Ushering the New Year in Singapore - The Ugly Singaprean Drink-Driving and PrimaDeli Re-opens

Singaporeans ushered in the New Year in a big way the way we know best, the ‘Ugly Singaporean Way’. If there is something about Singaporeans, it’s how ‘ kaisu’ we can be and selfish at the same time. In simple words, I refer to it as ’same shit different day’. At each major public event like the National Day Parade, Annual fireworks display, New Year Countdown, Chinese Lunar New Year Countdown you never fail to witness the ugly side of Singaporeans.

The annual fireworks display in August every year is part of the National Day (Independence Day to some of you folks) celebrations. An event that usually last no more than 10 minutes per display, it is a show of non-stop explosive pyrotechnics in the sky along Marina Bay. Singaporeans begin packing the bay as early as 12:00hrs. All in the hope of securing a good vantage point to view the display at 19:00hrs. Even the scorching sun at 31 degrees Celsius deters few. All for 10 minutes of action.

When the fireworks display begins, spectators jostle with each other to get a better view. It’s crazy to think parents bring their young ones to such events and risk them getting injured in the process. The same thing happens at the National Day Parade. With allocated seats at the National Stadium, Singaporeans start showing up to ‘bask’ under the sun. After every major public event, there is the daunting task of cleaning up after the spectators. Never fails to happen.

Drink-driving is probably one problem present in every country and state. The Singapore Police Force had their own way of ushering the New Year. In an island-wide ‘anti-drink and drive’ operation, the SPF nabbed 33 offenders in the wee hours of Jan 1. The 6-hour operation from 01:00hrs to 07:00hrs was staged to catch drink-drivers after they had their fill of alcohol. What a way to start the New Year.

After weeks of shutdown, it will take awhile for PrimaDeli to regain public confidence from the recent food poisoning outbreak. No pun on them but it will be interesting to see what kind of strategies PrimaDeli adopts. Heck, I might just be able to pick up some tips from them. We’ll have to see don’t we?

Quoted from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/320177/1/.html:

Channelnewsasia.com

Big clean-up underway after countdown party ends
By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 January 2008 1836 hrs

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Mechanical sweepers

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Big clean-up underway after countdown party ends

SINGAPORE : With the big countdown parties came the big mess, but clean-up efforts started as soon as the parties ended.

Less than 10 minutes after the fireworks ended at the Esplanade, mechanical sweepers came in to clean up the mess.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it’s using four such sweepers to clean the party area.

But that’s not all. More than 115 cleaners were also deployed by both the NEA and the Esplanade management. Their task is to quickly clear the 1.7 tonnes of rubbish left behind.

“When there’s food and all those drinks mixed with all those paper and plastic bags, it’s more difficult for us to clean up. We need to clear the rubbish first, then we need to wash up the whole place,” said Lim Yee Chang, Resident Manager of Chy Thiam Maintenance.

The mess was left by some 160,000 party revellers during the countdown party on New Year’s Eve.

Although 40 additional bins were placed throughout the party area, not everyone used them properly.

Besides rubbish, the ‘wishing spheres’ that dotted the Singapore river must also be removed.

The 5,500 spheres, with New Year wishes written on them by Singaporeans, form part of the countdown celebrations at Marina Bay.

The job of clearing the spheres was carried out by the same group that installed them. But familiarity with the job is not without its challenges.

“(By the time) it comes to retrieving them, most of us are very tired already, after several days of working day and night non-stop, installing the spheres. Then it also depends on the weather. If the weather is bad, that works against us but we still have to work. And (there might be) strong currents sometimes,” said Nicholas Ee, Managing Director of MD Daniel Enterprise.

Once the spheres are retrieved from the river, they will be thrown away. - CNA /ls

Quoted from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/320181/1/.html:

Channelnewsasia.com

Police make 33 arrests for drink-driving on New Year’s Day
By Chio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 January 2008 1853 hrs

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SINGAPORE : The police arrested 33 people in a nationwide anti-drink driving operation on the morning of January 1.

The six-hour operation was conducted from 1am to 7am and it targeted drink-drivers.

The 31 men and 2 women nabbed were between 24 and 40 years old.

In total, the police administered the breathalyser test on 145 people.

Of these, two were issued summonses for driving without a valid licence and one was summoned for driving even though he was disqualified to drive. - CNA /ls

Quoted from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/320200/1/.html:

Channelnewsasia.com

PrimaDeli resumes full retail operations
By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 January 2008 2227 hrs

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A PrimaDeli outlet

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PrimaDeli resumes full retail operations

SINGAPORE : PrimaDeli is back in business as operations resume full swing.

Its outlets re-opened on Tuesday after closing for almost a month, and response from the public after the food poisoning outbreak has been much better than expected.

A PrimaDeli outlet at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 re-opened for business after closing its shutters for over three weeks.

Freshly baked bread were hot on its shelves by 7am. Cakes manufactured by the Prima Food Factory also arrived in the morning.

Customers seem confident that PrimaDeli has taken the necessary steps ordered by Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to resume operations.

“I have a business in Ang Mo Kio Hub. So everyday, I’ll come here to see if this PrimaDeli shop is open. We buy the popular cakes so there shouldn’t be a problem,” said a member of the public.

PrimaDeli franchisee Jordan Cheang only ordered half of what he usually orders, in case demand is low.

But opening day sales have surprised him.

Before the food poisoning incident last month which affected more than 200 people, his outlet would sell 10 cakes. By Tuesday afternoon, five were already sold.

This gives Cheang the confidence that sales will be brisk during the upcoming Chinese New Year in February.

“We do not see any problems. We feel that customers will be confident (in us). If AVA allows PrimaDeli to start operation again, then things will get back to normal pretty soon,” said Cheang.

Cheang added that the shutdown had cost his three outlets some S$200,000 in sales.

Prima Food said it’s still continuing discussions on how to compensate its franchisees. - CNA /ls