And we thought the COE system was working?

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Nov 08, 2012
One million vehicles on the road
Measures taken to manage rising pressure on road space, says LTA

By Christopher Tan senior correspondent

THE number of vehicles here has crossed the one million mark.

The figure includes foreign-registered vehicles, which make up about 5 per cent of the total number on the road here.

Excluding foreign vehicles, Singapore's own vehicle tally - currently at about 970,000 - is expected to hit the million mark in 2018. That is based on a capped growth rate of 0.5 per cent each year, which comes into effect next February. The current annual rate is 1 per cent.

Although the new cap is likely to result in the slowest 10-year vehicle growth rate - 6 per cent from last year to 2020 - since independence, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it will nevertheless put pressure on road space.

An LTA spokesman said 12 per cent of land space is already allocated to roads, and Singapore will face greater constraints in building new roads amid competing uses of land.

This is why the LTA has adopted a holistic package of measures that include building more roads, regulating vehicle growth, implementing traffic engineering solutions, promoting the use of public transport and managing traffic demand through increasing usage costs, she added.

Demand may not be evenly spread. For instance, LTA planners said traffic on Lornie Road will grow by as much as 30 per cent up to 2020. It cited this growth rate as an underlying reason for building a parallel road through Bukit Brown Cemetery.

Transport researcher Lee Der-Horng of the National University of Singapore said the country can accommodate a larger number of vehicles if it manages usage better. He cited the next-generation Electronic Road Pricing, which can charge drivers not only according to when and where they drive, but also for the distance they clock.

"If we can move towards the so-called 'usage-based' charging system, then it may not be necessary to tighten so much on ownership," Dr Lee added. "Traffic congestion is not from ownership but from usage."

But he warned that if car prices remained high, then usage-based measures may not work well. This is because the usage charges will be insignificant in relation to the price of the car.

"When ownership is not that unaffordable, and if public transport improves, drivers may be more willing to switch to taking the bus or train as and when necessary," he said.

christan@sph.com.sg

I am surprised to learn that for so many years 34k annual salary is all it takes to get a PEP .

SINGAPORE: Amid the global economic uncertainties, it will soon be more difficult for highly-skilled foreigners to remain in Singapore for an extended period if they find themselves out of a job.

While this privilege is currently enjoyed by a small group of eligible foreigners - about 12,000, or less than 7 per cent of the 174,000 Employment Pass holders - the number is set to get smaller.

Starting next month, foreign professionals applying for a personalised employment pass (PEP) - which among other things, allows them to stay here continuously for six months while being unemployed - will have to meet more stringent criteria that includes a minimum annual fixed salary of S$144,000, up four-fold from the existing S$34,000 a year.

The validity of PEPs - which are non-renewable - will also be reduced from five years to three years.

The new criteria was put up recently on the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) website. The MOM said that the changes ensure that the PEP "remains a premium pass for top-tier foreign talent working in Singapore and is in line with recent moves to raise the quality of Employment Pass holders".

It added: "Foreigners with in-demand expertise and skills should be able to secure a job and obtain an Employment Pass before too long a period."

Under the changes, apart from the higher minimum annual salary and shorter validity period, only P1 Pass holders - or the top tier of Employment Pass holders - who earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$12,000 and overseas-based foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed monthly salary was at least S$18,000 may apply for the PEP. New PEP holders can also bring in their parents, spouses and children.

The MOM will give all existing PEP holders until Dec 31, 2014, to meet the revised minimum annual fixed salary requirement.

Responding to TODAY's queries, an MOM spokesperson said that PEP holders whose passes are due to expire within six months after Dec 31, 2014, will be allowed to remain until expiry.

"Those who are not eligible under the revised PEP criteria can continue to work and live in Singapore on an Employment Pass or S Pass, subject to the prevailing assessment criteria," she added.

Unlike the Employment Pass, the PEP is tied to the individual instead of a specific employer.

It was introduced in 2007 to "strengthen Singapore's attractiveness to highly-skilled foreigners and facilitate their continued stay and contributions here", according to the MOM.

While PEP holders whom TODAY spoke to did not think that MOM's latest move would diminish the attractiveness of Singapore as a destination for foreign professionals, they were concerned about the shorter validity period amid the uncertain economic climate.

Said a Canadian professor who is teaching at a university here: "To some... (they) like a degree of certainty. Five years was reasonable because at the end of it, you can decide if you want to stay to become a resident or not. Reducing it would deter some people, but not everyone. It depends on their objectives and if they want to work in Singapore for a long time."

Mr Joel Hides, Associate Director of recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters Singapore, noted that many foreigners who relocate to Singapore on an Employment Pass would subsequently apply for PEP "because they may want greater flexibility in employers".

The changes could come at a time when there is greater clamour for a PEP, he noted. "The fact that foreigners have to leave the country within a month of their Employment Pass ceasing, encourages a lot of people to apply for PEPs, particularly in the currently uncertain outlook," Mr Hides added.

Still, recruitment firm Kelly Services Vice President Mark Hall felt that the more stringent criteria were "unlikely to discourage the majority of people from working in Singapore". "In terms of relocating for career purposes, Singapore remains very attractive," he said.

Welcoming the changes to the PEP regime, Members of Parliament whom TODAY spoke to reiterated that they would further differentiate top foreign talent, although Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad felt that they may "impede our ability to attract top talent to Singapore".

He said: "If they want to relocate their families here, they might find that three years is a bit too short or disruptive."

Still, he added: "This will differentiate top talent against ordinary workers and give local PMETs some certainty in terms of stability and prospects."

Agreeing, Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Inderjit Singh said: "(The PEP) can be subjected to abuse where people may just be exploring opportunities without being firm about staying here. I'd rather someone who's got a firm offer be given a pass than someone who's just here to test the market

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-new...l-20121031

PASADENA, California (AP) - Scientists say the Martian soil at the rover Curiosity's landing site contains minerals similar to what's found on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano.

The finding released on Tuesday is the latest step in trying to better understand whether the environment could have been hospitable to microbial life.

Curiosity recently ingested its first soil sample and used one of its instruments to tease out the minerals present.

An analysis revealed it contained feldspar and olivine, minerals typically associated with volcanic eruptions. Mission scientists say the Martian soil is similar to volcanic soil on the flanks of Mauna Kea.

Just like to share this. Yet another reminder to all of us not to get caught up by this flurry of QE/Rush to consumerism.

************************************************

Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who is a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer but selflessly came to share with the D1 class his life experience on 19-Jan-2012.

Hi good morning to all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse, so please bear with me. I thought I'll just introduce myself. My name is Richard, I'm a medical doctor. And I thought I'll...
just share some thoughts of my life. It's my pleasure to be invited by prof. Hopefully, it can get you thinking about how... as you pursue this.. embarking on your training to become dental surgeons, to think about other things as well.

Since young, I am a typical product of today's society. Relatively successful product that society requires.. From young, I came from a below average family. I was told by the media... and people around me that happiness is about success. And that success is about being wealthy. With this mind-set, I've always be extremely competitive, since I was young.

Not only do I need to go to the top school, I need to have success in all fields. Uniform groups, track, everything. I needed to get trophies, needed to be successful, I needed to have colours award, national colours award, everything. So I was highly competitive since young. I went on to medical school, graduated as a doctor. Some of you may know that within the medical faculty, ophthalmology is one of the most highly sought after specialities. So I went after that as well. I was given a traineeship in ophthalmology, I was also given a research scholarship by NUS to develop lasers to treat the eye.

So in the process, I was given 2 patents, one for the medical devices, and another for the lasers. And you know what, all this academic achievements did not bring me any wealth. So once I completed my bond with MOH, I decided that this is taking too long, the training in eye surgery is just taking too long. And there's lots of money to be made in the private sector. If you're aware, in the last few years, there is this rise in aesthetic medicine. Tons of money to be made there. So I decided, well, enough of staying in institution, it's time to leave. So I quit my training halfway and I went on to set up my aesthetic clinic... in town, together with a day surgery centre.

You know the irony is that people do not make heroes out average GP (general practitioner), family physicians. They don't. They make heroes out of people who are rich and famous. People who are not happy to pay $20 to see a GP, the same person have no qualms paying ten thousand dollars for a liposuction, 15 thousand dollars for a breast augmentation, and so on and so forth. So it's a no brainer isn't? Why do you want to be a gp? Become an aesthetic physician. So instead of healing the sick and ill, I decided that I'll become a glorified beautician. So, business was good, very good. It started off with waiting of one week, then became 3weeks, then one month, then 2 months, then 3 months. I was overwhelmed; there were just too many patients. Vanities are fantastic business. I employed one doctor, the second doctor, the 3rd doctor, the 4th doctor. And within the 1st year, we're already raking in millions. Just the 1st year. But never is enough because I was so obsessed with it. I started to expand into Indonesia to get all the rich Indonesian tai-tais who wouldn't blink an eye to have a procedure done. So life was really good.

So what do I do with the spare cash. How do I spend my weekends? Typically, I'll have car club gatherings. I take out my track car, with spare cash I got myself a track car. We have car club gatherings. We'll go up to Sepang in Malaysia. We'll go for car racing. And it was my life. With other spare cash, what do i do? I get myself a Ferrari. At that time, the 458 wasn't out, it's just a spider convertible, 430. This is a friend of mine, a schoolmate who is a forex trader, a banker. So he got a red one, he was wanting all along a red one, I was getting the silver one.

So what do I do after getting a car? It's time to buy a house, to build our own bungalows. So we go around looking for a land to build our own bungalows, we went around hunting. So how do i live my life? Well, we all think we have to mix around with the rich and famous. This is one of the Miss Universe. So we hang around with the beautiful, rich and famous. This by the way is an internet founder. So this is how we spend our lives, with dining and all the restaurants and Michelin Chefs you know.

So I reach a point in life that I got everything for my life. I was at the pinnacle of my career and all. That's me one year ago in the gym and I thought I was like, having everything under control and reaching the pinnacle.

Well, I was wrong. I didn't have everything under control. About last year March, I started to develop backache in the middle of nowhere. I thought maybe it was all the heavy squats I was doing. So I went to SGH, saw my classmate to do an MRI, to make sure it's not a slipped disc or anything. And that evening, he called me up and said that we found bone marrow replacement in your spine. I said, sorry what does that mean? I mean I know what it means, but I couldn't accept that. I was like “Are you serious?” I was still running around going to the gym you know. But we had more scans the next day, PET scans - positrons emission scans, they found that actually I have stage 4 terminal lung cancer. I was like "Whoa where did that come from?” It has already spread to the brain, the spine, the liver and the adrenals. And you know one moment I was there, totally thinking that I have everything under control, thinking that I've reached the pinnacle of my life. But the next moment, I have just lost it.

This is a CT scan of the lungs itself. If you look at it, every single dot there is a tumour. We call this miliaries tumour. And in fact, I have tens of thousands of them in the lungs. So, I was told that even with chemotherapy, that I'll have about 3-4months at most. Did my life come crushing on, of course it did, who wouldn't? I went into depression, of course, severe depression and I thought I had everything.

See the irony is that all these things that I have, the success, the trophies, my cars, my house and all. I thought that brought me happiness. But i was feeling really down, having severe depression. Having all these thoughts of my possessions, they brought me no joy. The thought of... You know, I can hug my Ferrari to sleep, no... No, it is not going to happen. It brought not a single comfort during my last ten months. And I thought they were, but they were not true happiness. But it wasn't. What really brought me joy in the last ten months was interaction with people, my loved ones, friends, people who genuinely care about me, they laugh and cry with me, and they are able to identify the pain and suffering I was going through. That brought joy to me, happiness. None of the things I have, all the possessions, and I thought those were supposed to bring me happiness. But it didn't, because if it did, I would have felt happy think about it, when I was feeling most down..

You know the classical Chinese New Year that is coming up. In the past, what do I do? Well, I will usually drive my flashy car to do my rounds, visit my relatives, to show it off to my friends. And I thought that was joy, you know. I thought that was really joy. But do you really think that my relatives and friends, whom some of them have difficulty trying to make ends meet, that will truly share the joy with me? Seeing me driving my flashy car and showing off to them? No, no way. They won’t be sharing joy with me. They were having problems trying to make ends meet, taking public transport. In fact i think, what I have done is more like you know, making them envious, jealous of all I have. In fact, sometimes even hatred.

Those are what we call objects of envy. I have them, I show them off to them and I feel it can fill my own pride and ego. That didn't bring any joy to these people, to my friends and relatives, and I thought they were real joy.

Well, let me just share another story with you. You know when I was about your age, I stayed in king Edward VII hall. I had this friend whom I thought was strange. Her name is Jennifer, we're still good friends. And as I walk along the path, she would, if she sees a snail, she would actually pick up the snail and put it along the grass patch. I was like why do you need to do that? Why dirty your hands? It’s just a snail. The truth is she could feel for the snail. The thought of being crushed to death is real to her, but to me it's just a snail. If you can't get out of the pathway of humans then you deserve to be crushed, it’s part of evolution isn't it? What an irony isn't it?

There I was being trained as a doctor, to be compassionate, to be able to empathise; but I couldn't. As a house officer, I graduated from medical school, posted to the oncology department at NUH. And, every day, every other day I witness death in the cancer department. When I see how they suffered, I see all the pain they went through. I see all the morphine they have to press every few minutes just to relieve their pain. I see them struggling with their oxygen breathing their last breath and all. But it was just a job. When I went to clinic every day, to the wards every day, take blood, give the medication but was the patient real to me? They weren't real to me. It was just a job, I do it, I get out of the ward, I can't wait to get home, I do my own stuff.

Was the pain, was the suffering the patients went through real? No. Of course I know all the medical terms to describe how they feel, all the suffering they went through. But in truth, I did not know how they feel, not until I became a patient. It is until now; I truly understand how they feel. And, if you ask me, would I have been a very different doctor if I were to re-live my life now, I can tell you yes I will. Because I truly understand how the patients feel now. And sometimes, you have to learn it the hard way.

Even as you start just your first year, and you embark this journey to become dental surgeons, let me just challenge you on two fronts.

Inevitably, all of you here will start to go into private practice. You will start to accumulate wealth. I can guarantee you. Just doing an implant can bring you thousands of dollars, it's fantastic money. And actually there is nothing wrong with being successful, with being rich or wealthy, absolutely nothing wrong. The only trouble is that a lot of us like myself couldn't handle it.

Why do I say that? Because when I start to accumulate, the more I have, the more I want. The more I wanted, the more obsessed I became. Like what I showed you earlier on, all I can was basically to get more possessions, to reach the pinnacle of what society did to us, of what society wants us to be. I became so obsessed that nothing else really mattered to me. Patients were just a source of income, and I tried to squeeze every single cent out of these patients.

A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves. That was what happened to me. Whether it is in the medical, the dental fraternity, I can tell you, right now in the private practice, sometimes we just advise patients on treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. And even though it is not necessary, we kind of advocate it. Even at this point, I know who are my friends and who genuinely cared for me and who are the ones who try to make money out of me by selling me "hope". We kind of lose our moral compass along the way. Because we just want to make money.

Worse, I can tell you, over the last few years, we bad mouth our fellow colleagues, our fellow competitors in the industry. We have no qualms about it. So if we can put them down to give ourselves an advantage, we do it. And that's what happening right now, medical, dental everywhere. My challenge to you is not to lose that moral compass. I learnt it the hard way, I hope you don't ever have to do it.

Secondly, a lot of us will start to get numb to our patients as we start to practise. Whether is it government hospitals, private practice, I can tell you when I was in the hospital, with stacks of patient folders, I can't wait to get rid of those folders as soon as possible; I can't wait to get patients out of my consultation room as soon as possible because there is just so many, and that's a reality. Because it becomes a job, a very routine job. And this is just part of it. Do I truly know how the patient feels back then? No, I don't. The fears and anxiety and all, do I truly understand what they are going through? I don't, not until when this happens to me and I think that is one of the biggest flaws in our system.

We’re being trained to be healthcare providers, professional, and all and yet we don't know how exactly they feel. I'm not asking you to get involved emotionally, I don't think that is professional but do we actually make a real effort to understand their pain and all? Most of us won’t, alright, I can assure you. So don't lose it, my challenge to you is to always be able to put yourself in your patient's shoes.

Because the pain, the anxiety, the fear are very real even though it's not real to you, it's real to them. So don't lose it and you know, right now I'm in the midst of my 5th cycle of my chemotherapy. I can tell you it’s a terrible feeling. Chemotherapy is one of those things that you don't wish even your enemies to go through because it's just suffering, lousy feeling, throwing out, you don't even know if you can retain your meals or not. Terrible feeling! And even with whatever little energy now I have, I try to reach out to other cancer patients because I truly understand what pain and suffering is like. But it's kind of little too late and too little.

You guys have a bright future ahead of you with all the resource and energy, so I’m going to challenge you to go beyond your immediate patients. To understand that there are people out there who are truly in pain, truly in hardship. Don’t get the idea that only poor people suffer. It is not true. A lot of these poor people do not have much in the first place, they are easily contented. for all you know they are happier than you and me but there are out there, people who are suffering mentally, physically, hardship, emotionally, financially and so on and so forth, and they are real. We choose to ignore them or we just don't want to know that they exist.

So do think about it alright, even as you go on to become professionals and dental surgeons and all. That you can reach out to these people who are in need. Whatever you do can make a large difference to them. I'm now at the receiving end so I know how it feels, someone who genuinely care for you, encourage and all. It makes a lot of difference to me. That’s what happens after treatment. I had a treatment recently, but I’ll leave this for another day. A lot of things happened along the way, that's why I am still able to talk to you today.

I'll just end of with this quote here, it's from this book called Tuesdays with Morris, and some of you may have read it. Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself off all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live. I know it sounds very morbid for this morning but it's the truth, this is what I’m going through.

Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you're supposed to do. Those things happened to me. And I led this life thinking that these are going to bring me happiness. I hope that you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your own life. Not according to what other people tell you to do, and you have to decide whether you want to serve yourself, whether you are going to make a difference in somebody else's life. Because true happiness doesn't come from serving yourself. I thought it was but it didn't turn out that way. With that I thank you, if you have any questions you have for me, please feel free. Thank you.

SINGAPORE - OCBC Bank has launched two new programmes aimed at improving the work-life balance of their employees.

The first offers employees the option to take up to three consecutive months of unpaid leave for any reason.

Employees will be allowed to take a maximum of two career breaks during their employment and during that time they will continue to be covered by OCBC's insurance plans for medical treatment and hospitalisation expenses

The second scheme is offered to employees with children preparing for their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

Eligible employees will be allowed to use a number of their annual leave days to help their child prepare for their PSLE examinations.

The schemes are open to those who have served at least five years of service and are expected to benefit more than 7,000 staff from OCBC and its subsidiaries - OCBC Malaysia, OCBC China and Great Eastern Holdings.

yamadak@sph.com.sg

Dear All,

I am currently conducting a survey as part of my research for my MBA thesis, entitled "Qualifications of the Board of Directors in Singapore - The Right Mix".

I believe as value investors you would probably have some interest in the topic of corporate governance. I would appreciate if you could assist in completing the survey which should about 5-10 minutes of your time.

I have 2 surveys prepared, one for the members of public to get a perspective of the public expectations, and the other from the director's perspective.

For the members of the public, the survey URL is http://bodsurvey.comyr.com/public.

If you are currently or previously sat on any Board of Directors, the survey URL is http://bodsurvey.comyr.com/directors. This survey is also applicable if you are involved in the recruitment or training of directors.

I would greatly appreciate if you could help to circulate the survey to your contacts who may have interests or are experts in the topic. I would also need to conduct interviews with directors. If you have any contacts that can assist me in this area, I would appreciate if you could link me with them.

To the moderator, if you think this post is inappropriate, kindly let me know. Thank you.

A subtle sign of things to come?

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Oct 12, 2012
MAS audits banks' home loan practices
A likely signal Govt is ensuring they remain prudent in lending: Analysts

By esther teo

SOME local and foreign banks are having their home loan lending practices reviewed as part of added scrutiny in the light of the booming property market, sources say.

The audits are being conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and will apply at both local and foreign banks.

Experts say the move is likely a way of sending a signal to banks that the Government is keeping a close eye on them, and they should remain prudent in their lending practices.

Mr Roger Tan, chief executive of Sias Research, said the central bank could be looking for signs of lax lending without due consideration of the borrower's credit worthiness.

"They will want to make sure that rules are being enforced and that proper risk management is tightly in place, especially now that the property market is hot," he said.

The review, which is being rolled out even as the sixth round of cooling measures was imposed last week, is part of the central bank's supervisory work.

A MAS spokesman said yesterday that it does not comment on internal operations.

Analysts say MAS regularly conducts audits of banks based on its assessment of risk, with the risk areas evolving over time.

There is no indication that any bank is being singled out for lax lending practices.

The MAS review of mortgages is most likely part of general prudence measures, given the surging property market that has sent prices and sales volumes to record levels.

An industry player who declined to be named said that while general lending guidelines are clear, MAS could be focusing more on the internal lending policies of banks instead.

A range of criteria such as the loan-to-value ratio, the property's value, the applicant's income and credit worthiness, and the acceptability of the collateral are typically assessed when a loan application is considered.

But banks have varying standards on some of these factors, with some possibly more stringent than others. They might differ on defining a borrower's income and choose to exclude - or include - bonuses and commission, for example.

A borrower's debt servicing ratio - his total monthly debt payments divided by net income - could also be of interest to MAS, experts say.

esthert@sph.com.sg

Hi does anyone know of good forum discussion on german listed companies? thks

Simply amazing that this gets front page news on HOME section in Straits Times! This guy is so sh***less I don't know what to say - demonstrates perfectly the "entitlement" mentality which these youths have these days!

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Sep 29, 2012
Excuse me, can you buy me a sports car?
20-year-old writes to 300 Sentosa Cove residents - and gets 10 replies

By goh shi ting

CALL him sh***less or naive but a 20-year-old has sent more than 300 letters to the richest residents in Sentosa Cove asking for a "sports car sponsorship".

And as incredible as it may sound, he said 10 have responded to him within a week - though none has granted him his wish.

In a brief letter sent last Thursday, Mr Gaw  introduced himself, giving his name and age, before stating his purpose which was "the hope of finding a sponsor".

He said he likes cars and listed as his favourites Audi R8 Coupe, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Honda CR-Z.

"May I have the courage to ask for a car as a gift from you?" he wrote.

Owners of a Sentosa Cove property, he added, "must be a person of great success" and "it will be nice to know and perhaps learn from you".

His mobile phone number, e-mail address and Facebook page were included in the letters sent to landed-property addresses he found in an online street directory.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Gaw told The Straits Times over the phone: "Call it an experiment or a request if you want."

He claimed he is the only child of parents who run a real-estate business and drive a Toyota Camry. The Malaysian, who is a permanent resident here, said he lives in a private apartment in Upper Bukit Timah.

"But I don't like to ask my parents for money. I'd rather get a sponsorship," said Mr Gaw, who has lived here for 13 years.

He also claimed he is a first-year undergraduate at Singapore Management University. But when contacted, an SMU spokesman said the school is unable to confirm that he is a student.

When pressed on why he thinks strangers would be willing to give him such an expensive gift, Mr Gaw said he was "just trying his luck".

"Anyway, I spent only five cents on a letter. And even if nobody offers a car, I can still make friends. It is important to network and have connections," he said.

"I don't expect to give anything in return. What I can offer is casual friendship."

So far, 10 Sentosa Cove residents, all Singaporeans, have contacted him, he claimed.

But they were more interested in finding out why he is doing this than buying him his dream car.

One of them, a property developer known as Victor who owns two properties at Sentosa Cove, even arranged to meet him during the F1 race last Sunday and they chatted for 30 minutes, he told The Straits Times.

Victor had asked about his background and even requested to see his identity card - but no promises were made.

"I could tell that he was not interested," said Mr Gaw, who got his F1 ticket from an uncle.

"Singaporeans will never give me a car," he said.

But he is not discouraged.

He is pinning his hopes on foreigners, who could have missed his letter because they travel frequently, he said.

"Times have changed and foreigners are the wealthy ones," he said, adding that foreigners, like those from mainland China and Indonesia, are "so rich they don't know where to spend their money on".

Yesterday, his letter was circulated on the Hardware Zone online forum, garnering 10 pages of more than 100 comments in a day, with some netizens calling him naive and sh***less.

Sentosa Cove resident Adora Ang, 22, a student, who lives in a bungalow on Ocean Drive, said he is brave to give all his contact details but silly to think it would work.

After reading the letter, she texted him: "Do you think that by sending a letter you'd get a car? Try harder."

She has yet to get a response.

stgoh@sph.com.sg

S'pore population up at 5.31 million, 82% residents stay in HDB flats
Posted: 28 September 2012 1130 hrs

Link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/s...73/1/.html

SINGAPORE: Singapore's population has increased, due to growth of both the resident and non-resident populations.

The Department of Statistics (DOS), in its Population Trends 2012 report released on Friday, said the country's total population stood at 5.31 million as at end June 2012, up 2.5 per cent from a year ago.

It said there were 3.29 million Singapore citizens and 0.53 million permanent residents, and the rest were non-residents.

The number of Singapore citizens grew by 0.9 per cent, comparable to the growths in the last couple of years, while the number of permanent residents increased marginally by 0.2 per cent.

Growth in the number of non-residents was at 7.2 per cent, slightly higher than last year's 6.9 per cent. But DOS said it was significantly lower than the double digit percentage increases of 14.9 per cent seen in 2007 and 19.0 per cent in 2008.

An estimated 3.14 million Singapore residents were staying in HDB flats this year, accounting for 82 per cent of Singapore residents, said the report.

It said there were 10 planning areas where at least 90 per cent of Singapore residents were staying in HDB flats. The proportion of HDB dwellers was the highest in Punggol, followed by Woodlands.

There were five planning areas with more than 200,000 Singapore residents, with Bedok, Jurong West and Tampines each having over 250,000 residents. Bedok had the highest number of residents at 295,200. The other two planning areas with more than 200,000 Singapore residents in 2012 were Woodlands (247,800) and Hougang (217,400).

The proportion of elderly aged 65 years and over was generally higher among Singapore residents staying in older estates. In 2012, the proportion of elderly was the highest in Outram, Downtown Core, Rochor, Queenstown, Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Kallang.

In contrast, the proportion of children aged below 5 years was generally higher among Singapore residents staying in relatively newer estates.

In 2011, HDB 4-room flats remained as the most common type of dwelling among resident households, at 32 per cent.

The next common type was HDB 5-room & executive flats (25 per cent), followed by HDB 3-room (20 per cent).

Those staying in condominiums and private flats formed another 11 per cent.

Reflecting the ageing population, the report said the median age of the resident population went up further to 38.4 years in 2012, compared to 38.0 in 2011 and 37.4 in 2010.

The proportion of Singapore residents aged 65 years and above rose to 9.9 per cent from 9.3 per cent last year.

This resulted in the ratio of residents aged 20-64 years to elderly residents aged 65 years and above trending downwards. The report said there were 6.7 residents aged 20-64 years to each elderly resident, compared to 7.2 last year.

Female residents outnumbered their male counterparts in Singapore. The sex ratio was 970 males per 1,000 females, down from 972 in 2011.

Turning to marriages, the report said a total of 27,258 marriages were registered in 2011, which was 12 per cent higher than the 24,363 registered in 2010. This was a rebound after a dip in 2010.

In 2011, 75 per cent or 20,315 marriages were first marriages where neither party had previously been married.

As for the fertility rate in Singapore, DOS said total live-births rebounded and increased by 4.4 per cent to 39,654 last year, from 37,967 in 2010.

Singapore's resident total fertility rate rose slightly from 1.15 in 2010 to 1.2 in 2011.

The department also noted the increase in the proportion with no children among married women in their thirties.

The proportion who was childless grew from 15 per cent in 2001 to 21 per cent last year among married resident women aged 30-39 years.

As for educational profiles, the population report said the educational levels of the resident population continued to improve over the years.

The share of university graduates also increased significantly from 14 per cent in 2001 to 25 per cent in 2011.

The population report was the eighth edition of an annual series that puts together different aspects of demographic statistics in one volume.

It comprises five sections, namely, "Population", "Households and Housing", "Family Formation and Dissolution", "Fertility" and "Mortality".

The report can be accessed online at the DOS website (http://www.singstat.gov.sg/).