I do, however, see lots of things that are crooked about it, so let's just stick to calling it the crooked bridge instead.
I seldom comment on political stuffs, as i'm a shallow person who's not particularly interested in politics. I believe many people from both countries are gonna have a lot to say about this issue, as in fact too much had already been said since the plan of building a new bridge to replace the Causeway first surfaced. Well, i'm one of the persons who would be affected most by the building or not building of the bridge, so i think i should have my say too.
I was born and brought up in JB and i have close relatives in Singapore. I have never regarded going into Singapore as travelling to another country. When i was still a kid, my dad drove us to Singapore every weekend, and that was more then twenty years ago when the currency values of the two countries were on par, when we didn't have to exchange the currencies to shop in Singapore because Malaysian Ringgit could be used there as it was. Really, unlike fellow Malaysians from the north, for most JB people like me, passing the border via the Causeway is something more common than going to KL.
Over the years, i saw how our currencies devalued, how more and more Malaysians going over to Singapore to work (including myself), how more and more Singaporeans coming over to JB to spend, and how the traffic flow at the Causeway increased to today's ridiculous level. Yes, we have the 2nd-Link, but the exorbitant toll fees and the distance had somehow put people off in travelling by this route. So people still choose to travel by the Causeway, and inherently resulted in traffic congestion at the JB town area as well.
Do i think we need a new bridge to replace the Causeway? Yes and no. I would be glad if there's an alternative route that is at the town area, but i don't think the Causeway should be demolished. Ok, i know about the other reasons given for demolishing the Causeway, such as clearing the water way at the Straits and for vessels to pass by, yadda yadda yadda, but remember, i'm just a shallow person who couldn't care less about all these. I'm merely concerned about the minor things on personal level, which is having smoother traffic for me to commute to work.
So do i think the proposed crooked bridge should be built? No, i don't. In fact, i had been wondering all the while about how we were gonna take care of the water pipes and railway track that run parallel to the Causeway if we were indeed gonna build a crooked bridge. Funny that the concerns of the water pipes and railway track were brought up now as one of the reasons for abandoning the project, when these should have been part of the considerations from the start.
As for the reason that the government scrapped the project because the citizens opposed to building the bridge for opening up the airspace and supplying sand to Singapore, oh puhleeeeaaaasssseee, save me the bullshit. If our government is to be praised for anything, it's definitely not on listening and following the will of the people. Don't make me puke.
I don't know what were the real reasons for abandoning the project, when in the first place it was Malaysia who insisted to proceed with it despite Singapore's repeated objection. Seriously, what the reasons were aren't that important anymore; my concern is just what we are gonna do with the CIQ complex that is about to be completed. The construction has been going on for years, and JB people had been putting up with the inconvenience of changing traffic routes for years as well. And i'm not even gonna think about the tax payers' money spent in building the complex and wasted on the preliminary work of the bridge, and also the tax payers' money that's gonna be wasted in compensating the contractor, whom we don't know how it was selected for the job in the first place.
The choices our government made and how they were made really baffled me sometimes. I couldn't refute a word when my Singaporean colleagues laughed at the decision and policy flip-flops made by the Malaysian government. This wasn't the first incident already. Heck, even i feel pissed at this kind of inconsistencies at the national level. To think that people always say women are fickle-minded, i guess it's not only the female species who are prone to have a change of mind, Malaysian government is too.
This post is getting awfully long, and it will get even longer if i continue to write about my thoughts on other issues. So i'm gonna hold on to my random thoughts and pen them down tomorrow.
I have some random thoughts on some issues, and i realized that these issues actually center around one core subject: how people make choices. Anyway, these are gonna be random thoughts, so i'm gonna be writing in a random manner as well.
Firstly, it's about our government abandoning the plan of building the crooked bridge. Ok, ok, i know it was called the scenic bridge, but i really couldn't see anything so scenic about it. I do, however, see lots of things that are crooked about it, so let's just stick to calling it the crooked bridge instead.
I seldom comment on political stuffs, as i'm a shallow person who's not particularly interested in politics. I believe many people from both countries are gonna have a lot to say about this issue, as in fact too much had already been said since the plan of building a new bridge to replace the Causeway first surfaced. Well, i'm one of the persons who would be affected most by the building or not building of the bridge, so i think i should have my say too.
I was born and brought up in JB and i have close relatives in Singapore. I have never regarded going into Singapore as travelling to another country. When i was still a kid, my dad drove us to Singapore every weekend, and that was more then twenty years ago when the currency values of the two countries were on par, when we didn't have to exchange the currencies to shop in Singapore because Malaysian Ringgit could be used there as it was. Really, unlike fellow Malaysians from the north, for most JB people like me, passing the border via the Causeway is something more common than going to KL.
Over the years, i saw how our currencies devalued, how more and more Malaysians going over to Singapore to work (including myself), how more and more Singaporeans coming over to JB to spend, and how the traffic flow at the Causeway increased to today's ridiculous level. Yes, we have the 2nd-Link, but the exorbitant toll fees and the distance had somehow put people off in travelling by this route. So people still choose to travel by the Causeway, and inherently resulted in traffic congestion at the JB town area as well.
Do i think we need a new bridge to replace the Causeway? Yes and no. I would be glad if there's an alternative route that is at the town area, but i don't think the Causeway should be demolished. Ok, i know about the other reasons given for demolishing the Causeway, such as clearing the water way at the Straits and for vessels to pass by, yadda yadda yadda, but remember, i'm just a shallow person who couldn't care less about all these. I'm merely concerned about the minor things on personal level, which is having smoother traffic for me to commute to work.
So do i think the proposed crooked bridge should be built? No, i don't. In fact, i had been wondering all the while about how we were gonna take care of the water pipes and railway track that run parallel to the Causeway if we were indeed gonna build a crooked bridge. Funny that the concerns of the water pipes and railway track were brought up now as one of the reasons for abandoning the project, when these should have been part of the considerations from the start.
As for the reason that the government scrapped the project because the citizens opposed to building the bridge for opening up the airspace and supplying sand to Singapore, oh puhleeeeaaaasssseee, save me the bullshit. If our government is to be praised for anything, it's definitely not on listening and following the will of the people. Don't make me puke.I don't know what were the real reasons for abandoning the project, when in the first place it was Malaysia who insisted to proceed with it despite Singapore's repeated objection. Seriously, what the reasons were aren't that important anymore; my concern is just what we are gonna do with the CIQ complex that is about to be completed. The construction has been going on for years, and JB people had been putting up with the inconvenience of changing traffic routes for years as well. And i'm not even gonna think about the tax payers' money spent in building the complex and wasted on the preliminary work of the bridge, and also the tax payers' money that's gonna be wasted in compensating the contractor, whom we don't know how it was selected for the job in the first place.
The choices our government made and how they were made really baffled me sometimes. I couldn't refute a word when my Singaporean colleagues laughed at the decision and policy flip-flops made by the Malaysian government. This wasn't the first incident already. Heck, even i feel pissed at this kind of inconsistencies at the national level. To think that people always say women are fickle-minded, i guess it's not only the female species who are prone to have a change of mind, Malaysian government is too.
This post is getting awfully long, and it will get even longer if i continue to write about my thoughts on other issues. So i'm gonna hold on to my random thoughts and pen them down tomorrow.
| Cogitated @ 8:24 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
It has to be the driver, not the passenger
I "burnt" a PC today. I opened up the CPU and attempted to connect a slave drive. As it was loading Windows, suddenly there was a burning smell and then smoke came out from the board. It was so scary.
Every morning, at the Tuas checkpoint during security inspection, i would be the one who get out from the car to entertain the customs officers and to close the car boot after the inspection. I know for most cars, the drivers would be the one who gets down while other passengers remain in the cars. 贝 and i think that it would be more efficient for the passenger to handle this task so that the cars can move faster since the driver doesn't need to unfasten/fasten the seat belt.
This has been fine all the while. We can clear the inspection rather smoothly. But then a few weeks back, a customs officer advised us that the driver MUST be the one who gets out from the car and open up the car boot. We didn't pay much attention to it, as we thought this customs officer was just being
Then this morning, a different customer officer told us the same thing. Now i begin to wonder if it's really a written rule that it must be the driver who tends to the inspection procedure. If so, what's the rationale of such rule? What's the problem with the passenger doing it instead?
The only possible reason i could think of is that they wanna ensure that no one is at the driver's seat, getting ready to break away when they uncover some illegal stuffs. This reason may be justified and there may be other reasons too, but whatever it is, we won't be doing it until we are sure that it's indeed a written regulation. I'll see if i can find any information from the Web.
Labels: singapore
| Cogitated @ 2:23 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Conversion of Malaysian driving licence in Singapore
Here's a guide for converting Malaysian driving licence to Singapore driving licence. This applies to Malaysian who is a Singapore Permanent Resident. The procedures may be similar for non-PR holders but vary on certain details.
Just in case you belong to the clueless bunch, a Singapore PR is not allowed to drive in Singapore unless you hold a valid Singapore driving licence. If you already have a valid Malaysian driving licence, then you may be able to convert your licence to a Singapore driving licence by just sitting for a theory test and furnishing some documents to the Singapore Traffic Police.
However, before you proceed with the conversion process, please ensure that you meet the requirements for driving licence conversion: your Malaysian driving licence must be obtained at least 6 months BEFORE you hold any valid re-entry pass in Singapore (e.g. PR, student visa, employment pass). If you get your Malaysian driving licence WHILE you reside in Singapore on a long-term basis, then you are NOT eligible for licence conversion. If you are unsure of your eligibility on licence conversion, please call and confirm with the Singapore Traffic Police.
Ok, now that we get that out of the way, here's what you have to do for converting your driving licence in Singapore:
Registering for the test
Firstly, register for the Basic Driving Theory Test at any authorized driving centres. You gotta fill in a form and get a queue number to wait for your turn for registration. Be sure to bring along your Singapore NRIC.
The test fee is SGD6 (to be paid via NETS). The registration and fee payment are to be done at the same counter. After that, you may proceed to the computer terminals at the centre to select a test date. Change of test date at a later stage is chargeable, so do make sure you have selected a test date that you are comfortable with.
Preparing for the test
After marking the test date on your calendar, you gotta study for the test. Yes, no matter how experienced you are as a driver, you MUST read through The Official Handbook. Be sure that you have the latest version for your study.
Don't be mistaken that you can just sit for the test unprepared and then pass it. Well, maybe you can if the lady of luck is shining on you, but in most instances you would probably be wasting your SGD6. I had heard about someone who had been driving in Malaysia for many years and yet still failed the test for 10 times.
Taking the test
On the day of the test, be sure to bring along your NRIC. Your name will be called and the invigilator will check your identification. Then you will be given a piece of paper with a computer station number.
Well, in case you haven't noticed that we are already in the information age, the test is to be done online instead of on paper. Look for the right computer station in the exam hall and get ready for the test.
Pay attention to the examiner's instructions on how to operate the computer station. When i took the test, there was a foreign worker who didn't understand English too well and pressed the wrong button that ended the test without answering any questions. Needless to say, he failed and gotta re-sit for the test (and pay for another SGD6).
You will be given 50 minutes to complete 50 multiple-choice questions. You are not allowed to answer more than 5 questions wrongly. Proceed with answering all the questions in sequence and then re-check the answers AFTER you have gone through all the questions once. You can check the answers as many times as you like. Be wary of the time as you only have an average of 1 minute per question.
When you are confident with your answers, press a button on the screen to end the test. You will be informed of your test result on the spot. Whether you pass or fail, please be considerate for others who may still be taking the test and refrain from laughing or crying out loud. You can do it outside the exam hall if you want.
If you are so smart like me and pass the test, be sure to print out the result slip at a printing terminal and keep it for the following licence conversion procedure. Of course, the result slip is also useful for you to brag about it on your blog or to your friends.
Preparing the necessary documents
Ok, here's the part where you gotta travel to two places to get your application done. After you have passed the driving test and before you apply for the licence conversion in Singapore, you gotta get an extract of driving licence from Jabatan Pengangutan Jalan (JPJ) as part of the documents for the application.
At JPJ, you gotta submit a form (to be obtained at JPJ) together with photocopies of your Singapore NRIC (or other passes such as Employment Pass), Malaysian driving licence and Malaysian IC. The fee for the extract is RM10 in cash. You should be able to get the letter within an hour or so, depending on the efficiency of the JPJ officer.
One thing to note is that when you apply for the extract, you are effectively terminating your Malaysian driving licence (even though you still have the photocard licence with you). I'm not too sure if they actually invalidate our driving licence in the database, but i do know that we will not be able to renew our driving licence anymore when the Malaysian licence is due for renewal the next time. It's not needed anyway as we can drive legally in Malaysia with the Singapore driving licence.
After obtaining the required extract from JPJ (which was sealed by the way), you may proceed back to the authorized centre in Singapore to submit your application. The licence fee is SGD50 (to be paid via NETS) and it lasts for a life-time, unlike Malaysian driving licence that needs to be renewed every few years.
For the application, make sure you have ALL the documents with you -- an application form that is filled up (the form is obtainable at the centre), a passport-size colour photo with white background, the extract from JPJ, your Malaysian driving licence, your Singapore NRIC (or other passes), the result slip, and most importantly, the passport bearing your first endorsed pass. I didn't know that they wanna see the FIRST pass so i only brought along the current passport. In the end i gotta go to the centre twice to get the application done.
To further explain on the passport requirement, let's take me as an example. I first started working in Singapore with an Employment Pass in year 2000. Then i obtained the Singapore PR in year 2001. The following year (2002), my passport expired and i renewed it to the current one i'm using, with the PR endorsement transferred to the current passport as well. And so here's the catch: they wanna look at my previous passport, the one that bears the Employment Pass in 2000. This is to serve as a proof that my Malaysian driving licence was obtained before i started working in Singapore.
For those who don't have a habit of keeping the old passports, you would have to produce other documents to prove that you were indeed not residing in Singapore when you obtained your Malaysian driving licence. Some of the valid documents may be your school transcripts or Income Tax forms.
Your Singapore driving licence
You will be given a slip while you are waiting for your photocard driving licence to be delivered to your home address (the one on the NRIC) via registered post. You can start driving in Singapore, with this slip acting in place of the photocard driving licence.
The photocard licence should be ready within a month's time. However, if you are like me who had nobody at home to sign for the registered post and the licence subsequently returned to the sender, then you gotta collect it personally at the Singapore Traffic Police HQ at Ubi Avenue 3. The Traffic Police will send you a notification letter for your collection.
To get to the Traffic Police HQ, you can either take a ride on the MRT to Paya Lebar station and then get a cab from there (with cab fare of SGD4++), or take Bus 58 from one of the stops that is on the bus route.
At the reception, tell the staff that you are there to collect your licence and you will be given a queue number. At the counter, you just have to produce the notification letter and NRIC to the staff, and viola, there's your brand new Singapore driving licence:
Just in case you belong to the clueless bunch, a Singapore PR is not allowed to drive in Singapore unless you hold a valid Singapore driving licence. If you already have a valid Malaysian driving licence, then you may be able to convert your licence to a Singapore driving licence by just sitting for a theory test and furnishing some documents to the Singapore Traffic Police.
However, before you proceed with the conversion process, please ensure that you meet the requirements for driving licence conversion: your Malaysian driving licence must be obtained at least 6 months BEFORE you hold any valid re-entry pass in Singapore (e.g. PR, student visa, employment pass). If you get your Malaysian driving licence WHILE you reside in Singapore on a long-term basis, then you are NOT eligible for licence conversion. If you are unsure of your eligibility on licence conversion, please call and confirm with the Singapore Traffic Police.
Ok, now that we get that out of the way, here's what you have to do for converting your driving licence in Singapore:
Registering for the test
Firstly, register for the Basic Driving Theory Test at any authorized driving centres. You gotta fill in a form and get a queue number to wait for your turn for registration. Be sure to bring along your Singapore NRIC.
The test fee is SGD6 (to be paid via NETS). The registration and fee payment are to be done at the same counter. After that, you may proceed to the computer terminals at the centre to select a test date. Change of test date at a later stage is chargeable, so do make sure you have selected a test date that you are comfortable with.
Preparing for the test
After marking the test date on your calendar, you gotta study for the test. Yes, no matter how experienced you are as a driver, you MUST read through The Official Handbook. Be sure that you have the latest version for your study.
Don't be mistaken that you can just sit for the test unprepared and then pass it. Well, maybe you can if the lady of luck is shining on you, but in most instances you would probably be wasting your SGD6. I had heard about someone who had been driving in Malaysia for many years and yet still failed the test for 10 times.
Taking the test
On the day of the test, be sure to bring along your NRIC. Your name will be called and the invigilator will check your identification. Then you will be given a piece of paper with a computer station number.
Well, in case you haven't noticed that we are already in the information age, the test is to be done online instead of on paper. Look for the right computer station in the exam hall and get ready for the test.
Pay attention to the examiner's instructions on how to operate the computer station. When i took the test, there was a foreign worker who didn't understand English too well and pressed the wrong button that ended the test without answering any questions. Needless to say, he failed and gotta re-sit for the test (and pay for another SGD6).
You will be given 50 minutes to complete 50 multiple-choice questions. You are not allowed to answer more than 5 questions wrongly. Proceed with answering all the questions in sequence and then re-check the answers AFTER you have gone through all the questions once. You can check the answers as many times as you like. Be wary of the time as you only have an average of 1 minute per question.
When you are confident with your answers, press a button on the screen to end the test. You will be informed of your test result on the spot. Whether you pass or fail, please be considerate for others who may still be taking the test and refrain from laughing or crying out loud. You can do it outside the exam hall if you want.
If you are so smart like me and pass the test, be sure to print out the result slip at a printing terminal and keep it for the following licence conversion procedure. Of course, the result slip is also useful for you to brag about it on your blog or to your friends.
Preparing the necessary documents
Ok, here's the part where you gotta travel to two places to get your application done. After you have passed the driving test and before you apply for the licence conversion in Singapore, you gotta get an extract of driving licence from Jabatan Pengangutan Jalan (JPJ) as part of the documents for the application.
At JPJ, you gotta submit a form (to be obtained at JPJ) together with photocopies of your Singapore NRIC (or other passes such as Employment Pass), Malaysian driving licence and Malaysian IC. The fee for the extract is RM10 in cash. You should be able to get the letter within an hour or so, depending on the efficiency of the JPJ officer.
One thing to note is that when you apply for the extract, you are effectively terminating your Malaysian driving licence (even though you still have the photocard licence with you). I'm not too sure if they actually invalidate our driving licence in the database, but i do know that we will not be able to renew our driving licence anymore when the Malaysian licence is due for renewal the next time. It's not needed anyway as we can drive legally in Malaysia with the Singapore driving licence.
After obtaining the required extract from JPJ (which was sealed by the way), you may proceed back to the authorized centre in Singapore to submit your application. The licence fee is SGD50 (to be paid via NETS) and it lasts for a life-time, unlike Malaysian driving licence that needs to be renewed every few years.
For the application, make sure you have ALL the documents with you -- an application form that is filled up (the form is obtainable at the centre), a passport-size colour photo with white background, the extract from JPJ, your Malaysian driving licence, your Singapore NRIC (or other passes), the result slip, and most importantly, the passport bearing your first endorsed pass. I didn't know that they wanna see the FIRST pass so i only brought along the current passport. In the end i gotta go to the centre twice to get the application done.
To further explain on the passport requirement, let's take me as an example. I first started working in Singapore with an Employment Pass in year 2000. Then i obtained the Singapore PR in year 2001. The following year (2002), my passport expired and i renewed it to the current one i'm using, with the PR endorsement transferred to the current passport as well. And so here's the catch: they wanna look at my previous passport, the one that bears the Employment Pass in 2000. This is to serve as a proof that my Malaysian driving licence was obtained before i started working in Singapore.
For those who don't have a habit of keeping the old passports, you would have to produce other documents to prove that you were indeed not residing in Singapore when you obtained your Malaysian driving licence. Some of the valid documents may be your school transcripts or Income Tax forms.
Your Singapore driving licence
You will be given a slip while you are waiting for your photocard driving licence to be delivered to your home address (the one on the NRIC) via registered post. You can start driving in Singapore, with this slip acting in place of the photocard driving licence.
The photocard licence should be ready within a month's time. However, if you are like me who had nobody at home to sign for the registered post and the licence subsequently returned to the sender, then you gotta collect it personally at the Singapore Traffic Police HQ at Ubi Avenue 3. The Traffic Police will send you a notification letter for your collection.
To get to the Traffic Police HQ, you can either take a ride on the MRT to Paya Lebar station and then get a cab from there (with cab fare of SGD4++), or take Bus 58 from one of the stops that is on the bus route.
At the reception, tell the staff that you are there to collect your licence and you will be given a queue number. At the counter, you just have to produce the notification letter and NRIC to the staff, and viola, there's your brand new Singapore driving licence:
| Cogitated @ 2:56 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
very informative.... i am planning to convert my license too. Have been procrastinating since I got my PR about 4 yrs ago. Beer Brat, at 16/2/06 7:01 pm
the license fee is so cheap. MY have to pay RM30 per annum (with the current rate). I know UK also no need renewal like Singapore, but UK's license is a piece of paper - easily rotten. :) , at 16/2/06 7:05 pm
Beerbrat: If you are not gonna drive in Singapore, you don't really need to do the conversion. Or are you planning to buy a Singapore registered car?
Suzette: So i guess this means our government is better in making money out of the citizens. PinPin 彬彬, at 17/2/06 4:15 am
Of course, well known for it. How frequently do you see other countries change their NRIC? Even though they didn't charge us last few years, they are still incurring costs and is actually charged back to us eventually (from our income tax), right? , at 17/2/06 6:57 pm
They didn't charge us for changing the new IC but there were other "side incomes" too. Not sure about other places but in JB, we were forced to buy a transparent folder to hold the collection slip and an IC holder when we collected the new IC. I said "forced" because they didn't ask if we want it or not and just tell us to pay as-a-matter-of-fact-ly. PinPin 彬彬, at 18/2/06 2:10 am
it's depend on ur luck.
Some office will just keep the folder when u said "no", some will insist :( , at 18/2/06 6:13 am
Thanks. Really very informative. I am still wondering what do they mean as extract from JPJ, then I search and found your blog. And I thought that PR cannot convert their license and only those who are not yet PR, like those who only have passes, can convert. Apparently I was wrong. Thanks for your effort in writing all these and it is really very useful. Unknown, at 11/3/07 2:04 am
yes, i aware of this that pr has to get singapore license but do not know that i have run up and down to get the extract.
anyway, what hinders me for the conversion if i got stopped by the police in malaysia and saw malaysian with singapore license, do you you think they will let you pass, if the police is low ranking constable ? it will be great excuse for them to say the license is not "recognize", fake, "who tell you singapore license can be used", etc and they will invite to sit 4hrs in balai unless you want to "settle". you know nowadays the police is so "uninformed". have anybody here stop by police and see malaysian with singapore license and politely "have a nice day" let you pass ? , at 2/11/07 5:16 am
Thanks for the info. I planned to buy a SG car to travel to work (I travel from JB to SG everyday). Question is: can we drive a Malaysian car in Malaysia using the converted SG license?
Thanks,
CK , at 2/11/07 2:16 pm
I heard that SG driving license is valud in Msia because the two countries have a reciprocal agreement on this. I guess that's probably why JPJ terminated the Msian license when we get the extract.
As for whether it's legal for a SG PR with SG license to drive a Msian car in Msia, i'd think it is, since Singaporeans can rent a Msia car with their licenses.
In fact, my friends and i have been driving Msian cars in JB sometimes. So far, we had not been stopped by a police before. But given Msia's track record, i wouldn't be suprised if the police officers aren't clear on the law, or take it as a chance to "earn some allowances". PinPin 彬彬, at 2/11/07 5:00 pm
Hi,
I had converted my motor license in year 2000 without asking paper from JPJ. After that I took and passed my car license in Malaysia. now I holding 02 license. Should I go JPJ to get the paper and convert the car license to singapore?? Ron@NYP, at 29/11/07 5:04 am
cheesiang, sorry that i overlooked your comment.
I'm not sure about motor bike license policy and whether in your case the same procedure still applies. You'd better check with SG LTA first, as i understand that you must already hold a driving license for at least half-a-year before staying in SG. PinPin 彬彬, at 21/12/07 2:36 pm
Hi,
It is very informative.
But I would like to ask...
I got my Malaysia driving license about 3-4 mths ago before I studied in Singapore. Soon after my graduation, I got PR status.
So the question is am I eligible for just taking a basic theory test and converting the license after that? They will base on my PR endorsement on my passport (Which shows that I got my license more than 6 mths before I was granted PR status. I also didnt reside in Singapore while studying and I went back to JB eveyday instead)?
Or I couldnt convert my license due to the fact that I got my license less than six mths before I got my student pass? , at 13/1/08 3:26 am
Hi PinPin,
Thanks for sharing this invaluable informations with us!
I am a PR since Sep 1999. I obtained my 'P-Plate' M'sian driving liscence on 1997, when I was studying in Poly. I guess I am not valid for the conversion...However, I found a condition:
"A Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident of Singapore who applies to convert a foreign driving licence to a Singapore driving licence, has to show documentary proof from his passport(s) and other official documents (eg Income Tax documents, Result Transcripts of course of study etc), indicating that he has resided in the foreign country for at least SIX MONTHS CONTINUOUSLY, either preceding the first issue of the foreign driving licence or from the 1st day of issuance of the foreign driving licence."
~phew!...I went to KL for 3 years....Just wondering if during these period, coming back to Singapore a few times will void my 'validity' for conversion? =P , at 9/2/08 2:23 am
neehelp and anonymous, i'm afraid i do not have answers to your questions. It's best to call up LTA/Traffic Police of Singapore to enquire, as it may differ from case to case. PinPin 彬彬, at 28/2/08 4:15 am
Hi XiaoPinPin ,
your information is very helpful !! Goodjob !
I am going to convert my Malaysia driving licence to SG driving licence and will go through the same processes as u did .
My main concern is same as the massage left by anonymous on 2/11/07 . The Malaysia police might 'kacau' us to see us carrying a converted SG licence while driving a Malaysia vehicle .
I am curious if u are working at traffic police station ? lol . Very nice of u ! Thank you , at 4/3/08 5:05 pm
hi there,
being a beneficary of this informative post i'd like to highlight a few things.
1. The JPJ extract can only be obtained either at JB or Muar. None of the other JPJ offices entertain this conversion process.
2. Upon issuing the extract JPJ temporarily deactivates the Malaysian Driving license for 2 months. In case your conversion at Singapore fails you can always reactivate it.
Though i got my extract i'm yet to finish off the process in singapore.will be doing it tomorrow.
Ms.Pin thank you once again. ajay, at 17/3/08 6:33 pm
I wish I knew about all these before converting my license 4 years back. I wasn't allowed to renew my Msia license, and I kelam kabut came back to cancel my Sg's and went back to renew again. :-( I thought to myself, I have more opp to drive in Msia than in Sg, so, I chose Msia's!
Now, situation seems like changed. I want to convert my license (again) to Sg and not looking back. Can anyone tell me if I can convert again? Colleen, at 28/4/08 3:22 pm
Hi..
Thanks for all the very helpful information on conversion of Malaysian license to Singapore license. I'm neither staying in Singapore nor working in Singpore. I'm living and working in Malaysia. Does anyone know if I can convert my Malaysian license to a Singaporean license? It's for future use. Thanks. , at 18/7/08 5:03 am
hi,
anyone know of any official website in malaysia that stated that singapore license can be used to drive malaysia car ?
so far, i only heard JPJ official said it is allowed, but only verbally... , at 18/7/08 5:43 pm
yeah , lets us throw a "thank you" party for miss pin pin , hehehe , at 7/8/08 1:40 pm
sori,i juz want make enquiry to u.
if i get PR since 2003~ but i get my driving license at 2004, whether i can convert my license to sg license or not?
i study poly at sg from 2006 till now. before that, i study at m'sia.
i juz want to know izzit i sm eligible to convert my license. , at 18/10/08 3:32 pm
Hmm, despite this post was written years ago, i still get comments every now and then.
Frankly, i do not have answers to most questions. The best is always check with the authority before proceed with any conversion process.
To the last anonymous, i'd think you are not eligible to convert the license, because you get the Msia license AFTER you have become a SG PR. Do call LTA and ask for confirmation though, as i'm not sure if there are any exceptions. PinPin 彬彬, at 18/10/08 5:46 pm
hi all,
for singapore international license, you are only allowed to drive malaysian rented cars or white plates registered car(which need to register with LDKP or JPJ).
I believe white plates needs to pay a some of money.
for personnel car with malaysian registered number plates, you are NOT allowed to drive with a Singapore International Driving License.
Thanks.
mer_vyn666@yahoo.com , at 26/11/08 4:25 am
Dear all,
I was caught by traffic police recenlty in Kedah. They issue summon to me. The reason is i do not have license although i presented my Malaysia converted Singapore license. I made arguement with them on the spot that it is legal to drive Malaysia plate cars with Singapore license. But they said they do not know about this law. They issued the summon and ask me to appeal at police station. Is anyone can tell me that where can i find offcial website showing that Singapore license can drive Malaysia plate cars? Up to moment, i only hear verbally from JPJ officer (JB). , at 3/2/09 2:07 am
Dear Anonymous on 2/2/09,
I am from Kedah. I am about to conert my M'sia driving licence. Can I proceed to convert after hearing your case?
Is there any new updates on converting M'sia driving licence apart from above written by PinPin in 2006. , at 6/2/09 4:05 pm
The law still unchanged. I've called Johor Bharu JPJ officer, he said the Singapore Driving License is valid in Malaysia. It is an offence of abtaining two driving license. Hence, your Malaysia Driving License will be cancelled upon converted to Singapore License.
He commented every state of JPJ Director aware of Singapore driving license is valid in Malaysia (can drive Msia car). But he is not too sure about Police Traffic is aware or not. , at 7/2/09 3:28 am
is it possible for us to get an official written confirmation on this issue from the authorities? Verbal account is useless as we all know. , at 28/3/09 7:18 pm
hi there. although you wrote this article long time ago, it's still quite a good read now for ppl who'll be going thru the same experience.
i noticed u didn't mention anything about translations. it wasn't necessary for you to have the extract or malaysian driving license translated right?
regarding some recent comments whether the converted license replaces msia license, it seems to be inconclusive. my logic thinking is that it should replace, else why would JPJ want to take back our msian license right?
thanks again! david, at 22/9/09 2:23 pm
I just converted my licence n pls be aware to wear long pant whne go to jpj in jb. I was nearly not allowed to go in wif my Bermuda. Lady wear more conservative . No singlet n revealing cloths , at 11/3/10 4:58 pm
hh:
1) can i drive a malaysia car in sg after the coversion?
2) can i drive a malaysia car in malaysia after the conversion? , at 25/7/10 10:09 pm
This post is interesting! I found an article in JPJ website that might interests everyone here.
There is a list of countries where its valid driving license (still had not expire) is recognized in Malaysia and therefore can drive a Malaysia registered car (not a rented Malaysia car). I do NOT see Singapore in that list in the article updated on Mar 2011. Kevin, at 14/9/11 10:29 pm
i have singapore driving license converted from malaysia driving license i obtained almost 3 years ago and about to expire next year. im no longer working in singapore, now my problem is how can i renew my license because need a work permit to do that or at least re-convert my license back to malaysian driving license. any helps much appreciated. maxwell, at 24/9/11 1:40 pm
Hey guys - whoever had asked a question in the comment - sorry that i do not know the answers to your questions. I am not expert on this, nor do i work for SG government. I am only a SG PR like you who did the driving licence conversion years ago (and lost it recently with my wallet, but had it replaced and mailed to me in less than a month).
I think the best is for you to check out the website of Singapore Traffic Police:
http://driving-in-singapore.spf.gov.sg/services/driving_in_singapore/information_drivinglicence.htm
Or call them up to find out the details. PinPin 彬彬, at 25/9/11 10:31 pm
Hi all..
Just to share updates. i went back hometown in NS and take the "Conversion letter". The counter girl tell me that my MY license will be blacklisted if i convert. I tell the girl, need to cari makan, so what to do..
Need to fill up the conversion form, 1 photostat ic , driving license (with Picture) and another 1 with the validity length. After wait for 10- 15 minutes, the letter was done. The counter girl also tell me if gagal, must give back the letter so that i can revoke the blacklist..or if i wants to convert back..Paid RM10 for the letter..
SG procedure will be the same as listed in the major websites. Good Luck to all Woo, at 24/2/12 1:42 am
Hi all, im going to convert my license soon as well, and this post is really useful to me.
to clarify the "Can Malaysian Holding SG Driving license drive in Malaysia" doubt, i found this useful document from JPJ.
Link: http://portal.jpj.gov.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=47&Itemid=36
(Buku KPK 17.4MB)
>click Agree and download it.
>Read the statement from JPJ at Page 112.
>>"Semasa memiliki lesen memandu Singapura, pemegang
lesen berkenaan boleh memandu kenderaan yang didaftar
di negara ini atau didaftarkan di Singapura di Malaysia.
BAHAGIAN 2
KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN MEMANDU DAN
HUKUMAN-HUKUMANNYA DI BAWAH AKTA
PENGANGKUTAN JALAN 1987
DAN
KAEDAH-KAEDAH DI BAWAHNYA
(RTR1959)
1. PENDAHULUAN
Bahagian ini mengandungi jenis-jenis kesalahan memandu
dan hukuman-hukuman yang dikenakan keatas penggunapengguna
jalan raya yang didapati melanggar peraturanperaturan
di bawah Akta Pengangkutan Jalan 1987 dan
Kaedah-kaedah di bawahnya (Road Transport Rules 1959).
Jenis-jenis kesalahan dan hukuman adalah seperti berikut:
AKTA PENGANGKUTAN JALAN 1987
(AKTA 333) DAN KAEDAH-KAEDAH
LALULINTAS JALAN 1959
112" , at 11/3/12 6:30 am
I have called JPJ and ask them “Malaysian hold the Singapore license can drive Malaysia’s register car in Malaysia?”
The answer is “Yes”, when we drive Malaysia’s register car in Malaysia we need bring the Singapore license and together SPR ID, S pass, EP or Work Permit. , at 12/3/12 10:13 pm
I have my convertion done in year 2003 and I managed to extent my Malaysia driving license in Kota Kinabalu Jpj from 2006/2011 . now my Malaysia license had expired, I was wondering why I can renew my license in 2006? dmtling, at 27/4/12 12:29 pm
Very good sharing. Thanks ya ^_^ , at 8/6/12 2:18 pm
Hi, need help on the form
"At JPJ, you gotta submit a form (to be obtained at JPJ) together with photocopies of your Singapore NRIC (or other passes such as Employment Pass), Malaysian driving licence and Malaysian IC."
Can I know if this is the form in the following link - form JPJL1??
http://portal.jpj.gov.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=13&Itemid=36&lang=ms
Thanks... β ª ε ß y ∂lγ, at 16/6/12 5:43 pm
Thanks for the info! Just got the temporary slip today!!! Chiem, at 21/6/12 11:06 pm
Hi there.. do you know if we could "reactivate" our Msia license after our PR expires?
I was going to apply for international driver license and the Sg site states that S'porean/PR who have given up their citizenship are not allowed to apply for international driver license. So I am stuck now and not sure how to proceed to get my international driver license.... , at 7/8/12 5:51 am
Hi I has passed my basic theory test and had converted to a Singapore Citizenship.
Can I still get the letter from JPJ as I had surrender my Blue IC to Embassy of Malaysia in Singapore?
June Unknown, at 13/8/12 8:27 pm
*Nice and useful info here, i do have Malaysia car & bike driving license. My concern are; i am in the mid of taking Malaysia B-full motorcycle license. Thus, now i panning to convert my license to a Singapore driving license and should i precede my Malaysia B-full lesson as i have paid RM500.00? , at 10/2/13 4:12 pm
Questions:
1. Will both my Malaysia car and bike license will be converted to Singapore license once i pass my basic theory test?
2. After i converted my Malaysia license to Singapore license, can i convert it back to Malaysia license when im not working in Singapore later?
Thank you :) , at 10/2/13 4:34 pm
Background
-I am a SPR malaysian, converted my license in 2011
-I am buying my first (2nd hand) car in MY, the transfer of name is to be done tomorrow
-i realized i am blacklisted when trying to renew my license last week
Questions
1. can I registered a MY car while kena blacklisted, BUT having a Sg license
2. can I drive this/other MY car using my Sg license
3. If I were to renounce my SPR, I have to convert back to MY before the cancellation of the Sg license kinici, at 14/2/13 4:20 am
-I have logged my comment before. I have called JPJ and ask them “Malaysian hold the Singapore license can drive Malaysia’s register car in Malaysia?”
-The answer is “Yes”, when we drive Malaysia’s register car in Malaysia we need bring the Singapore license and together SPR ID, S pass, EP or Work Permit.
-You can convert back from SG license to MY license. Onece you renounce SPR. , at 30/8/13 2:25 pm
-I have logged my comment before. I have called JPJ and ask them “Malaysian hold the Singapore license can drive Malaysia’s register car in Malaysia?”
-The answer is “Yes”, when we drive Malaysia’s register car in Malaysia we need bring the Singapore license and together SPR ID, S pass, EP or Work Permit.
-You can convert back from SG license to MY license. Onece you renounce SPR. , at 30/8/13 2:33 pm
Singapore driving license can be used in Malaysia --> http://portal.jpj.gov.my/en/pengiktirafan-lesen-memandu-negara-asing , at 5/4/14 6:46 pm
Hi everyone, need help here.
I've my Extract of Driving License Records but end-up rejected by SSDC due to no JPJ chop & signature. I went back to the JPJ Penang but they refuse to do it.
Can I just re-extract again from other JPJ? , at 20/8/14 8:50 pm
You cannot re-issue. From the moment you issued the extract, your license has been 'blacklisted' temporarily. I have the same problem. I went to JPJ in Johor with my current JPJ extract and just asked them to chop. Remember to bring your receipt along. p.s: JPJ Penang don't have the chop so don't bother going back Penang. It's weird i know. Only Johor has the chop. Unknown, at 16/12/14 1:31 am
Hi, do you have any sample of the extract of driving licence records from traffic Police Department Singapore can reference? TQ , at 16/1/25 5:59 pm
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
The termination of the use of Restricted Passports
The Malaysian government had announced that the use of Restricted Passports will be terminated on 31-December-2006, and then the Singapore government decided that they would only allow it up to 30-June-2006. Well, of course the Singapore government has a valid reason of doing so -- the travel documents must have at least 6 months of validity in order to enter Singapore. Then by backward calculation, our Restricted Passport is considered as a valid document only till June.
This basically means it doesn't really matter that Malaysian government gave the citizens one full year to get our International Passports ready. The Restricted Passport is only used to travel into Singapore, so if the government of the receiving country only gives us up till June, then we actually only have less than five months to get the new passports done.
The strange thing is that my Restricted Passport in gonna expire in May this year, but i'm still using it to enter Singapore everyday. So what happened to the 6-month rule?
Anyway, i have already gotten my International Passport endorsed with the PR Re-Entry Permit stamp and i carry it with me everyday (just in case any Customs Officers notice the expiry date). I'm just buying time to use up the pages in my Restricted Passport so as to save on the expensive International Passport. Hopefully i can fully utilized it right till May.
This basically means it doesn't really matter that Malaysian government gave the citizens one full year to get our International Passports ready. The Restricted Passport is only used to travel into Singapore, so if the government of the receiving country only gives us up till June, then we actually only have less than five months to get the new passports done.
The strange thing is that my Restricted Passport in gonna expire in May this year, but i'm still using it to enter Singapore everyday. So what happened to the 6-month rule?
Anyway, i have already gotten my International Passport endorsed with the PR Re-Entry Permit stamp and i carry it with me everyday (just in case any Customs Officers notice the expiry date). I'm just buying time to use up the pages in my Restricted Passport so as to save on the expensive International Passport. Hopefully i can fully utilized it right till May.
| Cogitated @ 2:05 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Let me tell you this, base on my personnal experience. S'pore govt is trying to be diff.! Base on TS's father for restricted passport you just need 2 weeks instead of 6 months before expiry. In November 2005, some 17 days before my passport expired the officer stop me from entering at the custom and got an officer arm with gun to excort me to their senior's room and question me why did I use a passport with only 17 days before expired he said I should have 6 months. I argue that I remember it was 2 weeks' grace and I entered the country yesterday without problem! He brushed me off and said, yesterday is yesterday! , at 15/2/06 3:30 am
Huh, then i gotta be careful too. If some smartass officers decided to play it tough, like the one you encountered, then i may also have the same fate of being escorted by an armed officer! :( PinPin 彬彬, at 15/2/06 2:10 pm
