Parlours to remain for at least another year till demolition of complex: NEA

The funeral parlours at Mount Vernon Columbarium will remain for at least another year, before they are demolished to make way for a new housing estate.

The authorities have extended the leases for the parlours at the complex in Upper Aljunied Road for a second time, Today newspaper reported yesterday.

The leases for Mount Vernon Parlours 1 and 2, which are run by Singapore Casket, were supposed to expire this month, but have been extended to next December.

Mount Vernon Sanctuary has six halls, whose leases, due to end next March, have been extended to March 2018.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) told The Straits Times that it plans to continue the leases for the funeral parlours until they are required to be cleared together with the columbarium blocks. It did not say when this might happen.

There have been concerns that the demolition of the complex would result in a serious shortage of facilities where wakes can be held.

Mount Vernon Sanctuary is among the largest operators here, as its six halls can accommodate up to 600 people.

Singapore Casket also has 10 halls in its Lavender Street building, besides its two parlours at Mount Vernon.

Both private operators have seen an increase in demand for their halls.

In 2013, the authorities announced that the complex would be cleared to make way for the Bidadari housing estate.

The leases of the parlours had been extended once before, in 2014. It appears unlikely that the leases will be extended a third time.

Since November last year, there have been three batches of Bidadari flats launched for sale.

The Housing Board said earlier that the flats will be progressively completed from the third quarter of 2019.

Part of the site has been set aside for a “new and modern” Mount Vernon Funeral Parlour, the authorities said.

They added that this new complex will be well integrated into the surroundings to “minimise the visual impact on nearby residential buildings” and will also “serve as an extension of the park greenery”.

Next-of-kin have to claim existing niches at Mount Vernon by June 30 next year.

These niches will be relocated to the Mandai Columbarium.

More than 12,000 of the 20,000 niches have been claimed as at the end of last month, said NEA.

Mount Vernon Sanctuary’s chief executive Deborah Andres said that the firm was “pleased to be able to continue serving the community”, but added that its long-term future was uncertain.

She hopes to operate in the new funeral parlour at Bidadari, but has yet to finalise any plans.

“We’d love it if the Government could give us an opportunity to rebuild on a plot of land,” said Ms Andres.

She added that the firm has been in discussion with the authorities about possible locations.

“But the only locations we were told about were in Choa Chu Kang or Mandai, which are not as conveniently located (as the current one),” she said.

mellinjm@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on December 14, 2016.
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Competitive bids are expected when tenders are called for the high-speed rail systems between Singapore and Malaysia, and the best one will be chosen, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference after the annual Leaders’ Retreat, Mr Lee said the future high-speed rail line between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur has attracted plenty of interest from industry players.

In an interview with Bernama last month, Mr Lee said the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese – who have high-speed rail systems – have been lobbying hard for the contract, and deciding which one is best would be a very difficult decision.

Asked yesterday if the contract could be awarded to a consortium, he said it was “premature to speculate on the permutations”.

He added: “If they get together, I think that is for the good, but I have not seen it happen very frequently – the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese getting together.”

Singapore and Malaysia signed a legally binding pact for a 350km high-speed rail line yesterday.

It formalises, among other things, financing, commercial and procurement frameworks for the project.

In response to queries on how much the line is expected to cost, a Singapore Transport Ministry spokesman said it is “not appropriate” to announce cost estimates now as they are subject to further engineering studies, and could influence the bids submitted for tenders.

A target date has been set for the non-stop service between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur: Dec 31, 2026.

Asked how the two governments would ensure that the project remains on track in the current global economic slowdown, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said it is largely viable.

Also, the governments would be able to get long-term financing for it.

On whether the line would be extended farther north beyond Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Najib said doing so would add to its complexity and magnitude. It should be confined to between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, he added.

Most of the line – 335km of it – will be in Malaysia, with the remaining 15km in Singapore.

Three services will ply along the dual-track line, which will be designed for a top speed of 350kmh.

There will be an express service between the two terminal stations – Jurong East in Singapore and the upcoming Bandar Malaysia development in Kuala Lumpur; a shorter shuttle service will also connect Singapore and Iskandar Puteri in Johor.

Both countries will call a joint tender for an international operator to run the non-stop and shuttle services.

Malaysia will also call a tender for an operator to run a separate domestic service from Kuala Lumpur to Iskandar Puteri that will make stops at five other stations along the way: Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar and Batu Pahat.

In scheduling the train services, the international operator will have priority over the domestic operator.

Mr Lee said Singapore will continue to work closely with Malaysia in a joint ministerial committee for the Iskandar region.

He noted that joint venture projects between Temasek Holdings and Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional in Iskandar Malaysia are progressing well, citing the Afiniti Medini and Avira Medini developments.

The projects by Khazanah-Temasek joint venture M+S in Singapore are also progressing well, he added.

Iskandar Puteri is one of three locations where Customs, immigration and quarantine facilities of both countries will be located.

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are the other two.

This means international-bound travellers will need to clear Customs and immigration only once, when departing the respective countries.

With many more people expected to commute between the two sides when the line is completed, security has been raised as a concern.

Asked about it, Mr Lee said security was a major issue discussed and resolved in planning for the line.

There has to be a balance between ensuring secure borders and making it convenient for passengers to clear immigration, he said.

“There must be trust and understanding, and mutual agreement as to what the powers are, what the arrangements are, what you can do, what the fail-safe responsibilities are in case somebody tries to break through,” he added.

“We have thought long and hard about this, we need this both for the HSR (high-speed rail) as well as for the RTS (Rapid Transit System link), and we will make it work.”

roysim@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on December 14, 2016.
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Doctors who pay a third-party agent (TPA) a percentage of the fee they get from patients will be infringing the new medical code of ethics which goes into force next month, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) said yesterday.

The new Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines released in September had been ambivalent on this, which was a matter of concern to doctors party to such arrangements.

The SMC had said that fees should not be “primarily” based on the work done by doctors, or be “so high” as to constitute fee splitting.

TPAs are a diverse group that generally charge for their services by claiming 10 per cent to 25 per cent of the doctors’ fees.

Some represent companies that provide their staff with medical benefits and can also help to keep costs down. Others help insurers manage healthcare claims.

However some, often referred to as a medical concierge, simply collect payment for introducing a patient to a doctor.

The SMC is concerned that such fees could push up costs for patients.

To a query from The Straits Times last month on whether doctors can continue paying TPAs a percentage of their bill under the new ethics code, the SMC had said it was “deliberating” on the matter and would provide clarification.

This came in the advisory sent by SMC president Tan Ser Kiat to all doctors yesterday, which spelt out clearly that “fees that are based on a percentage of what doctors charge patients may be construed as a form of fee splitting”.

Elaborating, Professor Tan said the work done by a TPA in handling and processing patients “does not vary depending on the fees doctors charge patients”.

So, paying them a percentage of the bill to the patient would reflect the work done by the doctor and not the TPA. This is prohibited.

He added that it would be considered a breach of professional ethics “regardless of when the doctor entered into such an arrangement with the third party”.

But to give these doctors time to negotiate a new agreement and in order not to leave patients in the lurch, that particular guideline will be delayed for six months, going into force only on July 1.

He reminded doctors that their duty is to always place patients’ best interests above business or financial considerations. They should consider if such agreements “will result in profiteering”.

He said: “The fees must reflect the fair work done by third parties in handling and processing the patients. The fees must also be transparent to the patient.”

Dr Desmond Wai, a gastroenterologist in private practice who has agreements with three TPAs, applauded the ruling, which he sees as the SMC’s “efforts to clamp down on unethical practices” by some medical concierges who merely introduce patients for a fee.

He is fine with telling patients the amount that goes to the third party, which he says comes from his fee, and is not from a mark-up.

When asked about the penalty that doctors face for breaching the code, the SMC said: “The penalty depends on the extent of the misconduct, for example, it may vary from a letter of advice or warning to a formal disciplinary inquiry, depending on the circumstances.”

salma@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on December 14, 2016.
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