He cannot see things that are too far away or too small, and has to either read Braille or use a magnifying glass to read normal text. But Tampines Junior College (TPJC) student Eugene Tang, 19, overcame the odds and was consistently in the top 10 per cent of his cohort.

He collected his A-level results yesterday. He declined to share his result but hopes to pursue a double major in mathematics and economics in university.

Mr Tang has had Leber’s congenital amaurosis, an eye disorder, since birth. He was diagnosed when he was six months old.

He gets double the time in examinations and has a scribe to help him draw diagrams.

Said Mr Tang: “For JC, time management was important and I had to be disciplined.

“Especially because the amount of time I needed to complete my work was more than other students, so I had to forgo my leisure time and even sleep less.”

He studied H2 physics, chemistry, and H1 General Paper and economics in Braille, and H2 mathematics with a 10x magnifying glass.

Mr Tang said: “Studying is very strenuous and tiring.

“When I am using a magnifying glass to read, I get tired easily.”

His teachers at TPJC obtained a Braille keyboard and an embossing machine and they sent notes to be printed in Braille.

They also found a talking graphic calculator and planned a special timetable with extra weekly consults for him.

His chemistry teacher, Mr James Wong, even learnt how to write Braille and used fabric paint to make notes for Mr Tang.

Mr Wong, 37, said: “Even though it was quite challenging, it was a privilege to teach Eugene.

“His determination actually inspired me to keep making notes for him.”

Mr Tang said: “I am not a very expressive person, so I just kept thanking them.

“What I could do was work hard and do well, and that was the best gift I could give them.”

This article was first published on Feb 25, 2017.
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In the month leading up to the A-level exams, she studied at home every day to spend more time with her father, who has a long-term illness.

Miss Esther Tan, 18, collected her A-level results yesterday and scored As in H2 History, H1 Maths, Project Work and Chinese.

She said: “I had a lot of anxiety. I had to juggle my family and my studies, and there was stress from the A levels. I didn’t want what was happening to stop me from doing well.”

Her father’s illness had taken a turn for the worse when she was in her first year at Pioneer Junior College (PJC). She decided to spend more time with him after that.

Miss Tan, who has a 15-year-old sister, said: “When I was studying at home, my only break times were at lunch or dinner. We’d go upstairs to my grandparents’ house to eat, and I’d talk to my dad.

“I felt that it was a chance to know him better. I never probed much about him in the past, but now I get to see his softer side.”

Miss Tan is also a pillar of support for her mother, the family’s sole breadwinner.

The two confide in each other often about financial difficulties and emotional stress, even though her mother was reluctant to distract her when she was studying for the A levels.

Now working at a secondary school on the Ministry of Education’s teaching internship programme, Miss Tan gives $500, about half her salary, to her mother.

She said: “My mum said I don’t need to, but I make her take it. I don’t need the money anyway, so I give it to her.”

Miss Tan, who was a class manager, said her friends and teachers were some of the biggest sources of support. She was also part of the PJC touch rugby team.

Her civics and General Paper tutor, Mr Billy Wooton, 49, was one of the few who knew about her issues at home.

Miss Tan said: “He told me to go to him if I needed anything. I wouldn’t be here without his reassurance and faith in me. It made me feel like I was not alone in the school.”

She is applying for a teaching scholarship and hopes to pursue history in university.

She added: “I want to be a teacher because my teachers were a very important source of support for me. I want to provide the same kind of support to for other students.”

hmang@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 25, 2017.
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When Miss Felicia Yeoh, 26, was assigned to the EM3 stream in Primary 5, she cried.

So did her mother.

Her relatives looked down on her and made snide remarks about her grades.

Yesterday, Miss Yeoh was all smiles. The audit associate at Ardent Singapore graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honours in accountancy from the Singapore Institute of Technology.

Of the 82 graduates in this pioneer cohort, 69 received priority job offers upon graduation at the end of last year.

She told The New Paper: “I was a blur and quiet student in primary school with few friends. So I didn’t understand the importance of studying or feel the motivation to study until I entered secondary school.

“I was in the Normal (Technical) stream in secondary school. I woke up only when I was ranked 13 out of 30 students.”

She became more conscientious and worked hard to improve her class ranking each year.

It paid off as she scored four distinctions and was top two in her stream in the N-level exams.

Maths is her favourite subject, so she pursued accountancy when she went to Higher Nitec at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College East. She went on to Ngee Ann Poly­technic, where she graduated with a diploma in accountancy.

Miss Yeoh, who spent eight years pursuing her tertiary education, said: “I felt really sad when I heard people say going to ITE means it’s the end, and I worked even harder to prove them wrong.”

Miss Yeoh, the youngest of four children, said:”I didn’t come from a well-to-do family but my parents still enrolled me for tuition when they realised I was weaker than other kids back in primary school. They encourage me to study whenever I have the chance.”

Her father is a deliveryman and her mother a housewife.

Her ITE lecturer, Mrs Sim Gim Hiah, saw her potential and kept encouraging her.

Ms Lynn Phang, a partner at Ardent Singapore, said: “Felicia has a positive attitude… she has also demonstrated emotional maturity and a questioning mind, which are essential attributes of a professional.”

Miss Yeoh said: “I am glad to say that I finally feel accomplished after all these years.”

huienl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 25, 2017.
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Several personal mobility devices (PMDs) were impounded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in the first half of this month.

The LTA said in a Facebook post yesterday that its active mobility enforcement officers conducted more than 100 enforcement operations in the first two weeks of the month and found several people using PMDs on the roads.

It is illegal to ride PMDs on the roads as it endangers the rider and other road users, it said.

Some of the operations happened at River Valley, Yishun, Marine Terrace, Bedok North and Alexandra.

The active mobility enforcement officers have also been educating users of non-compliant PMDs about the changes under the Active Mobility Bill, which will come into effect later this year.

The Bill will make it legal for cyclists to share footpaths with pedestrians.

It also spells out the rules governing the use of PMDs, such as how electric bicycles will need to be registered to an owner and bear registration plates.

The LTA said in its Facebook post: “It doesn’t matter how much you jazz it up to look like a bike.

“Simple rule of thumb, no pedal = no road.”

This article was first published on Feb 25, 2017.
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Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices ended higher across the board at the latest tender yesterday, with the motorcycle premium chalking up the biggest rise of 6.1 per cent to hit $6,801, the second-highest amount on record.

The increase in the motorbike COE price surprised dealers, who had expected the new higher taxes to dampen demand.

A tiered additional registration fee – announced on Monday in the Budget – was introduced to make motorcycle taxes more progressive.

Mr Norman Lee, honorary general secretary of the Singapore Motorcycle Trade Association, said the higher taxes for high-end bikes “will depress COE prices in the long run”.

He added that premiums should dip when motorbikes no longer have to contribute to the Open COE category from May.

“But in the short run, COE supply is still far short of demand,” he noted.

Mr Nicholas Wong, general manager of Honda agent Kah Motor, said there will be 10 per cent more COEs for motorbikes soon because the two-wheeler category will no longer have to contribute to the Open COE category.

“There was no reason for companies to bid aggressively,” he said, adding that speculative “hoarding” by bigger players might have contributed to the price rise.

“The Government should make bike COEs non-transferable, like those for cars,” he added.

Meanwhile, the COE premium for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp rose by 2.1 per cent to finish at $49,430.

The COE price for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp climbed 5 per cent to hit $50,621.

The price for Open COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mostly for bigger cars, also rose by 5 per cent to reach $51,000.

The commercial vehicle COE price inched up 1.9 per cent to end at $49,810.

Mr Wong of Kah Motor said yesterday’s car COE price increases were caused by “panic buying”.

When the Land Transport Authority announced that this week’s COE tender would be delayed by two days, it triggered talk that changes were afoot that would push prices up. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, premiums all rose on the back of a rush to showrooms at the weekend.

christan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 25, 2017.
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If crude oil gets depleted in three decades, we will need an alternative mode of transport that does not run on its derivatives.

HDT Singapore Taxi, the seventh taxi operator here, wants to fill that gap with its fleet of electric taxis – a first in Singapore.

Its managing director, Mr James Ng, said: “We hope we can be that somebody to come in to help the Government, to demonstrate that electric cars can really be the one.”

HDT launched its first fleet of 50 e-taxis yesterday after rolling out a pilot fleet of 10 e-taxis late last year.

Expected to grow to 100 vehicles by June, the service is part of a Government-led Electric Vehicle (EV) project, which analyses the viability of electric transportation here.

The company is affiliated with Shenzhen-based battery and automaker BYD, and HDT’s fleet of e-taxis is made by the Chinese manufacturer.

The e-taxis can be charged at any of the 57 charging stations in seven areas islandwide by early next month.

Every 1½ hours of charging allow the e-taxi to run for more than 350km, said Mr Ng.

Apart from being the first to provide an environmentally friendly public transport option, HDT is also the first to employ full-time drivers.

Called transport specialists, the drivers have statutory benefits such as an annual wage supplement and leave entitlement. Guaranteed a monthly salary base of $1,600, drivers can earn a gross salary of $3,200 if they meet the revenue target of $7,500, or $4,300 if they hit the $8,500 target.

Mr Ng also said HDT’s partnership with ride-hailing app GrabTaxi will help its drivers get more jobs and make more money.

National Taxi Association’s (NTA) executive adviser, Mr Ang Hin Kee, said HDT’s departure from the traditional hiring model offers cabbies an alternative and hopes to see more options offered.

Mr Ang, who is also deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said: “Nothing is going to stop a taxi operator from offering a series of options. It will have to work out the numbers.

“And I believe for most taxi drivers, if they can toggle between the hiring model or employment model based on their needs or their own preferences, that will give them employment options that they don’t currently have.”

ASSESS

The MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC added that some cabbies have told NTA they are assessing whether they can sustain their income with this employment model.

Likewise, other taxi operators are monitoring if this is a business model they would want to roll out in due course, Mr Ang said.

SIM University economist Walter Theseira said that not all cabbies will be comfortable with the salaried model.

“Some are driving taxis instead of driving vans or buses precisely because they want the freedom to set their own hours and make their own decisions on when and where to drive,” he said.

Transport economist Michael Li thinks HDT’s business model will be sustainable as long as they can find the balance of risk sharing – the company gives its drivers employment benefits, and the drivers will take in some risk in the form of lower income if they do not perform well enough to hit the company’s revenue target.

This is in contrast with the current business model in the industry, where cabbies do not get any benefits.

The associate professor from Nanyang Technological University added that with the disruption in the industry, taxi drivers are earning less.

“Taxi driving is not that attractive a job any more. The sustainability of the other taxi operators is the one that’s under question,” he said.

Full-time pay means less worry for him

Whenever his wife asked him to take the family out to East Coast Park on Sunday mornings, he used to hesitate.

For cabbies like Mr Michael Ng, 52, time is money.

To make sure he earns enough to cover the daily taxi rental, he would complete a few trips early in the morning, and continue driving after spending some time on the beach.

Now, the father of three no longer has to worry.

As an electric taxi driver with HDT Singapore Taxi, he gets a monthly basic pay of $1,600 and more if he hits the company’s revenue target.

“If I want to take a day off, I can do it as long as I can achieve the company target,” he told The New Paper yesterday.

Having driven for several taxi operators over the past decade, Mr Ng was growing tired of being a cabby.

“Every morning I am on the road, I have to hunt for passengers. Even if I wanted to rest, the first thing on my mind would be the rental. I had to drive around enough to cover the rent before I could rest,” he said.

At his wife’s encouragement, he tried out the full-time employment structure at HDT – a first in the taxi industry here.

“…I’m glad I made the right decision,” he said, beaming.

“Besides getting what I’m earning as a normal taxi driver, I get benefits including Central Provident Fund (contributions), medical coverage and insurance.

“When it comes to welfare, it’s the priority on my boss’ mind. I always tell the newer drivers that it’s like a family here,” he added.

As Mr Ng is earning more than he used to, he can afford to spend a little more on things like a more extravagant Valentine’s Day present for his wife.

“I bought her something from Pandora this year.”

fjieying@sph.com.sg

Read also: Fixed salary carrot a hit with HDT taxi drivers

This article was first published on Feb 25, 2017.
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