Dear Facebook friends,
Certainly, in the most difficult moments of life, you realise who are your true friends or the people who really appreciate you.
Unfortunately, for most friendships, they will leave you but still send you a "like", but in reality, they do not take time to read your status if they see it's lengthy.
That’s why they should just stick to Twitter since they have the short attention span of a US President.
More than half will stop reading right here, or have already scrolled on to the next post in their feed about Miss Malaysia dressed as nasi lemak for her national costume.
What is this, Halloween or a McDonald’s burger?
I decided to post this article in support of a very special group of people who are fighting train delays with firmness and energy.
Who taught us how to live each day praying it would be the happiest day because there would no MRT breakdown!
Who have filled the world with track faults and deep-seated cultural issues.
Now I'm watching the ones who will have time to read this post until the end instead of binge-watching Stranger Things 2 on Netflix.
This is a little test, just to see who reads, and who shares without reading.
If you have read everything so far, select “like” so I can put a thank you in your profile.
Train delays are very pervasive and disruptive to our public transport system.
Even after the Bishan tunnel flooding three weeks ago, SMRT is still fighting with itself, trying to reconstruct what happened.
Last week, after discovering that maintenance records have been falsified possibly since last December, SMRT resorted to offering “amnesty” to employees who voluntarily fess up to eating snake before a “wide-scale audit”.
And you thought Kevin Spacey created a toxic work environment on the set of House Of Cards.
With the employees from SMRT's building and facilities department having come forward that we know of, it appears SMRT is itself a house of cards.
Who knows what other lapses will be uncovered?
Getting too much water in the tunnel has turned out to be a watershed for SMRT.
Even Parliament will be discussing the flooding tomorrow.
My question is, why is this “wide-scale audit” happening only now?
What took so long?
Mr Khaw Boon Wan has been Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport since 2015.
Mr Desmond Quek has been CEO of SMRT since 2012.
In 2012, there was actually a Committee of Inquiry ordered by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong because of two major disruptions in December 2011, which was when “free bridging bus service” started becoming a thing.
But the lapses don’t just result in train delays.
Since 2010, there have been at least three cases of vandalism at SMRT train depots.
More tragically, two SMRT employees were killed last year while working on the tracks and this wasn’t even the first time.
In 2010, an LRT technician died after he was hit by a train and his widow sued SMRT for negligence two years later.
But it took a flooding to open the flood gates?
Last week, the Public Transport Council announced that after its latest review, there will be no fare hike.
Considering the circumstances, there better not be.
Do we have SMRT’s ineptitude to thank for that?
So please, in honor of SMRT, copy and paste on your page this text.
Friends all say: "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, I'll be there to help you."
So I'm going to make a bet that most people who see this post (maybe even read all the way to the end) won't, but I believe a select few of my friends will post this, to show their support for SMRT.
I'd like to know who I can count on to take a minute out of their day while queuing for the iPhone X and actually read my Facebook status.
You just have to copy (not share) and paste. Then write "done" in the comments.
Thank you.
I’ll name a floating platform after you.
- Published in The New Paper, 6 November 2017
Dear Mr Ong,
Good morning! I have enjoyed reading your article with regard to SMRT. I felt strongly that the CEO Mr Desmond Kuek should step down as soon as possible. The previous CEO (Ms Saw) have also step down to take responsibility for the frequent train breakdowns. This time the situation is much worse and more frequent breakdown. He cannot just blame the staff as CEO he should take responsibility and step down. The CEO have been keeping quite until the recent major breakdown. He have totally no experience to run the SMRT as he just a general in the army. I am waiting for him to get his service terminated.
I hope you can continue to write more articles with regard to SMRT frequent breakdown and hopefully the CEO will step down gracefully.
Thank you very much. Have a blessed week ahead.
Best regard,
Donald
