Complaints about noise dropped from 16,600 in 2013 to 14,900 last year, new figures from the National Environment Agency (NEA) reveal.

One of the reasons for the fall, according to NEA, is the Quieter Construction Fund (QCF) which will be extended until 2018 and have its funding cap increased.

QCF was introduced two years ago by NEA to encourage companies to adopt innovative technology to reduce the impact of construction noise.

Since its inception, 41 applications have been approved to receive grants totalling more than $1.3 million. It has also helped to reduce violations of permissible noise limits from 483 in 2013 to 330 last year.

The enhancement of the fund will benefit companies purchasing more expensive equipment such as the silent piler, which costs about $750,000 – around $550,000 more than conventional ones.

Said Fong Peng Keong, NEA director of pollution control department: “If you are on a site where a contractor has applied for QCF and has already put in place solutions, you will experience a drastic drop and feel the noise level has improved.”

From next month, the funding cap of the purchase of quieter equipment will be raised from a maximum of $50,000 to $150,000 per item.

The average grant given to date is $32,000.

NEA chief executive Ronnie Tay said: “We are aware the costs of quieter construction technology and noise mitigating measures have remained high and the industry welcomes more funding assistance.”

MA Builders attracted more than 20 complaints and a fine from the authorities while working on a development in Jurong in 2013.

Since successfully applying for a $40,000 QCF grant to buy an $80,000 noise control barrier, which it has implemented at its new River Valley construction site, it has received less than 10 complaints and has had no legal noise violations.

“It’s almost impossible to meet the limits in residential areas where our construction site is only 30m away from other buildings,” said manager Kent Ang.

“QCF complements productivity because work will not be stopped for noise violations and there will be no monetary loss through fines as well.”

domteojy@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

The Government’s weekly Cabinet meeting began on an unusual note yesterday, to mark the first anniversary of the death of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The first 10 minutes of the usually closed-door meeting were streamed live on the Facebook of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, showing him addressing the Cabinet as he gave an insight on the way Mr Lee mentored the younger ministers.

When he was the prime minister, Mr Lee kept an eagle eye on every aspect of Singapore, said PM Lee.

“Yet (he) knew that he could not control everything personally, and that even more so, another prime minister would have to govern in a different way.

“He advised us that one could not use 10 fingers to catch 10 fleas, quoting Mao (Zedong). One had to focus on the important things and build a team,” PM Lee recounted.

Mr Lee also made an enormous effort to ensure that those who came after him succeeded in the running of the country, he added.

The Prime Minister pledged his Cabinet ministers will hold firm to the ethos and values Mr Lee had stood and fought for as they face new challenges in a changing world.

The Prime Minister was wearing a badge with the phrase “follow that rainbow”, used by Mr Lee in 1996 to urge Singaporeans to chase their dreams. The Cabinet then observed a minute of silence.

PM Lee spoke in the very room that Mr Lee had chaired or attended meetings for four decades. He said: “This Cabinet Room was Mr Lee’s command tent, where issues were examined and debated, decisions were taken, instructions given, and progress tracked.”

After Mr Lee stepped aside as prime minister in 1990, he continued to attend Cabinet meetings as senior minister until 2004, and then as minister mentor until 2011.

Mr Lee would recount the history and considerations behind the topic at hand so that the Cabinet was aware of the context when making fresh decisions, PM Lee said.

But he also encouraged ministers holding different views to argue their case, and he was prepared to make hard decisions.

To illustrate, PM Lee cited the decision to cut Central Provident Fund contribution rates in 1985, when Singapore suffered its first recession since independence.

Mr Lee had systematically raised contributions to 50 per cent of wages during a period of rapid growth, PM Lee recounted.

But the Economic Committee – which PM Lee had chaired at the time when he was minister of state for trade and industry – concluded that costs had got out of line and a reversal in policy was needed to jump-start the economy.

His ministry proposed cutting the rate from 50 per cent to 40 per cent.

“Then, to our surprise, he said if you are going to do it, do it properly. 40 per cent is neither here nor there.

“Make a decisive move, and cut it to 35 per cent.

“Furthermore, cut only the employer’s contributions. Do not cut employee’s contributions to increase take-home pay.

“That may sweeten the package but it will do nothing to make us more competitive,” PM Lee recounted.

This was a lesson “not just in economic management but in political leadership”, PM Lee said.

It was through such lessons that three generations of younger ministers have “benefited from his experience and insights, his views and concerns, and increasingly, his thoughts for Singapore’s future”.

PM Lee said: “Now we are a new team, dealing with a changed world in new ways, but always inspired by Mr Lee’s example and his memory, and holding firm the ethos and the values that he stood and fought for.

“These will guide us as we, in turn, follow the rainbow that Mr Lee himself chased all his life: to build an exceptional nation and to improve the lives of all Singaporeans.”

waltsim@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

Layoffs in Singapore have hit their highest levels since the global financial crisis, highlighting the adverse impact of sustained low oil prices on the city-state.

A big chunk of the losses have come in marine and offshore industries, areas where Singapore has long dominated. Singapore is a global trading hub for physical oil and 70 per cent of the world’s jack-up rigs are built there.

Now that oil prices have slumped to multi-year lows, both intentional and local companies are announcing hefty layoffs.

Among global companies hit by the oil crash that have announced job cuts, is Oslo-listed BW Offshore, which builds and operates ships that can produce and store oil offshore.

Singapore rigbuilders Keppel Corp. and Sembcorp Marine have collectively cut some 10,000 jobs in the last year.

This comes as Singapore Exchange-listed oil and gas companies reported a wave of impairments and provisions that followed rig delivery deferments and cancellations.

Moody’s in late-February downgraded the debt ratings of several key drillers, such as Transocean and Ensco, which may hit rig builders in Singapore. including Keppel Corp., Sembcorp Industries and Sembcorp Marine as the drillers’ access to funds will likely tighten, triggering rig orders deferments and cancellations, said Singapore’s DBS bank in early March.

Order books are also likely to decline this year.

“The yards are the last in line in terms of cash flow trickle-through; if vessel and rig owners continue to under-utilize their assets, order wins are likely to remain low,” wrote DBS analysts in a note on March 15.

The mood in general is still cautious. Even though oil prices have gained recently, they have not traded at a level that gives confidence to the market, Andy Hendricks, contract driller Patterson-UTI Energy CEO told CNBC’s Power Lunch on Monday.

“As an industry, we (don’t) really know what that number is yet, what price WTI will settle in and inspire a little bit of confidence,” he said.

DBS analysts said the situation for rig builders is unlikely to improve unless oil rebounds to $60 a barrel-about 40 per cent higher than current levels around $42 a barrel.

The US rig count has fallen by two-thirds by over the past year to its lowest since 2009, reported Reuters this week.

To weather the energy downturn, some companies are looking to diversify their businesses.

Singapore’s Keppel Corp., for instance, will likely deploy more funds to its property segment as offshore and marine segment flounders, said OCBC Investment Research’s Low Pei Han. The company’s other businesses includes waste-to-energy, data and logistics.

Singapore’s troubles go beyond oil and gas as jobs in the financial and technology sectors were also hurt, with global banks Barclays and Standard Chartered, as well as Japanese online retailer Rakuten and US internet company Yahoo also axing staff.

Forecasters last week slashed their growth expectations for Southeast Asia’s leading financial hub ahead of Thursday’s budget.

Private economists polled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank, see gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 1.9 per cent this year, down from a previous forecast of 2.2 per cent in December and below last year’s reading of 2 per cent.

Last year marked the weakest pace of growth since the economy contracted 1.3 per cent in 2009, so if GDP growth does slip below 2 per cent this year, it will mark a new seven-year low.

SINGAPORE – Close to 150 well-wishers, including colleagues, close friends and relatives, went to SMRT maintenance trainee Nasrulhudin Najumudin’s house in Tampines Street 12 on Wednesday (March 23) morning to pay their last respects.

Mr Nasrulhudin and his colleague Mr Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, died on Tuesday after an oncoming train struck them while they were walking along the tracks near Pasir Ris MRT Station to investigate a possible fault.

Many turned up at the Tampines home as early as 9am in the morning, sharing fond memories of the 26-year-old, whom they said had dreamt of joining the police force one day or furthering his studies at university.

Among them was his cousin Khairul Yazid, who grew up with him in Tampines, where they both live.

“He was considering between becoming a policeman and continuing his studies,” he told The Straits Times.

“I looked up to him as an older brother,” added the 22-year-old student, who rushed home from his hostel in Nanyang Technological University after hearing about the accident.

The mood grew sombre as Mr Nasrulhudin’s body was brought back from the mortuary around 2.35pm, carried by close relatives.

2 SMRT staff die in incident on MRT tracks

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Stomp, The Straits Times, Berita Harian

Land Transport Authority (LTA) chief executive Chew Men Leong was among the visitors.

He said the LTA is helping with investigations by the Ministry of Manpower and police, but did not give further updates or a timeframe.

He added: “Right now, our focus is with the family and to support them.”

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim and Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan also visited the 26-year-old’s family at their home. Mr Khaw went to Mr Asyraf’s funeral at Lengkong Empat as well.

About 200 friends and relatives had gathered there.

Mr Asyraf’s family, who were in Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage, arrived at about 2.30pm in an SMRT taxi. SMRT chief executive Desmond Kuek also visited the family.

Earlier in the day, more than 30 friends and relatives of the two men also turned up at the morgue where the families identified their bodies.

This article was first published on March 23, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

CERTIFICATE of Entitlement (COE) prices ended mostly flat yesterday, with marginal increases and dips in the various categories.

Premiums for bigger cars fell slightly – by over 2 per cent – from $47,604 to $46,502 when the second round of bidding in March closed yesterday.

Likewise, the open-category COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mostly for bigger cars, also fell to $46,667 from $48,002.

The biggest drop was in the COE premium for commercial vehicles, which fell 5 per cent to $46,502.

During the first round of bidding this month, that premium cost $48,890 – which was a seven-month high.

Meanwhile, COE prices for smaller cars and motorcycles crept up slightly.

Premium for Category A COE – for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp – went up from $45,000 to $45,504.

Motorcycle premiums rose slightly from $6,503 to $6,589.

Despite the changes being just marginal, dealers said this did not mean demand was easing off.

Nicholas Wong, general manager of Honda authorised agent Kah Motor, pointed out that there were 3,836 bids yesterday for Category A COEs, higher than the 3,518 in the previous round.

He said in the short-term – until the next quota period begins in May – prices across all categories would likely stay within this region.

“Of course, throughout this year, the prices will be trending downwards.

“The question is, when it will start moving down and by how much,” he added.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

THE sweltering climate has prompted some schools here to allow students to swop their standard uniform tops for approved T-shirts on some days of a week until the heat abates.

Last Thursday, the lower secondary students of Chinese High received an e-mail message informing them that they could go to school this whole week in T-shirts except on Friday, reported Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News.

They are likely to be able to do so also for next week as the e-mail message indicated that temperature had been forecast to hit 36 deg C for at least a fortnight, according to Shin Min.

Confirming the move, a spokesman for Chinese High told Shin Min that T-shirts would make students feel more comfortable in their classrooms, which are not air-conditioned.

The school is also considering whether to extend the move to the upper secondary, said the spokesman.

However, the school emphasised that laxer attire rule does not mean any T-shirt would do, as there are guidelines to observe.

Cynthia Tan, a department head of Nanyang Junior College, revealed that students in her institution had already for some time been allowed to come to school in “informal” wear except every Wednesday.

The “informal wear” include physical education attire, the school’s official polo shirt and T-shirts for the different classes and co-curricular groups, added Ms Tan.

According to family doctor Mark Low, cotton T-shirts feel cooler compared to school uniforms, which are generally made from a mix of cotton and polyester.

“During hot weather, cotton T-shirt is a good loose-fitting wear as it helps the skin absorb moisture and transfers heat away from the body,” the doctor told Shin Min.

myp@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.