8 reasons why ICA does NOT deserve the Singapore Quality Award.

I read with disbelief news that Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has won the Singapore Quality Award (SQA).

In my view ICA does not deserve the award for the following reasons:

1. Many letters of complaints in the newspapers about Woodlands Checkpoint perennial traffic congestion
2. Traffic congestion is still the norm
3. Slow moving traffic on exiting checkpoint after customs clearance as there is only one lane and too many humps
4. Too much unnecessary red tape eg officer verbally verifying your name
5. On most days, too few counters are open
6. Old-fashioned toll payment system unlike Malaysia’s Touch and Go card
7. No attempt to reconfigure the checkpoint to ensure a smoother and faster immigration clearance
8. Public feedback not taken seriously

To be a worthy winner of SQA, the following criteria should be satisfied:

1. smooth and free-flowing traffic AT ALL TIMES OF THE DAY
2. ALL immigration counters remain open EVERY DAY
3. a pleasant experience in going through the ICQ

The official response to all this is that security is paramount so slow-moving traffic is unavoidable. With this mindset it’s not a surprise then that officialdom is trapped in their inability to think out of the box.

That ICA is a winner is indeed baffling.

If the award had specified Changi Airport Immigration Checkpoint I’d have no hesitation in applauding it.

CCS fines bus operators for price-fixing.

Bus travellers to Malaysia and Thailand must have cheered at news that 16 bus operators have been slapped with a $1.7 million fine for price-fixing by the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS).

CCS has made the point very clearly that a business association fixing prices for its members is contravening the law. For them to claim ignorance of the law is absurd and laughable.

CCS’s crackdown has received widespread coverage in the media and public approval.

CCS should now have the coffee shops and their associations in its cross hairs.

CCS should publicise its contact details to enable the public to provide it with feedback.

CCS fines 16 Singapore coach operators $1.7 million

Most bus travellers to Malaysia would certainly applaud the action taken by the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) against 16 coach operators for price-fixing.

I recall asking them why the need for fuel surcharge when the price of oil had gone down dramatically they replied, “True, that’s why we charge you less now.” (Their buses use only subsidised fuel in Malaysia.)

The $17 million fine will deter other businesses from hoodwinking the public.

CCS should now be zeroing in on the coffee shops to determine if they too are guilty of any price-fixing with regards to coffee/tea prices.

Even if it’s 10 cents, price-fixing is still illegal.

Well done, CCS!

South African tourist shocked by Singapore’s filthy public toilets

A South African tourist was wowed by clean and green Singapore.

But the public toilets disgusted him so much that he wrote to the Straits Times Forum.

This is what he has to say:

“But I would like to highlight one concern – the state of toilets in foodcourts. I was shocked to find many of them dirty during my walk around the city. They were worse than toilets in South African coffee shops.

I hope the authorities will enforce better hygiene standards.”

Trevor Mulaudzi

Because of ineffective action by the authorities concerned, a culture of dirty toilets over time has taken root. Ditto for noisy libraries, libraries being turned into study centres, reckless and inconsiderate driving, and now eating and drinking on trains.

That’s why I steer foreign friends away from eating at our coffee shops although I’d like them to have the experience.

Singapore’s filthy public toilets

The cleanliness and hygiene of public toilets is a perennial problem. Toilet owners and operators attribute the filth to inconsiderate users. Toilet users blame it on the lack of basic amenities and cleaners for not cleaning the toilets properly. Cleaners in turn retort that they are not provided with proper cleaning equipment.

-Speech by Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and Water Resources, at the LOO Campaign, 19 November 2008

Has there been any improvement? It’s a resounding NO in my view.

Five reasons why Singapore public toilets are a national disgrace.

Five reasons why Singapore public toilets primarily in coffee shops, which are patronised by the masses, are a national disgrace:

1. The lack of water

The water in the toilets is either a trickle or none at all. Coffee shop proprietors purposely tweak the plumbing system so that they can save on utilities cost.

2. Absence of a bidet / water hose

A bidet /water hose enables toilet users not only to wash up after doing their business but also helps to clean the toilet. In many countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Sabah, Laos etc, there’s always a pail of water. That’s why their toilets are not smelly unlike ours. True, the floor gets wet but this is preferable to a smelly toilet.

3. Damaged pipes

When pipes are damaged, water is shut down. Then it takes ages before repairs are carried out.

4. Infrequent toilet cleaning

Toilets are cleaned only once a day. A toilet cleaner tells me he cleans the coffee shop toilets only at closing time

5. Breakdown of high-tech automatic flushing system

A high-tech flushing system looks good but once they malfunction that’s it; there’ll be no repairs.
The Restroom Association of Singapore once said that a clean toilet made people happy. Now that was in 2003.

Sometimes you can tell if someone had just come out from a coffee shop toilet. A friend asked, “How did you know?”
“Your clothes stink,” I laughed.

State of Singapore public toilets – a national disgrace? Part 1

This is the typical disgraceful state of a coffee shop toilet (near Yishun MRT Station) in a HDB estate belonging to a popular chain of coffee shops.

Notice the stained tiled floor and walls, missing toilet bowl cover and the open litter bin. Notice also the absence of a water hose/bidet for those whose cultural practice/preference is to use water to wash up rather than to use toilet paper.

Impressive-looking toilet paper dispenser but where’s the paper? Coffee shops are quick to raise prices of coffee/tea but stint on toilet paper and water.

You get worried when you realise that the food handlers and stallholders use this kind of filthy toilet.

It’s a national disgrace, isn’t it?

Singapore public toilet culture needs improvement

This is taken from National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore website:

Criteria for a Singapore’s OK Public Toilet

Ensure all sanitary pipes and fittings are in good working condition.
Provide soap and toilet paper.
Provide a working hand-dryer or paper towels.
Provide litter bin.
Provide sanitary bin for female toilet.
Provide a cleaner during peak hours.
Display cleaning schedule prominently with a contact number to report lapses.

Public toilets in shopping malls, hotels, fastfood restaurants and some foodcourts are OK but not coffee shop toilets. 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing, and generally they patronise the neighbourhood coffee shops.

Based on NEA criteria most of our coffee shop toilets would be rated NO K. These are aspirations I’m aware but isn’t public health considered important?

The next time you get a tummy upset after eating in a coffee shop, the cause might be linked to its filthy toilet.

How’d NEA and the Health Ministry respond I wonder?

Not flushing the toilet attracts a fine in Singapore

“Failure to flush the toilet after use can result in a $150 (S$75) fine but then, chances of getting caught are pretty slim. However, urinating in elevators can cause the doors of some to permanently close until the police squad arrives! It’s also wise to take your own toilet paper as it’s not always available in many public toilets.” (from hoteltravel guide)

This travel advice is striking in three ways.

Firstly, the law on not flushing the toilet is downright ridiculous, making us a laughing stock. Has anyone been caught so far?

Secondly, has the police nothing better to do than to respond to lift-urinating culprits? At best this is hilarious, at worst it serves to reinforce the perception that Singapore is a dictatorial state.

Thirdly, it’s true toilet paper is not available but only in coffee shop and petrol kiosk toilets. Generally, it’s available in shopping mall, hotel and fastfood restaurant toilets.

Singapore has dirtiest public toilets in ASEAN

Singapore may be a modern, cosmopolitan city but there’s one aspect to it that it has never been able to resolve. This is the atrocious state of its coffee shop toilets.

These coffee shop toilets are often messy, filthy and smelly. Toilet fixtures are either damaged or spoilt. To compound the problem coffee shop owners make sure that toilet users make do with only a trickle of water. The toilets are cleaned at the most once a day.

Most Singaporeans eat out in the ubiquitous coffee shops so public health ought to be taken seriously. Dont’ forget food handlers also use the same toilets.

Having seen public toilets in other countries in the region I dare say Singapore public toilets are the worst (notable exceptions are those in hotels, shopping malls and foodcourts).

Perhaps, if there’s an international ranking of toilets then the Singapore authorities would be galvanised into taking action.

What a disgrace!!