The relentless rising cost of living in Singapore

[slutester]

Originally Posted by Snell

Where got people will be happy in increase fares ? Must be fake news .

Why not ? If you are paid well to say you are happy ....

[CannyEricson]

Originally Posted by slutester

Why not ? If you are paid well to say you are happy ....

Hahaha worth considering

[SiaSuay]

Originally Posted by lurpsexx

Guess who's on the PTC? MOSTLY from govt bodies, grassroots orgn, n cos with link to govt.. u say leh? Who'll bite the hand that appointed them to PTC? The MP wayang scold PTC for the fare decease, is just smoke screen to give some needed credibility to the work of the PTC, who r nothing but rubber stamping body of fare increases for the papzi..

https://www.ptc.gov.sg/about/council-members

That is why do you trust what those people on the PTC says ?

[kuasimi]

https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...-lim-swee-say/



Grassroots leaders’ good intentions the root cause of financial lapses: Lim Swee Say

Published on 2015-08-18 by Andrew Loh







Auditor General's Report


Grassroots leaders involved in financial irregularities were only trying to help, said the deputy chairman of the People’s Association (PA), Lim Swee Say, in Parliament on Monday.

“We can fault (grassroots volunteers) for their non-compliance of financial procedures, but please do not doubt them in their passion and commitment in always doing their best for the community,” Mr Lim said.

He was responding to questions from Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP), Png Eng Huat, and Non-constituency MP, Lina Chiam, on the findings by the Auditor General in its report which was released in July.

The AGO had found numerous incidents of non-compliance with financial rules among the ministries and statutory boards it audited.

Among the most notable were those involving Nparks, which had awarded contracts valued at more than S$20 million without calling for open tenders; and the PA, where the AGO had conducted test-checks on about 115 grassroots organisations (GROs) under the PA umbrella.






TOC, July 2015


Out of the GROs test-checked by the AGO, 30 per cent were found to have financial or accounting irregularities.

Nonetheless, Mr Lim said, “I can say with confidence there is no irregularity at the system level.”

Instead, he said the root cause of these lapses were the “good intentions” of the grassroots leaders.

Mr Lim explained this by raising various examples of how grassroots leaders were “actually doing their best to serve the interests of the residents and meet the urgent needs of the community.”

Mr Lim, who is also the Minister of Manpower, related how grassroots leaders had gone “all around Singapore” to look for face masks when the haze hit the island in 2013.

This was after a community hospital had appealed to the GROs for air purifiers for patients who were being housed in the hospital’s non-airconditioned wards.

When they found a “small store which had limited stock”, the grassroots leaders decided to purchase the masks without first calling for three tenders, which is what is required by the rules.

“Madam Speaker, is this a case of non-compliance of financial procedures and rules? The answer is yes,” Mr Lim said. “Is this a case of grassroots leaders and volunteers compromising the interests of the community? The answer is certainly no.”





As for the chairman of the Admiralty Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) who was found to have been involved in the award of a contract worth $32,000 to a company in which he was also a senior management executive, and also for writing and approving reimbursements cheques to himself worth $114,000, Mr Lim said, without identifying the chairman, Mr Tonic Oh:

“Although there was no evidence of dishonesty, the CCC chairman has taken personal responsibility for these lapses and resigned from his position.”

Mr Lim disclosed that the improprieties involving Mr Oh included money for a funeral wake which a needy family required immediately.

“There was no supporting documents for the claim but the amount given was witnessed by a few volunteers,” the Straits Times reported Mr Lim as having told the House.

Two other claims had receipts to justify the reimbursement, but out of another four claims by Mr Oh, only one had supporting documents.

Also, 13 tenancy contracts amounting to $3.67 million were awarded by the GROs without competition.

Despite their “good intentions”, Mr Lim said, this went against financial rules, which required them to obtain approvals, which the GROs involved did not.

Turning to the AGO report itself, Mr Lim said the last time the PA received an “adverse opinion” rating from its auditors was in 2012.

Previously, the PA’s own auditors had given it “adverse opinion” for at least 10 years prior to 2012, before the GROs’ accounts were included in the PA’s financial statements.

Since consolidation of the accounts of all the 1,800 GROs under the PA in 2013, the PA’s financial statements have received “clean opinions” in FY 2013 and FY2014, Mr Lim said.

He said, however, that the PA “cannot completely eradicate human error when it comes to financial governance.”






Mr Lim added that since the AGO report, the PA has set up a “Grassroots Finance Review Committee” to review its financial and procurement rules for grassroots organisations.

Mr Lim noted that the committee – made up of three grassroots leaders from the PA – “consists of members with standing and expertise.”

However, Mrs Chiam, who filed an Adjournment Motion on the AGO report, said an independent committee should be appointed to look into the matter instead.

She said “the litany of financial lapses committed by the [PA]” has raised many issues, among them were:


First, that it has been more than a decade since PA’s Grassroots Organisations (“GROs”) have been audited. This was because the PA has not produced the financial statements of the GROs for audit, and has only done so in the financial year 2013/2014.

She calls for these financial statements to be disclosed, and for them to be audited.

Second, the pervasiveness of such poor financial practices across the 1,800 GROs since the AGO had only test-checked a mere 6.5% of the GROs.

Third, that an independent review committee should be established instead of the Grassroots Finance Review Committee, chaired by three grassroots leaders, that was set up in the aftermath of the AGO report.

The chairman of the PA, Lee Hsien Loong, did not speak on the issue in Parliament on Monday.

[kuasimi]

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/duo-ang-mo...071008845.html


Duo in Ang Mo Kio Town Council corruption case plead not guilty: reports
Yahoo News Singapore

Staff Writer, Singapore
Editorial Team
Yahoo News Singapore11 April 2018




Wong Chee Meng, the former general manager of Ang Mo Kio Town Council. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore / Suhaile MD)



Two men involved in the high-profile Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) corruption case pleaded not guilty on Wednesday (11 April).

According to media reports, former AMKTC general manager Wong Chee Meng, 58, and Chia Sin Lan, 62, were not hit with any fresh charges and a pre-trial conference has been set for 3 May.

Wong, who was charged in March on 55 counts of accepting bribes, is alleged to have received $107,000 in bribes from two individuals: Chia, the director and shareholder of 19-ANC Enterprise Pte Ltd (19-ANC) and 19-NS2 Enterprise Pte Ltd (19-NS2); and Yip Fong Yin, project director of 19-ANC and director and shareholder of 19-NS2.

The sum – which included meals, entertainment, overseas remittances, a mobile phone line and employment for Wong’s daughter-in-law – was supposedly an inducement to advance the business interests of the two companies with AMKTC.

Chia faces 54 charges of offering bribes to Wong, along with one charge of abetment by engaging in a conspiracy with Yip to corruptly give Wong a $13,500 discount on the purchase price of a car. Both men are currently out on bail of $100,000 each.

In December 2016, it was reported that Wong was being probed by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). Wong, who works for CPG Facilities Management, the managing agent of AMKTC, was asked to go on leave following a complaint filed against him in September 2016. He was removed from his positions at the town council in November that year.

[Shanmoogan]

First time they plead not guilty . Looks like this case will be getting interesting.

[stardawn]

3 ministers to step down ? How come Lau Goh still around ?

[SiaSuay]

I also wonder why Lau Goh is still around . Its time he should step down and retire.

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by SiaSuay

I also wonder why Lau Goh is still around . Its time he should step down and retire.

Looks like he may work till he drop dead!

[BlueDemon]

Lau Goh should be stepping down liao. Can see his frustration recently over few events.

Had a chance to see Fengshan MP in person wearing a polo T. Her boobs are amazing. Too bad I dunn stay there...otherwise every week sure attend the "Meet the People" session

[shammboogrill]

Some people always talk about the leadership renewal but some people still around.

[sharklaserscom]

Originally Posted by shammboogrill

Some people always talk about the leadership renewal but some people still around.

E.g. clones like you

[Jt1990tj]

Just wanna ask for some opinions:

With the cost of living increasing like nobody’s business:
1. How much do you think one should realistically earn by 30?
2. How much assets should you accumulate by 30? (Cash+CPF+other assets)
3. What’s your first major purchase? House or car?

[sharklaserscom]

Originally Posted by Jt1990tj

Just wanna ask for some opinions:

With the cost of living increasing like nobody’s business:
1. How much do you think one should realistically earn by 30?
2. How much assets should you accumulate by 30? (Cash+CPF+other assets)
3. What’s your first major purchase? House or car?

Jiuhu kia got six figure for bitcoin purchase.
what do you think?

[Upsolala]

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

Looks like he may work till he drop dead!

May he drop dead soon