In the Sunday Times of 27 June 2010, SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa, referring to crowded trains, was reported to have said:
“People can board the trains – it is whether they choose to.”
As commuters who take the train daily, do you agree with her statement?
__________________________________
wonder if this Ms saw something(can’t be bothered to know her name… disgusting… ) really knows the needs of singaporean, maybe she has only seen the MRT trains in the depot or along the road while she is sitting comfortably in her car… can’t really understand so many elites in the ministry….. really elites? I think you can just grab many many singaporeans along the street whom could be much smarter or at least able to think logically than her. look at the problems arising everywhere in singapore during the past years……
Of course people can choose to board the train…it’s a matter of whether they are “able to”. It is apparent that Ms Saw hasn’t taken the train during peak hours. Or perhaps, the only times she has ever taken the train was during the launch of some new stations. Would be good if she can at least try once so that she won’t make a joke out of herself again. Another way out is to engage brain before engaging the mouth.
This is a classic example of capitalism in action. The CEO (whatever her name is) said that people can board or not board. Wow, she actually mean that people have a choice. Let’s see. I will not board this MRT now, I will go and use my Mercedes S800 that is waiting for me upstairs. Oh wait, I don’t get the Minister’s or her pay. Damn, means I need to board no matter what.
She is a classic example of singapore stupidity in action. If you want to say SMRT is going to make money no matter what, then say it. Don’t bullshit me that I have a choice to board or not.
I am in Germany now and the train here is seldom crowded. They ran every 3 minutes and some even ran up to 2 am in the morning. After 2 am, they got night buses that bring people around. All for one price.
Man, Singapore have a world class transportation system. Please, don’t make me laugh.
She must be related to someone and that is why she is promoted to CEO? Man, how stupid is she? Fort Knox? She is guarding a gold fort? Please, Miss whatever, remember, Singaporeans’ lifes are in your hand. Security is part of the deal with train system. After the Spain bombing, we are more vigilante. You as a CEO decide what to do with security. Obviously, you forgotten about it until recently. Maybe you bought into the Police slogan “Low crime rate”. By the way, “Low crime doesn’t mean no crime”. You need to put in something. Please don’t be so stupid as to say Fort Knox. Please do something that we can be sure of. Please do something so when we board a SMRT train we are not worried that we might get blow to pieces?
It seems to me she is very oblivious towards the packed-sardines-like trains situation during the rush hours.
She then made some dorky remarks about us(The Real Commuters) and again failed miserably with all possible ways when she tried to smooth the anger comments. Crackbrained indeed.
In my opinion, she should take the MRT and forgo her luxury of car-driven lifestyle. You don’t expect the Nissan car CEO drives a Benz to work, even though he could easily afford a couple, do you?
Ever since LHL takes over, all the related, friends and applepolishing gangs are getting more and more cocky. They all learned from the master. This is what we called monkey see, monkey do.
People who don’t alway take the mrt will not feel the pinch when it is so crowded. They only know how to talk in surface language.
If we were to squence into a pack train, if there is any accident occur, will she still say the same thing???
Waiting another train, yes possible but can you guarantee the next train will not be the same as the previous one???
I wonder have she alway take train on just every once in a week which maybe she is lucky not that congestion…!???
What is she talking about. She has probably never boarded a train. Ask her to board one with her young kids and she will realise the pain of her children trying to get some space to even breathe fresh air.
In a nutshell, the lady does not possess any EQ at all……a trait which seems to be shared by more and more of our “elites” these days, sad to say.
In just a single article, she had opened her mouth and said so much things which even a lesser person of her stature would know that its definitely going to get the public up in arms over whats been said.
She is a pure nightmare as far as PR to a company is concerned. Or is it perhaps due to the extreme arrogance of our elites these days, that they do not even bother to pause and think what the impact of their words has on others ?
Either way, she is not doing herself, as well as the organisation, any favors at all by the way she handled the situations…..first the lapse in security matter and now the passengers’ concern abt the crowdiness of the trains.
Lets just hope that there’s at least some IQ in her when it comes to really solving whatever problems thats plaguing SMRT…….but after hearing what she had been saying so far, I , for one, wouldnt hold my breath waiting for it.
I raged about this comment a couple of weeks back when it was first published, and today it came to mind again when I was on the train to work.
I board at Simei, and when the train arrived from Tampines, it was already half packed even though it was only 2 STOPs from the starting point. I managed to squeeze in and the first empty spot available was right next to the exit.
By the time the train arrived in Bedok, we were cramped as sardines and other commuters on the platform could not get on despite some of them attempting half-heartedly.
At Eunos, I saw that the platform was as crowded with passengers as the train – they had obviously been waiting for some time, accumulating people, or else it wouldn’t be so crowded.
By this time my bag was between some lady’s legs, my hand was against a guy’s butt, someone’s bag was resting on my right foot and someone was stepping on my left and the was no room even to hold onto the poles.
SAW PHAIK HWA – you can quote all the numbers and stats about crush load and whatever load you want, it DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT for us commuters on the ground that you are doing a shit job.
Take the MRT to and from work during the peak hours for a week, why don’t you, instead of sitting in your Lexus or BMW or Mercs or whatever imported car.
someone started a facebook group page!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=145296662153739
She don’t take train,she drive a Ferrari SDQ 9 P,before that a 300 MERC. She is a 55 years Malaysian spinster,a Spore PR. Very arragont,she claimed no benefit to be a Sporean except public housing,very close to Mrs PM. I wonder why Spore with very good education system can’t produce SMRT CEO. This Saw Phaik Hwa is from Metro and later Duty Free Outlet,nothing special. She keep replacing her VP,to avoid competition.
She don’t take train,she drive a Ferrari SDQ 9 P,before that a 300 MERC. She is a 55 years Malaysian spinster,a Spore PR. Very arragont,she claimed no benefit to be a Sporean except public housing,very close to Mrs PM. I wonder why Spore with very good education system can’t produce SMRT CEO. This Saw Phaik Hwa is from Metro and later Duty Free Outlet,nothing special. She keep replacing her VP,to avoid competition.
You all think she actually cares about it. For all she knows,if anything goes wrong she can always go back to Malaysia with her fat bonuses.
For your information there was another security breached in January 2011 but not reported in media. An employee brought his young daughter to play at Ulu Pandan Depot. Their presence was not known by security oficers,it was reported by a passer by who is concern about a child playing at the maintenance pits
Just try boarding a train towards Marina Bay from Jurong East after 6pm. Its crazy!!
“People can board the train – it is whether they choose to.”
I must admit Ms Saw Phaik Hwa takes insensitivity, ignorance and arrogance to quite sublime heights.
Can a person be so unaware as to be ignorant of every Singaporean’s dream to travel by private transport.
We who board trains do not do so merely because we “choose to”. It is more because we “have to”.
And speaking of the service your company provides, I challenge you – Saw Phaik Hwa – to dare a trip on your own train from AMK to Raffles on any weekday between the hours of 7am and 8:30am.
And I dare you to say you enjoyed the discomfort of both the heat and packed bodies on pain of damnation if you lie.
she made every dept cut their budget, money needed to upkeep the maintenance of trains in good order, so to keep her bonus fat! and many of the older directors (those who has been with the company for many years) resigned because they cannot agree with how things are run by Saw. Passenger’s comfort and safety being compromised, so she can keep changing her car every year!
Load of rubbish. I would say this push yourself in even if it is packed to the brim!
What do you think of us, some village dwelling monkeys for you big mouths to toy around with!
Instead of finding a solution like increasing the no of carriages to keep up with the demands, you give us such shitty remarks!
Please respect the rights of us citizens you aunty Saw!