SINGAPOREANS support the idea of inclusion but do not walk the talk, a survey has found.

While most people believe that children with and without disabilities can study together, only half of parents polled were comfortable with having a special needs child sitting next to their own child in class.

Also, only one in 10 Singaporeans are confident of interacting with special needs children.

These were some of the findings of a survey – released yesterday at a press conference – which asked more than 1,000 people for their experience of inclusion in daily life and early education. The survey was commissioned by local philanthropic house Lien Foundation.

The findings suggest that Singaporeans are tolerant rather than accepting towards special needs people, said Ng Tze Yong, programme manager at Lien Foundation.

“Singaporeans embrace the idea of inclusion, but there is a gap between what we think and what we do,” said Mr Ng.

“Building handicapped ramps, parking lots and toilets is the easy part. We now need to move beyond that to dismantle the obstacles in our minds and the barriers in our hearts,” he added.

Inclusion means ensuring that everyone, including those with disabilities, is given the opportunity to realise his potential in the same environment.

Asked about the current level of acceptance and degree of social interaction between the public and special needs children, more than half of the respondents said that Singaporeans were willing to share public spaces with such children but not to interact with them.

Only eight per cent of those polled felt that Singaporeans were willing to go the extra mile to make a special needs child feel welcome.

Yet, nearly half of them believe that new laws are needed to promote the rights of such children.

For instance, eight in ten of them believe that it should be compulsory for such children to go to school. They are now exempted from the Compulsory Education Act.

One possible reason why special needs children, such as those with learning and behavioural difficulties or physical disabilities, are not accepted fully in society is the lack of interaction between the public and such children.

For over a third of the respondents, such children are not part of their social circle. Only a quarter of parents surveyed reported that their children are friends with them.

However, the survey also found that Singaporeans’ uncertainty about interacting with special needs children falls when the frequency of interactions rises.

Given this correlation, clinical psychologist and researcher Kenneth Poon said there should be more opportunities for interaction so that friendships and shared interests can form.

Tang Hui Nee, assistant director and head of community services at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, said it would help if there was more public education and exposure.

Three in four of the respondents said being informed in advance about the special needs of a child will help them be more understanding when disruptive behaviour happens.

To better understand the needs and challenges of the special needs community, a separate survey of 750 parents of children with special needs is being done and the findings will be released next month.

jantai@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

MORE used cars are being bought by drivers who want to work for private hire firms like Uber and Grab, dealers have told The Straits Times.

Ubi-based Yong Lee Seng Motor has been selling around 20 more used cars a month since January to such buyers, compared with last year – a rise of about 30 per cent.

I-Deal Auto Trading, in the Sin Ming area, now sells around 10 used cars a month to such buyers, as well as car rental firms and private car hire firms, a 50 per cent rise on last year.

It was a similar situation at four other dealers, including 99 Motors Trading and Prime.

Most buyers from Yong Lee Seng Motor intend to drive such cars part time. Its managing director Raymond Tang said: “They want to get extra income because the economy doesn’t look good.”

Car rental firms are also expanding their used car fleets. Diversified motor group Prime has about 240 used cars available for rent, but intends to increase that to 400 this year.

Hawk Asia Pacific has seen a 20 per cent rise in the number of people renting used cars for private hire this year. It has bought about 100 used cars since last year to cater to this.

Uber did not respond to ST queries while Grab said it does not rent cars to its drivers.

However, the easing of loan curbs announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore last Thursday, which has made new cars more affordable, has raised questions about whether the trend towards used cars will be affected.

Dealers hold mixed views.

Some like Mr Tang, who is also first vice-president of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, thinks the number of private hire buyers will still rise and few will go for new cars as the downpayment required is still higher.

For instance, a new Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 on sgcarmart.com costs $112,888 and will require a minimum downpayment of $33,866. A used version of the same model, registered in 2011, costs $64,800, with a downpayment of $19,440 needed.

One can also recover a larger proportion of a used car’s cost if one scraps it in the short term, compared with a new car, said Mr Tang.

But Neo Nam Heng, chairman of Prime, stresses that a key factor is how COE prices react.

Already, demand for new cars is rising and will push COE prices up, he notes. Daily new car sales at his group have increased by 50 per cent since the announcement.

Higher COE prices make it more expensive to own a new car. People who want to drive for private car hire firms may then prefer used cars to new ones, he noted, adding that “in the next two, three rounds, the COE will likely shoot up by $5,000 to $10,000”.

Park Byung Joon, adjunct associate professor at SIM University, said some private hire drivers will buy new cars instead, as the new measures improve their affordability.

“The COE prices may go up but monthly payment is going to get lower,” he noted.

The used cars bought for private car hire normally have three years or below left on their COEs and cost $10,000 to $50,000, noted Mr Tang. Their scrap value ranged from $5,000 to $13,000.

Donovan Loh, 27, who sells food at night markets, bought a Honda Civic with about a year left on its COE last September and drives part time for Uber and Grab.

He did not reveal how much he paid for the car, but said he has been earning $1,000 to $2,000 a month on average – “more than enough” to cover instalments for his car and its expenses.

jkoh@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

MOST of the 16 town councils have performed well in areas such as estate cleanliness and lift maintenance, according to the Ministry of National Development’s (MND’s) latest Town Council Management Report yesterday.

However, there was room for improvement for some in estate maintenance and service and conservancy charges (S&CC) arrears management, the report said.

The report assessed all town councils under the four indicators from April to September last year. Each indicator uses three colour bands – green, amber and red – based on measurable objective criteria submitted by the town councils and their auditors.

All except two scored green in S&CC arrears management. Potong Pasir was banded yellow, the same as in 2014, while the Workers’ Party-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council’s (AHPETC’s) score was listed as pending due to the ongoing review by its auditor, KPMG.

While MND said AHPETC had confirmed that the reports were prepared in accordance to its requirements, it noted that KMPG had made two observations in its May 13 report.

The first was that the balances in the town council’s accounts receivables sub-ledger as at March 31, 2015, which were prepared by an external consultant, do not match the trial balances for the same period.

Secondly, the figures in the accounts receivable sub-ledger, used by AHPETC to calculate S&CC arrears attributable to the sinking fund, do not match the numbers in the FY2014/15 audited financial statements. The town council is investigating the reasons for the difference.

Aljunied-Hougang Town Ccouncil (AHTC) chairman Pritam Singh said in a statement that the town council has noted MND’s remarks on S&CC arrears. AHTC will continue to publish on its website (www.ahtc.sg) all monthly KPMG reports for the public to track the progress and resolution of this issue.

Meanwhile, only five town councils – Ang Mo Kio, Bishan-Toa Payoh, Marine Parade, Nee Soon and Sembawang – scored green in estate maintenance. The rest were banded amber.

The report noted that the obstruction of common areas remains the top estate maintenance issue, accounting for more than a third of the total maintenance observations in FY2015.

It warned that such obstructions were fire hazards and could hamper evacuation efforts during emergencies.

There will be no report for the period from October 2015 to March this year, as MND said most town councils were in the process of handing over properties to each other, due to the 2015 General Election.

The public can access the full report at www.towncouncils.sg and provide their feedback at tcmr_feedback@mailbox.hdb.gov.sg or directly to their respective town councils.

mklee@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

SINGAPORE’S rail system has lost its “mojo” but it is working hard to regain its earlier standing, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday.

Lauding the Taipei metro system for its reliability, Mr Khaw urged rail operators SBS Transit and SMRT to emulate its example.

He noted that rail staff from the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) – which was formed in 1996 – had in its early years visited Singapore to study the MRT, which began operations in 1987.

“We were then an exemplary MRT player and a subject of study,” he said in a speech at a forum on rail infrastructure maintenance.

“Unfortunately, maybe due to complacency or distracted management attention, we lost our earlier standing. I prefer to use the word, we lost our mojo. Let’s work hard to regain our mojo.”

2 SMRT staff die in incident on MRT tracks

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Stomp, The Straits Times, Berita Harian

He said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working with the TRTC to attach staff from SBS and SMRT to its metro workshops to learn its asset maintenance practices and engineering improvements.

Mr Khaw’s observations were garnered from a study trip to Taipei two weeks ago, led by LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong, together with SBS and SMRT.

Last year, the TRTC clocked a mean distance of 800,000 train kilometres between delays exceeding 5 minutes.

Singapore’s rail network posted an average of 130,000 train-km between such delays.

The preliminary figure for the first quarter of the year is 160,000 train-km.

Mr Khaw challenged SBS and SMRT to aim for 400,000 train-km between delays by 2018. This should double to 800,000 train-km by 2020, he added.

“This is a very high target… But looking from where we came from, and what others have already achieved, I say: why not? Let’s go for it,” he said.

adrianl@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

New and better MRT trains will cut down disruptions

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

AsiaOne, The Straits Times, Khaw Boon Wan’s Facebook page