A new range of educational programmes was launched yesterday to introduce the less privileged to Singapore’s heritage sites and institutions.

There will be free guided trails of historical sites, workshops and interactive programmes at museums specially tailored to the needs of low-income families, people with disabilities or special needs, at-risk youth and senior citizens.

HeritageCares, an initiative by the National Heritage Board (NHB), aims to reach about 12,000 Community Chest beneficiaries over the first three years.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said at the launch event yesterday that the activities will allow more people to enjoy Singapore’s heritage collection, as well as give people the chance to volunteer.

“It’s important that our heritage is presented to all parts of our society and we’d like it to be as inclusive as possible,” she said.

The programmes will be supported by a $750,000 donation from watch retailer Cortina Watch, from the auction of a table clock created by Patek Philippe.

Money will also be contributed by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth’s Cultural Matching Fund.

The NHB hopes to attract companies to donate and encourage their employees to volunteer under the initiative.

Beauty of the Botanic Gardens

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The Straits Times

It is also working with Youth Corps Singapore, whose volunteers will be trained as guides for the 8km Jubilee Walk – a trail which connects the past, present and future elements of the Singapore story.

Yesterday morning, Ms Fu joined a group of around 80 volunteers and people from low-income families on a section of the Jubilee Walk from the National Museum to the Spice Garden at Fort Canning Park and Singapore Philatelic Museum, – the first activity under HeritageCares.

One participant, who gave her name as Ms Emilia, 44, said the outing was a very fruitful one for herself and her daughters.

She attended the tour with her husband, Mr Des Iskandar, 52, and their two youngest children, aged six and 10.

“We usually don’t have time to go to Fort Canning Park or the museums,” said the administrative assistant.

The family especially enjoyed the Singapore Philatelic Museum, where she was able to explain to her children how mail was processed.

“Nowadays most news is sent by WhatsApp, so I told them about how we used to send Hari Raya wishes by cards,” she said.

joseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 14, 2016.
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Cars have topped the consumers’ grouse list yet again.

The car industry remained the top source of complaints for the fourth year in a row, according to statistics released by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) yesterday.

Complaints against the industry shot up 37.6 per cent last year to 2,907, with the majority of people unhappy over buying second-hand cars with defects, Case said. About seven in 10 cases it handled involved second-hand cars.

Things were looking up, however, for timeshare companies, as the industry dropped out of the top 10 most-complained-about list for the first time in more than a decade.

Timeshare complaints fell from 869 in 2014 to 536 last year, a decrease of 38.3 per cent.

The consumer watchdog attributed this to its efforts in tackling errant companies, including taking out injunctions against several firms.

Rounding up the top three sectors with the most complaints are electrical and electronics with 1,668 and beauty with 1,664, though both saw a slight dip over the previous year. Several other sectors also saw a fall in complaints, including travel and mobile phones.

Making its entry to the top 10 list for the first time was the clubs sector, with 623 complaints lodged. About 90 per cent were against fitness clubs and mostly related to membership termination, Case said.

Overall, consumer complaints received by Case fell by 9.7 per cent to 22,319, though the number of filed cases went up 45.3 per cent to 2,006 last year.

In filed cases, the consumer authorises Case to handle the dispute on his or her behalf.

The statistics were released at a carnival held by Case at Chinatown Point yesterday to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day, as well as Case’s 45th anniversary.

Case president Lim Biow Chuan said that better consumer education and legislation have led to both an overall drop in complaints and an increase in filed cases.

“The lemon law has empowered consumers to feel that if I have a basis for my complaint, then I want Case to help push for my rights,” he said at the event.

The “lemon law” is an amendment to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and the Hire Purchase Act that requires retailers to repair or replace a product found to be defective within six months of purchase or provide a refund.

Mr Lim, who is also Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for Mountbatten, said that the long-troubled timeshare industry falling out of the top 10 complaint rankings was cause for celebration.

The increase in complaints about cars, however, was a cause for concern, he added.

Noting that most complaints related to second-hand cars, he said: “The reality is that (the cases of) second-hand cars are not so straightforward. A lot depends on the age of the car and the expectations of the buyer. So, we are still exploring with the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association (SVTA) to see what we can do to bring complaints down.”

SVTA president Michael Lim agreed, and noted that while the number of complaints against car sellers was in the thousands, the actual number of car cases handled by Case last year was under 500.

Mr Lim said the association, which counts about 400 used car dealers as members, is working with Case on efforts to educate car buyers.

tiffanyt@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 14, 2016.
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Few people in Singapore would have heard of dyslexia, which affects how a person reads and writes, if not for founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who was dyslexic.

But, with growing awareness of the condition over the years, more people are seeking help for it.

Last year, a record 3,012 students enrolled in the Dyslexia Association of Singapore’s (DAS) main literacy programme – run at its 13 centres – up from 2,465 in 2013.

The programme, co-funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE), aims to improve students’ reading, comprehension and writing skills, and help them differentiate between phonemes, or sound units.

DAS, which marks its 25th anniversary this year, has been helping a rising number of students across all ages in recent years.

About 280 pre-school children sought help last year, thrice the 89 in 2013. DAS will also start a programme later this year for post-secondary dyslexic students.

These students will have support from a pool of 30 DAS alumni who will be their mentors and buddies.

Besides the main literacy course, other DAS courses have also seen more participants signing up.

The mathematics classes, for instance, had 266 students last year, up from 90 in 2013. And its speech and drama arts sessions drew 46 students last year, double that in 2013.

DAS expects student numbers to grow at about 10 per cent from this year, in line with growing awareness of dyslexia.

People with dyslexia have difficulty reading, writing and spelling.

The condition ranges from mild to severe forms and often occurs alongside other learning disabilities such as attention deficit disorder.

DAS chief executive officer Lee Siang said global figures show 4 per cent of each cohort of students suffer from dyslexia in a severe enough form to warrant intervention.

This means 23,000 primary and secondary school students here are estimated to have the condition.

DAS assessed more than 900 students in each of the past three years, about two-thirds of whom were diagnosed with dsylexia.

To meet demand, DAS has hired more educational therapists and speech and learning therapists. It has 152 of them now, and is looking to recruit more teachers.

Mr Lee was appointed in January to the board of directors of the United States-based International Dyslexia Association (IDA), a first for a Singaporean and Asian.

He hopes to tap the insights of the IDA, as well as its 24 partner associations, for novel ways to support people with dyslexia.

“Besides helping children with their basic reading and spelling, we should be moving to some of the higher-order skills in literacy such as reading comprehension and essay writing,” he said.

“We should also be helping children in other subject areas because dsylexia does not just impact the English language.” The work by DAS complements MOE’s efforts, said Mr Lee.

MOE piloted the Dyslexia Remediation Programme in 20 primary schools in 2012. It is expected to be extended to all primary schools this year.

Mr Lee Hong Ping, 46, said his Primary 5 daughter, diagnosed with dyslexia at six, is doing better in school after joining DAS’ classes.

“She had Cs in lower primary for English, but now she gets Bs and the occasional As,” said the head of business development in a German engineering and construction firm.

Early intervention is key, he said. “If we were not alerted to her difficulties in kindergarten, she might be doing worse now.”

ateng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 14, 2016.
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The authorities will be getting tougher on those who run riot on electric bicycles.

There were more than 2,000 offences involving such bicycles last year – almost double the number in 2014 – and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said the increase is proof stiffer penalties are needed.

“The growing PAB (power-assisted bicycle) population and increase in the number of PAB offences necessitates further raising of penalties and strengthening of enforcement efforts,” an LTA spokesman told The Straits Times last week.

She did not specify how much further the screws would be tightened.

But the LTA’s comments come barely a month after harsher penalties and tougher rules for those who sell or use illegally modified PABs, or e-bikes, kicked in.

These include a weight limit of 20kg for such bikes and stiffer fines. Under the new penalties, first-time offenders are fined $300, while repeat offenders are fined $500.

Responding to queries, the LTA said it took a “serious view” of those who flout the rules, pointing out that it has been imposing stricter penalties since 2011.

Last month, a pair of teenagers crashed into a car after they ran a red light on their e-bike. A video of the accident went viral and ignited safety concerns anew over the proliferation of illegally modified e-bikes, which can travel in excess of 70kmh.

Current rules state that the e-bike’s motor has to be cut when the speed reaches 25kmh.

In Parliament this month, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a written reply to Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan that government agencies had issued warnings, composition fines or took to court 2,027 e-bike cases last year. In 2014, the figure was 1,096.

Most of the bookings were by the LTA. It issued 1,863 summonses last year – with the figure rising exponentially from 11 in 2008.

Eight retailers have also been taken to task for selling non-compliant PABs, said the LTA.

Mr Tan told The Straits Times that he has seen illegally modified e-bikes speeding along roads and park connectors in a very unsafe manner.

“A lot of these users do not follow traffic rules and don’t wear helmets. They can be a safety hazard to themselves and other road users.”

He suggested that the authorities confiscate the illegally modified e-bikes of errant riders when they are caught. Now, only repeat offenders have their e-bikes seized.

Mr Ang Hin Kee, an Ang Mo Kio GRC MP and deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said the penalties need to target three groups of people – retailers who import illegal e-bikes, those who modify them, and customers.

Mr Jason Koh, operations manager of MKP Bikes, which sells PABs, said errant retailers who modify or sell illegal e-bikes give all in the industry a bad name.

While many want speeding PABs to slow down, some e-bike users hope some of the rules can be relaxed, such as the one on the use of a throttle, which is now outlawed.

Arts director Robert Liew, who has been using e-bikes for 12 years, said the use of a throttle afforded more stability to elderly users.

The 67-year-old pointed out that e-bikes without throttles were prone to surging forward because the motor power cannot be modulated and kicks in once users start pedalling.

“A throttle gives a lot more stability… The increased penalties should be for those who modify their bikes (to operate) above the power limit,” he said.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 14, 2016.
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JOHOR BARU – Commuters travelling between Singapore and Johor Baru via the Causeway and the Second Link are getting frustrated with the constant traffic congestion.

The situation becomes worse during holidays and school holidays in both countries.

Motorists are unhappy that no effort is being taken to ensure that all immigration booths are open during peak hours on the Malaysian side.

The situation is made worse by additional security checks on the Singapore side and the heavy volume of vehicles during the holidays, weekends and festive seasons.

Mr Razali Raihayu, 38, an executive with a non-governmental organisation, claimed that closed immigration lanes, especially during peak hours, made the situation worse at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) check at the Causeway.

Mr Razali, who rides a motorcycle into the republic to work daily, said it took him five hours on Saturday to enter Singapore in what used to be a two- to three-hour ride.

“Not only do we have to face delay on the Malaysian side, but the standard checks at the Singapore side is also time consuming,” he said.

Clerk Majorie Chew, 25, who commutes via public bus daily, said that it took her almost an hour to catch a bus back to CIQ after stamping her passport at the Singapore Immigration during the weekend.

“The usual wait is about 20 minutes even during peak hours but I believe the additional crowd was due to the one-week school holidays,” she said.

She urged bus companies to consider increasing the frequency of trips especially during holidays.

Johor Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said many businessmen failed to keep their appointments in Singapore as they were delayed by the traffic jam.

“It took me four hours from Johor Baru to reach my destination in Singapore on Saturday,” he said, adding that the closure of many immigration booths had contributed to the problem.

He said that there was no point for the state government to encourage tourists to visit from Singapore if the issue of traffic congestion was not tackled.

Johor Tourism, Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said the state government was aware of the problems and viewed the matter seriously.

“For the Second Link, we are asking tourist agencies to submit their tourist information documents to the Immigration Department at least three days before travelling to Johor to avoid the congestion,” he said after visiting the link here on Sunday.

Mr Tee also appealed to the public to plan their journey and do their best to avoid travelling during peak hours.