Chan Chun Sing: Singapore’s bilateral ties with China and with the United States are not a zero-sum game

Singapore’s bilateral ties with China and with the United States are not a zero-sum game, Mr Chan Chun Sing said.

The country considers the interests on both sides, the common ground to work out a mutually beneficial relationship, and how to manage any differences.

Singapore never overplays its part, is aware of its strengths and weaknesses, and how it may add value to the relationships, he added.

For instance, Singapore has been supporting China’s evolving development priorities. There was the building of an industrial park in Suzhou, and then an eco-city in Tianjin, and now, Singapore is working with Chongqing to improve connectivity in the areas of finance, aviation, transport and logistics, and info-communication technology.

Likewise, Singapore opened up Changi Naval Base to the United States because it believes that the continued presence of the US in the region, and its engagement with the region, would provide a stable platform for the Asia-Pacific region to grow together.

“It is not a zero-sum game and it’s not about making a choice as to whether we will choose one or the other,” Mr Chan said.

“Our real question is to constantly ask ourselves, as the US and the Chinese political systems and personalities evolve, how can we in Singapore constantly value-add to the relationship so that we maintain our relevance.”

While Singapore has been called an “interlocutor” between China and the US, Mr Chan did not agree that it is an appropriate term to describe its role. “We value-add to the relationship bilaterally, and where we can, we value-add to the relationship multilaterally,” he said.

“Over time, beyond personalities, the institutions in China and US, they do appreciate Singapore for the role that we play in the region, that we are an honest broker, that we are principled... (and) are not fair-weathered friends. We say what we mean and we mean what we say. That’s how a small country like us navigate the global shifts in the geo-political space,” he added.

Mr Chan was responding to a question asked at a lunch forum organised by the Foreign Correspondents Association (Singapore), about Singapore’s decision if the country was forced to choose between the two superpowers.

Why hasn't the Singapore government found a way to solve the MRT issue by now? Can't they tell that people are frustrated?

By Mun-Heng Tsoi

The MRT issue is a complex one - and complex issues are inherently difficult to solve. The second question is easier to answer. Of course they can tell - it was one of the causes of the election results in 2011 and the post of Transport Minister has proven to be a truly hot seat. So one could surmise that the “Singapore government” is desperately trying to resolve the MRT issue before they get another setback at the next election.

But why is it so complex?

To begin with , there are multiple systems involved: trains, power supply, tracks, weather/climate, control and signalling systems, even platform doors.

A look at the problems that have cropped up in recent years have shown up problems in all these diverse systems. A simple thing like a faulty switch on a platform door can hold up the trains (I was caught in that - gave up waiting).

Some are difficult to even troubleshoot - like the malfunctioning train that was sending out spurious signals and took a team of expert engineers to tease out the fact that problems happened when this particular train was passing by.

The more systems there are, the more ways in which they interact, the more ways in which seemingly small failures can affect the larger system.

The current signalling upgrade is causing a lot of problems - partly because of the complexity of the system. There is no way to detect some of the design flaws until you run it on full operating load. Then you have a failure. And upset a lot of people.

One factor which few really understand is the environment.

Singapore is a hot and wet country - this causes problems like corrosion, and the ingress of water in the tunnels. Most of the systems in use were designed and used in cooler and drier climates - our climate is an additional stress on the system.

Hence we had that power trip caused by water seeping into electrical systems, and the recent flooding incident.

Another factor is the fact that this is a live system where maintenance and upgrading work is restricted to a few hours a night. Upgrading old systems take months and years because of this.

Yet there are examples of complex systems that work reliably.

The difference is people. Or more specifically, their knowledge, skills and attitudes. At the centre of this are the engineers and technicians who keep the hardware running. And here is where the answer lies.

We allowed the MRT system to be run on economic (or profit making) considerations, assuming that somehow the market will result in “efficient allocation of resources”. We know what happened. Engineering and maintenance was sacrificed to maintain profitability. Knowledge and skills were allowed to leak out. Over time, attitudes deteriorated. That fatal accident involving irregular release of people to work on a live track is a symptom of an attitude problem.

Put the right people in place, and then they can work on those engineering problems and put them right. But it takes time. The people who left the system won’t come back. The new ones have little knowledge and experience.

It will take time to rebuild the engineering and maintenance expertise they had 30 years ago. It takes time to change a culture which has been lost. I think it will take at least 10 years.

There’s also a system level problem. The original NS/EW MRT system is not a true city subway or metro system for getting around town. It is actually a commuter or regional train system to bring in the masses from the suburbs into the city (The NE line is also a regional line serving a separate region). The bus system was modified to reduce duplication with the MRT system. That means putting all the eggs in one basket.

It worked well when it was still reliable, and became a victim its own success. The more people relied on the MRT, the bigger the problem a breakdown causes.

Masses of people depend on the MRT to get to work or school, and a breakdown means alternatives have to be found for thousands and tens of thousands of people at short notice. This is not a trivial problem.

The first challenge is to figure out what happened, and then provide an estimate of how long it takes to fix the problem, and then inform everyone, and the activate a fleet of buses.

Inevitably, the initial diagnosis is wrong, the estimate is over-optimistic, the message going out is garbled or missed etc. One can only hope they get better at this, but it will always be a major challenge because so many people are dependent on the system not failing.

The additional of the Circle line and Downtown line is finally helping to provide interconnections that make it possible to divert around a breakdown. But the basic design problem is still there - until the need for masses of people to head into the city for work at the same time is alleviated by the creation of new CBDs, telecommuting etc.

Disclaimer: I am not a railway engineer. I don’t work for SMRT, SBST or LTA. I do know some people in these organisations, and I know they are trying very hard. My background is in aircraft engineering, maintenance and operations and so I can appreciate the complexity of the issues.

FROM QUORA

[The writer is the VP of Singapore Institute of Technology. ]

Statement in full by Desmond Kuek at press conference on tunnel flooding

Statement in full by Desmond Kuek:

On behalf of all of us in SMRT, I apologise to members of the public who were affected by last weekend’s disruption. We are all deeply pained by what happened.

Many have asked what SMRT has done since the Dec 2011 incidents. Please allow me to address these questions upfront. Since 2012, SMRT has gone into overdrive to address maintenance issues arising from age-related serviceability issues.

We beefed up and renewed the Trains team. Staff strength increased from 3,500 to 5,300 today, with nearly triple the number of Engineers to nearly 500 now. Our SMRT Institute was transformed to better meet the professional and vocational training requirements of the workforce that had been significantly expanded to meet the intensified demands. We also tied everyone’s performance incentives to a basket of measures, of which safety and reliability was given the greatest weight.

We subjected the company to an independent review for asset management through international ISO 55001 certification and have achieved level 3 (out of a possible 4) to date. This is a serious undertaking in our concerted effort to strengthen process discipline.

We set up a Technology Management Office in 2014 to develop condition monitoring tools for critical systems, and this year started a Future Systems Office to harness digital technology and data analytics for predictive maintenance so that rail excellence can be achieved and, more importantly, sustained in an affordable way into the future.

Structurally, since 2013, we have deepened the domain expertise in each functional component – rolling stock, track permanent way, signaling, power systems – and also looked into their system integration across maintenance, engineering, projects and planning. These were deemed to be of high priority for rail reliability, and multiple projects were launched to renew or replace each of them. Within the 3-5 hours of engineering time each night, we prioritized our work so that we could meet the most pressing maintenance needs, yet allowing renewal projects to progress at best speed, and for commuter service to proceed uninterrupted the next day at dawn.

Last year, with the more pressing reliability issues in hand, we turned our focus to address the other building infrastructure which were also aging. Many of these were under different supervisory heads. So earlier this year, we decided to place them under one division for better integration and supervision. These include platform screen doors, lifts, escalators, electrical and mechanical, fire protection and environmental control systems that have also aged and needed close attention. Their replacement also required funding support and track access priority, and we took the decision in September this year to proceed as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, it was not soon enough to prevent what happened last weekend.

There has been criticism about SMRT’s work culture. Indeed, many of our major disruptions in the past have been attributed, in some part, or all, to human error or failure. We regret that this is so.

Much progress has been made with the inculcation of a positive work culture, but there remain some deep-seated cultural issues within the company that has needed more time than anticipated to root out. It would be wrong to paint everyone in SMRT with the same brush – 9 in 10 of our people are incredibly committed, professional and commuter focused. They are Singaporeans too, with family members and friends who commute, and work hard under challenging conditions to deliver the best possible public transport service for all our commuters. We have a strong team and good people, and I deeply appreciate their steadfast support and leadership.

We are determined to get there and encouraged by the progress already made. But for the times that we have not been able to catch the falling balls in time, we are sorry for the inconvenience it has caused you, and resolve to learn the lessons and do better.

Over the past five years, we have made great progress but also some mistakes. Regardless whether our issues are viewed by others as inherited, structural or cultural, we make no excuses. I take full responsibility for all that has happened under my watch as the overall Group’s chief executive.

I hope you will continue to support the team in SMRT as we continue with our best foot forward toward rail excellence – to move people and enhance the lives of all our commuters.

Lee Kuan Yew: What we lack in numbers, we make up for in quality.

T

uesday, 18th July 1967, the day when 114 officer cadets, the first graduates of SAFTI were commissioned into our armed forces, was also the day when the British Government announced in London that by the middle-70s they will want to leave their bases in Singapore and Malaysia.

In his speech at the Commissioning Ceremony, our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said:

"There are five years to go before 1973, the earliest of the middle-70s, or ten years to go before 1977, the latest part of the middle-70s. The British Government says that the precise time will depend upon the circumstances.

In this time, we have to build all the sinews we can so that we will not just be passengers in any defence alliance.

The more self-reliant and effective we become, the more desirable and reliable a partner we make in any defence arrangement.

What we lack in numbers, we will make up for in quality: in the standards of discipline, training, dedication and leadership.

There is no reason why we should not, by the middle-70s, achieve an equally secure arrangement against external aggression.

For we can safely assume that we need to make provision against the possibility of only a middling, not a big, power attack."

Honesty to recognise that our multiracialism is not yet perfect: Lee Hsien Loong

Excerpt of PM Lee's speech on the PA Kopi Talk recently. 

Over the last 52 years, we made significant progress in becoming one people – regardless of race, language or religion. We take pride in our country, and in our identity. We have worked together, built together, mourned together, and celebrated together as one people.

But you must remember that what we have here is not something natural, nor something which will stay there by itself.

It is the result of very hard work, a lot of toil and sweat, and the gradual education and bringing together of people.

It was also because of the gradual inculcation of shared values and attitudes that we came to have the confidence, trust and mutual respect to make us one people.

We brought people together and consciously created common spaces and opportunities.

We used English as our common working language, while ensuring a place for our mother tongues.

We mixed all races together in HDB estates, so that there are no enclaves or ghettos in Singapore.

In schools, we recite the Pledge every day. We created GRCs so that in Parliament we will always minorities represented. We came down hard on extremists – regardless of whether they were Chinese chauvinists or Malay, Indian or Hindu extremists – because they have to understand that this is what Singapore is, and this is how Singapore will act when racial chauvinists try to stir up sentiments against others.

Sometimes we think we have arrived, and that we can do away with these provisions and rules which feel like such a burden.

But in fact, it is the other way around.

It is precisely because we have these provisions and rules, that we have achieved racial and religious harmony.

We have not yet arrived at an ideal state of accepting people of a different race. Yes, we have made progress, but it is work in progress.

In climbing towards that ideal state, we need guide-ropes and guard-rails to help us get there and to prevent us from falling off along the way. The reserved election for the President is one such guard-rail.

We have to live it out daily, in little ways and big. You have a neighbour of a different race, and you can celebrate each other’s festivals. Share pineapple tarts, kueh dadar and murukku – many reasons to break your diabetes vows!

But it is also much more than that. It is about having colleagues and true friends from different races whom we laugh and cry with.

It is about being able to accommodate one another and to work through our differences.

It is about having the honesty to recognise that our multiracialism is not yet perfect, but having the courage and determination to take pragmatic steps to get there, step by step.

That is how we will continue to expand our common space, strengthen trust, and become one people, one nation, one Singapore.

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/newsroom/pm-lee-hsien-loong-pa-kopitalk-ci-yuan-cc

Singapore's racial and religious harmony requires the commitment and continued support of all communities and Singaporeans

Singapore's racial and religious harmony is a strength that requires the commitment and continued 
support of all communities and Singaporeans, DPM Teo Chee Hean said. 

“It takes special efforts and measures to keep Singapore peaceful and harmonious,” said Mr Teo.

This includes having “guide-ropes and guard-rails” to help the nation progress in its journey to become “one united people”.

“We introduced (the) Group Representative Constituencies to assure our minority communities that they will always have representation in Parliament,” said Mr Teo.

The recent changes to the Elected Presidency, he said, seeks to ensure that members of the major racial communities here can hold the highest office of the President if it has not happened after five continuous terms, or after 30 years.

Mr Teo added that, through the years, Singapore has introduced “important institutions, laws and regulations to help prevent conflict and keep communities together”.

“Singaporeans of all faiths now live together in Housing Development Board estates, study together in national schools, eat together in food centres, serve National Service and work together,” he said.

Mr Teo also called on Singaporeans to “pledge (themselves) to a renewed spirit to take Singapore forward with opportunities for all regardless of race, language or religion”.

Mr Teo was speaking in Malay at the 13th Ministry of Home Affairs Appreciation lunch for community volunteers.