Three months prior to the completion of the project, I asked them to give me a floor plan of my premises to prepare for the renovation. I had to go through the lawyers. They took a month to reply and refused to give me the drawings, even though it cost them nothing to assist. I don't know what they are scared of! This caused me to waste a lot of time. It is more than three months after taking possession, and the renovation has not started.
But this is Singapore! Even commercial companies are following the bad example set by the Government. Scared of taking initiative. Find excuse to say "no". Don't care about the impact on their customers or the public. Plain arrogance.
Tan Kin Lian
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ReplyDeleteThe building trade is riddled with inefficiencies unrivalled in other industries. It's your lucky day if a project is completed without mistakes and reworks. That's why we need thousands of foreigners whose low pay enables the contractors to muddle through and still show a handsome profit.
ReplyDeleteMyriad permits and regulations requiring submissions by different consultants add to the confusion and cost. Fat fees collected by the government can lead to wasteful expenditure. One current example is the obscene wastage in building then tearing down the Cross Street viaduct. I had hoped that the suffering by drivers and pedestrians would pay off in a beautiful aerial bypass to rival Keppel Road. Instead the LTA revealed that the expense was all in the tunnelling package. It's still paid for by taxpayers. This structure could have been built at a fraction of the cost and with less disruption by using modular steel sections fabricated offsite and assembled on site during off-peak hours. After use, the structure can de demounted and the material reused or recycled.
Perhaps Mr Tan's $3500 fees contributed a bag or two of cement to this build-and-destroy project.
"Build-and-Destroy" and such repeated wastage boost the GDP numbers and is welcomed by the pap garment LOL
ReplyDeleteI came across a relatively new building in Moulmein Road that was
ReplyDeleteabout 6 years old, then sold enbloc, dismantled and another much taller building was built in its place. What a big waste of resources, all in the name of renewal of old buildings, in this case was much less than a decade old.
Beneath the facade of gleaming buildings and high GDP numbers lie unseen gross inefficiencies mainfesting in high charges and repeated build and destroy initiatives.
ReplyDeleteAlong the tree-lined boulevards of our streets, how many noticed the periodic destruction of matured trees replaced by fledgling young shoots often blown down by a microburst? I have seen along many a street in Singapore what seemed to be healthy strong matured trees disappearing, only to be replaced by weak, unstable crooked poles that resembled half-withered shriveled fragmented leaves on a bamboo stick, prop up by an equally crooked dried dead pole that can be found lying side by side in the mornings after an evening storm.
Tax Payers money are being spent, without much scrutiny by the public because of the perception of Singapore's efficient government, and or the lack of pertaining data and information due to lack of transparencies and accountabilities. Where did the money go? To the pockets of contractors? To the pockets of the many foreign workers? Or to the pockets of some too rich to fail bigwigs who control such unproductive activities? We may never know but certainly the superficial efficiencies seen in our statistics should not blind the authorities eyes to the boiling swirling mud and crap below the surfaces.
Or did some deaf proverbial frogs, blinded by the shiny glare of CPF statements, basking in the warm tepid waters of their ivory bathtubs, are slowly being stewed alive without their knowledge? Oh, when will the day be when these frogs turn into princes and Zorros of action to help the weak fight against evil?
Mr Tan,
ReplyDeleteI did have similar encounter with Newman, but at a different development where they claimed the need for LEW for simple electrical works. Upon checking with electrical professionals, we found that it was not necessary.
In my experience, Newman also had poor understanding of MCST rules and misinterpreted the rules, which - had we not confirm it in time - would have wasted much resources.
That is the quality of service. In fact, when I speak to one of the directors at Newman - a certain Ms Sim - the attitude of giving excuses seem like the corporate culture at Newman.
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That terrible experience was years ago, and the only regret is the fact that we actually put up with the company for so long!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back, I shudder to think of all the money spent as a result of the agent's inefficiency n lack of integrity.
After that incident, I make it a point to check who the managing agent is before sinking in my money;
I understand Newman has it's office at Midview. It could be one of the owners, thus hard to terminate them... unfortunately!
I don't know how commercial buildings work, but wouldn't there be a MCST ?
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