Monday, June 23, 2008 7:00
Coping with inflation – some free stuff
In Main Stories, Top Story, Uniquely Spore • 1,692 views • 31 Comments
I spoke on “Inflation : Issues and Implications”, at a free public forum, on 24 May 2008, organised jointly by MARUAH (Singapore Working Committee for the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism), TWC2 (Transient Workers Count Too), the Society of Financial Service Professionals, and a group of NTU students.
As I read the Straits Times on the morning of the free public forum (which was in the afternoon), I came across the article “Up : Govt raises inflation forecast for this year - consumer price index at high of 7.5% last month ; full-year outlook now 5% - 6%”. (Straits Times)
In this connection, I was rather amused when I read former Permanent Secretary, Mr Ngiam Tong Dow’s remarks “a committee tasked to look into inflation in the 1980s was “a public relations exercise”. As the Government, we must be seen to be doing something” (“Govts can tackle rising prices using policy tools“, Straits Times, May 23).
The acting Minister for Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong said recently, that raising wages was not the solution to cope with rising inflation. (Channel NewsAsia)
Singapore’s economic competitiveness has to be maintained.
The National Wage Council’s (NWC) report also emphasised the importance of productivity gains, with national productivity at -0.9 last year.
It also called for private sector employers to try to pay a once-off bonus to their lower-income employees, to help Singaporeans cope with rising inflation.
There have also been media reports that workers may not get enough wage increases, to cope with rising inflation. Such as - “Pay rises unlikely : Rising business costs affecting employers’ ability to pay more” (Today, May 23), “Salary hike won’t keep pace with inflation : Hay survey - Most S’pore employers plan to maintain only same percentage hike as the previous year” (My Paper, May 20).
I was also struck by NTUC Secretary-General, Minister Lim Swee Say’s recent remarks that we need to educate Singaporeans on how to cope with rising inflation.
So, it got me thinking - what else can an ordinary Singaporean like me do to help Singaporeans cope with rising inflation ?
Well, the first thing that came to my mind was - where can I get free things (kiasu Singaporean - me !) ?
So, I would like to devote my column for this Monday’s Uniquely Singapore on The Online Citizen (TOC) to consolidate a list of free things in Singapore and to call upon my fellow citizens, to contribute to this list.
I hope that TOC will consider and explore the possibility of having this listing as a regular feature on TOC, like its “The relentless rising cost of living”.
Some of the information may be out-of-date, inaccurate, need more details, etc. Please help us to update the information.
Fellow Singaporeans, what do your think ? Your views, suggestions, comments, criticism, would be much appreciated.
Editor’s note: Please do let us know if you know of any free services or products in Singapore. We will include them in the list for everyone’s reference.
Cartoon courtesy of My Sketchbook.
——————
Free Housing
I understand that there are homeless shelters in Singapore
Call the ComCare Hotline 1800 2220000
(Note : This is also the hotline for those needing financial assistance or job search assistance)
Free Legal Help
Community Legal Clinic
4 nights a week
Call 65360650 to sign up for free legal advice
Catholic lawyers free legal clinic for needy
4th Monday each month - Church of the Holy Trinity
2nd Monday each month - Church of the Risen Christ
Free Shuttle Buses
Concourse to City Hall MRT to Millenia/Suntec
20 minutes interval, except Sundays, Public Holidays
7.45am to 5.20pm
To IKEA
Daily free shuttle from Tampines MRT, Bedok MRT, Pasir Ris MRT, to IKEA Tampines
30 minutes interval
9.30am to 11.15pm
Other places
Buona Vista MRT/Biopolis/NUH/Holland Village/Ghim Moh Market)
(various times depending on route)
7.30 am to 7.30 pm Monday to Friday
7.30am am to 1.30 am Saturday
IMM to Jurong East, Clementi and Boon Lay
Daily 10.30 am to 9 pm (half hourly)
Free Clinics
Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic
($ 1 per person each visit - waived for Buddhist monks and nuns, elderly age 60 and above, persons who are receiving welfare or financial aid, or granted waiver by SBFC)
Head Office Address
48 Lorong 23 Geylang
Singapore 388376
Tel: 67487292
Fax: 67487239
Office Hours:
8 am - 112 noon
1.30 pm - 4.30 pm,
7 pm - 9 pm
Tanjong Pagar Address
44 Craig Road S 089682
Tel: 62216652
Fax: 62211805
Office Hours:
8 am - 10 am
1 pm - 3 pm
Redhill Branch Address
Blk 131 Clarence Lane
#01-20, S 140131
Tel: 64736638
Fax: 64731336
Office Hours
8 am - 10 am
7 pm - 9 pm
Ang Mo Kio Branch Address
Blk 348 Ang Mo Kio St 31
#01-2096 S 560348
Tel: 64539466
Fax: 65524416
Office Hours
8 am - 10 am, 7 pm - 9 pm
Jurong Branch Address
Blk 320 Jurong East Ave 1
Str 31, #01-74, S 600320
Tel: 65630063
Fax: 65631524
Office Hours
8 am - 10 am
7 pm - 9 pm
Rehabilitation Centre Address
Blk 77 Indus Rd, #01-519
S 160077
Tel: 62727711
Fax: 62729611
Office Hours
8 am - 11.30 am
1 pm - 4 pm
Chung Hwa Free Clinc ($ 2 per visit)
Lor 4 Toa Payoh,
S 319522
Yishun
Blk 215, Yishun Street 21
#01-301, S 760215
Woodland
Blk 679 Woodlands Ave 6,
#01-710,
S 730679
Changi
2 Simei St 3
#L1 – 01
S 298889
(Days/times vary 9 am to as late as 9 pm
Moral Free Clinc
Jalan Bilai (every Sunday)
Kwan-In Welfare Free Clinic
Jalan Eunos, S 419496
Realm of Tranquility
Mobile Free Clinic Service at Sembawang GRC
7 pm to 9 pm
Admiralty - Ace the place CC (every 1st Sat)
Canberra - Jeluntung CC (every 1st Wed)
Marsiling - Fuchun CC (every 2nd Wed)
Woodlands - Woodlands CC (every 3rd Wed)
Sembawang - (every 3rd Sat)
Kheng Chin Loke Tin Kee Home for the Aged
(every last Sun, 10 am to 1 pm)
Note : registration fee $ 2, medicine additional charge - free for 60
years and above, physically disabled, public assistance recipients.
The Public Free Clinic
Blk 245 Tampines Str 21
#01-329,
S 520245
Monday to Saturday: 8 am – 11.30 am, 1 pm – 5 pm, 7.30 pm - 9 pm
Mobile Clinic at Blk 105: 7 pm to 9 pm, every Friday
Naturopathic
Centre of Integrated Medicine
(CIMed Community Service)
Free Clinics on Thursdays
(quote from web site www.cimed.com.sg, “if for any reason you cannot afford any therapeutical help, we will offer our professional Naturopathic consultation for free”)
Free Food
Food from the Heart
Provides food for needy individuals and families.
(Quote from their web site www.foodheart.org, “Beneficiaries are chosen through the school and Resident Committee networks that were requested to provide details of families who needed support ….. the average per capita income in the households participating is between $ 0 - $ 200”).
Central Sikh Gurdwara
Lunch everyday
Jalan Bukit Merah
Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society Meal Centres
Toa Payoh
Blk 31 #01-663 Lor 5
Toa Payoh, S 310031
Telok Blangah
Blk 3, #01-504
Telok Blangah Cres, S 090003
MacPherson
Blk 90, #01-103
Pipit Road, S 370090
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
Everyday 12.30 pm to 6.30 pm
South Bridge Road
Singapore 058840
(Note : I have seen people packing food to bring home)
Everyday-Singapore Buddhist Lodge
Kim Yam Road (Temple)
The Care Corner Seniors Activity Centre
Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, for elderly citizens
Blk 5, Toa Payoh Lor 7
#01-131, S 310005
Nativity Church (Catholic)
Everyday breakfast and lunch
Hougang, end of Upper Serangoon Road
Free Activities
Free musical performance
Esplanade - normally on every Friday and Saturday evening (from around 7.30 pm), and last Tuesday of every month at 12.45 pm - 1.15 pm (Esplanade Concert Hall)
Museums
Free Every Monday for senior citizens above 60
Asian Civilisations Museum
Memories at Old Ford Factory
National Museum
Peranakan Museum
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Philatelic Museum
Fu Tak Chi Museum
Open: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Admission: Free
Haw Par Villa
Open: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
Admission: Free
Orchidville Singapore
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ;
Sunday and public holidays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Marina City Park, East Coast Park
Open: 24 hours
Admission: Free
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Related posts:
31 Comments
Mun Kit
intent
i think it is better not to take the ikea shuttle bus. You might end up spending more at ikea/giant/courts as it is usually in my case :-)
Gary Teoh
‘ There is no free lunch in Spore ” : MM Lee Kuan Yew
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 23 Jun 2008
[...] & Cost of Living – TOC: Coping with inflation – some free stuff – P65: Is Subsidy a Panacea for the Rising Inflation? – My Sketchbook: Let’s talk about [...]
Be a freecycler:
http://www.sgfreecycle.org/
On the sgfreecycle email list, people advertise items that they want to give away and you can arrange to take over these items. For free. Also a much less wasteful way to dispose of unwanted yet functional items.
Thank you
This is an important site for social activists. It is so much better than the pimps of this country which collects tax when you drive (ERP), when you use petrol, when you use a maid, when you employ foreign talent while not giving them a minimal wage. Real exploitation of the people.
Singapore Resident
Thought MM Lee disliked us to travel “unnecessary”??
Singapore Resident
Anchorpoint free WEEKEND shuttle bus svc:
http://www.fraserscentrepointmalls.com/cp_promo/AP_weekend_shuttle/index.html
IKEA Alexandra just across the road
rundog
since this garmen like to tax on us so much, why not all our salaries go to your blood sucking ministry first.Then give us bread crumps will do. you happier with this arrangement now?? curse on you. keep telling the whole world how first world you are & how happy singaporean are. we are already brainwashed, foreigner are not. keep suppressing us, you are doing a good job. keep up with your superficial act to show the world. you nake emperor.
yg
there is a free shuttle bus service from toa payoh and clementi to turf city.
on weekends and public holidays, there is a free shuttle from boon lay and choa chu kang mrt stations to qian hu.
free admission to sungei buloh wetland reserve on weekdays, but not during the school holidays.
free admission to most of the farms at lim chu kang, seletar, pasir ris.
Singapore Resident
Free WEEKEND shuttle bus svc to Anchorpoint Shopping Centre
http://www.fraserscentrepointmalls.com/cp_promo/shuttle-bus/index.htm
Across the road is IKEA Alexandra
Go visit Haw Par Villa. It’s free too, except for a subsection the “10 courts of Hell”. That will cost you $1 per visitor.
RH:
1. For computer users, http://www.download.com has tonnes of software, at least 30% of them totally free, the rest free to TRY then pay to keep.
2. Most importantly, these are all tested to prevent malware such as viruses, trojans, etc, so safe to recommend even to kids or less expert pc users.
3. Software ranges from mp3 songs, music videos, games, to very useful tools, utilities, programs to do just about everything on a pc.
4. My favourites include AVG Anti-Virus; Audacity sound editing and mixing program [go to soundsnap.com for free sound effects, including music loops and SFX]; Gimp2 image editing program to transform photos or create your own digital visuals; VirtualDub for video editing; and Webinaria to make screenshot tutorials. All free. These will enable you to put together very nice videos using stills or videos from a digicam, whether for political advocacy, family album or to promote a cause on your website or blog; or for upload to YouTube.
5. To learn how to use these programs, search for “XXX tutorials”. If you prefer video tutorials, then “XXX video tutorials”. There are numerous tutorials, many on YouTube, too.
6. download.com often has Editor’s Recommendations and Evaluations to help you decide between [usually] many offerings of each kind. There are also Users’ Comments, usually helpful to help you decide further. Statistics such as the total number already downloaded help you decide which is popular.
7. So go ahead and create videos or mp3 podcasts for your blog or YouTube. It is easy.
Singapore Resident
Sorry for the duplicate posts….kindly delete accordingly
RH:
1. For pc users, there are tonnes of free software at http://www.download.com ranging from games, mp3 songs, music videos, utilities to manage, tune up and run your pc better, to easy-to-use programs to help you create professional-looking and sounding podcasts, videos and altered photos, etc, for your blog, email to friends, or upload to YouTube, etc.
2. Suppose you want to alter a photo of LIE KY so his face is swopped with that of Einstein’s or a monkey’s, you’d download and use Gimp2, an image editing program, free. This is a powerful open source alternative to PhotoShop. You can also create original cartoons and animations either from scratch or altered from any online photos, or captured from any online video, etc. With subtitles or text of your creation. Gimp2 is not so easy but there are numerous tutorials online. Just search “_ _ _ tutorials” for Gimp2 or the following below programs. If you prefer video tutorials, search “_ _ _ video tutorials”. There are also video tutorials on YouTube although these are smaller in picture size.
3. Suppose you want to make an mp3 podcast for your blog that includes voice or narration, some music introductions, music under, and endings, some sound effects like applause, audience laugher, even a madman’s maniacal laughter or troops marching or jungle sounds, etc, an easy-to-use program is Audacity. This uses cut & paste to let you mix, cut and fade different audio tracks to make very professional soundtracks for podcasts. A free site for music intros, loops, and SFX would be http://www.soundsnap.com .
4. After shooting stills and videos on your digicam, you may want to edit them into a nice video for your blog, email, or YouTube. VirtualDub would be a good program. You can also use Windows Movie Maker, very easy to use.
5. Thus, whether for political advocacy on your blog or for fun, you can easily do a Mr Brown podcast, a TalkingCock altered photo, or a Seelan Palay 45 min movie on LIE KY, etc.
6. At least 30% of download.com programs, like the powerful AVG Anti-Virus and firewall programs, etc, are free. The rest are free to try, pay to keep. download.com tests its download programs to eliminate malware from its downloads, so no viruses or trojans, etc. There are also Editor’s Recommendations and Ratings, also Users’ Ratings and Comments, to help guide your choice since there are many of each kind of software. The total number of downloads for each program further indicates each program’s popularity.
7. So, unleash your creativity. Programs are nowadays very easy to use, almost professional level. Best of all, FREE.
Free legal counselling at certain community centres (appointment-basis)
http://www.pa.gov.sg/1207100253692.html (PDF file)
Free access to Straits Times, Business Times, and Zaobao
register for free at http://www.pl.sg (National Library website)
login, go to “eResources”, then “eNews”, then “Library PressDisplay”
choose “Singapore”, then select either Straits Times or Zaobao (TODAY is also available, but it’s already free at http://www.todayonline.com)
Straits Times and Business Times are also available via “LexisNexis” or “Newsbank” (also under “eNews”)
ComCare hotline
1800-222-0000
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_194547.html
Dear TOC,
You might want to add one more under Free Activities, with Marina City Park and East Coast Park – West Coast Park. What I know about West Coast Park is that parking is free (during weekends I think) and there’s a huge playground. Great place for the family.
RH:
1. I don’t go there but some malls have pretty good open areas for rest, relaxation and even kids play areas, usually outdoors.
2. In particular, the outdoor open areas in VivoCity and IMM malls seem quite nice, almost park-like, and you can always duck back into the aircon to cool down. With convenient coin operated drinks and snacks vending machines nearby.
3. After this list is complete, could TOC edit and put it permanently somewhere on TOC for reference, with a little Reminder or Box to indicate its existence to new readers?
lim
For myself, the library is a source of free and constant joy.
Other free activities = taking a walk at the reservoirs…
Reservoirs are the favourite haunts of peeping toms too! :)
Anony-me
MM Goh did mentioned before that Mr Low of WP promised quite a bit of free this and that, giveaways etc.And MM also questioned how WP can fund all these [correct me if I am wrong].
Well, at least why not try to vote for WP as much as possible to see if they can adhere to what they professed. At least then Singaporeans can then compare how much our rich PAP is giving as a percentage out of the perennial surpluses and surpluses (only for rainy days)as compared to WP giving out of what they can and what Singaporeans really do need.
Anon
St Anthony’s Clinic (western medicine) operates from
Basement of St Anthony’s Church
25 Woodlands Avenue 1
Singapore 739064
Telephone : 6365 6683 Fax : 6365 8339
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
7.00pm to 9.00pm (except Public Holidays and Days of Obligation)
lim
Just got reminded that we have free wireless internet surfing at wi-fi areas as well…
Free ? Is it ?
lim on June 25th, 2008 4.51 pm
“Just got reminded that we have free wireless internet surfing at wi-fi areas as well…”
So what ? Internet access, handphone, etc all positive common factors but it comes with costs also (you need to pay for subscription, etc). Likewise, a lot people in other developed countries also have it too. You need it to keep in pace but will not gain an unduly advantage just because of it if you are comparing yourself with first world countries.
The crunch comes from how to combine it with other inherent conditions (right factor mix) to produce value addition (in terms of locked in income, profit, etc) and hence employment for most of us. Conditions can come in various forms from physical factor (factory location, labour, infrastructure, etc) to something more intangible & abstract (policies & rules, freedom to experiment, social support, cross knowledge learning from the best, etc).
Singapore is full of hardware (the frilly & visible parts). As for software (the more intangible but equally important part), you be the judge. Like in human, your brain power (not visible) is much, much more important than your face (the visible part).
lim
There is no subscription charge for wireless@sg. I think there are 3 operators at the moment but the locations are restricted to certain areas.
This is one of them…
http://www.singnet.com.sg/vas/
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 26
[...] & Cost of Living – TOC: Coping with inflation – some free stuff – P65: Is Subsidy a Panacea for the Rising Inflation? – My Sketchbook: Let’s talk about [...]
JC Ho
Hi, I stay around Rivervale Mall. (RVM)
The bus starts from RVM every hour (ie. 1.00pm, 2pm). It takes a route from eastern Sengkang to western part, then back to RVM by the half hour mark.
The other half hour, it goes to Punggol.
JC Ho
more details can be found here
qisti
Jamiyah at No.31 Lorong 12 Geylang provides free legal and medical clinics. Appointments needed.
(email:info@jamiyah.org.sg)
Jamiyah Legal clinic – click on link for details:
http://www.jamiyah.org.sg/welfare/legalClinic.html
Jamiyah Medical clinic – click on link for details:
http://www.jamiyah.org.sg/welfare/medicalClinic.html
Leong Sze Hian
Free hair-cut
every 2nd Tuesday of the month
9.30am to 11.30 am
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1259Upper Serangoon Rd
S 534795
Leong Sze Hian
Free Food Update
Hare Krishnas
Free Vegetarian food
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Geylang kitchen (next to their temple) – No.9 Lor 29 Geylang
There is a free shuttle service circling Sengkang and Punggol. I am not the one using it, so I am not too sure of the details. I only know that it comes 10mins after every hour, next to a bus-stop near my house, and circles Sengkang, stop at Rivervale mall, then goes to circle Punggol, and so on.
Maybe someone else have more details?