90 cents **

AUGUST 30, 2009 ■ 88 PAGES IN THREE PARTS ■ MICA (P) 192/11/2008

LEE WEI LING

Surviving on little
in Toronto
THINKPAGE31
I am from
China
and I speak
Seeing DOUBLE?
Bendemeer Primary
has 12 pairs of twins
HOMEPAGE8
English
Some Singaporeans are frustrated
that most service staff from
China can’t speak English.
A mountain Xie Ma Li from Chengdu
is an exception.
named
How CLEAN are
cineplexes’ 3D glasses?
HOMEPAGE13
Majulah
Armed with 100kg of food and equipment,
a Singapore team scaled three virgin mountain
HOMEPAGES10&11

peaks in the Tien Shan range recently and

named the highest – at 5,152m tall – Majulah. HOMEPAGE6
PHOTOS: GRANT RAWLINSON AND DAVID LIM, KEVIN LIM, TERENCE TAN, AP and REUTERS

ANDY LAU
got married in Vegas
last June, records show
WORLD
PAGE21
Off-peak car scheme revised
LTA to give out cash
rebates earlier, relax
restriction hours and
introduce e-licences
MINORITY Yeo Ghim Lay
REPORT The off-peak car scheme will be re-
What do they feel about
vised to make it more attractive for
their place in Singapore? people to switch to these red-plated
cars, and in the process ease conges-
THINKPAGES28&29 tion around the island.
The Land Transport Authority
(LTA) yesterday announced three
JERMAIN changes:
쐽 By end-January next year, drivers
DEFOE who convert their cars to the
Spurs’ off-peak scheme will get cash re-
bates earlier instead of having to
sharpest
wait until their vehicles are
shooter scrapped.
SPORT 쐽 Also by end-January next year,
PAGE37 off-peak cars will be allowed on the
roads during all hours on Saturdays
and the eve of five public holidays.
LINDA COLLINS 쐽 From Nov 23, electronic licences
will replace the current paper per-
Tale of an en-bloc cat mits which motorists must buy
when they use their off-peak cars
THINKPAGE31
during restricted hours.
The changes are the result of a re-
view of the 15-year-old scheme,
which is targeted at easing traffic
jams and also allowing people to
own cars at a lower cost, if they use
them during non-peak periods.
There are currently 45,500 of
these cars with red licence plates.
They make up about 8 per cent of
the car population.
The change to give out early
cash rebates will probably be the
one to get drivers of normal cars to
consider making the switch.
By the end of January next year,
those who convert their cars will be
given a cash rebate of up to $1,100
for every six months that the car is
registered as an off-peak vehicle, un-
til the car reaches 10 years old.
This is provided the vehicle is
kept as an off-peak car for at least
six months after conversion.
Currently, someone who buys a
new car and registers it as an
off-peak car gets a rebate of up to
$17,000 off the registration taxes.
But if a driver converts his nor-
mal car to an off-peak one, he does
not get a refund of the taxes.
Instead, he receives a rebate that
is paid only when the car is
scrapped. This rebate is $2,200 for
each year that the vehicle was regis-
tered as an off-peak car.
Operations executive Winston
Tan, 27, who bought a Mazda 3 six
months ago, said the new cash re-
bate is “quite attractive” and makes
converting to the off-peak car
scheme worth considering.
He also welcomed the relaxation
of restriction hours.
Under the revised scheme,
off-peak cars can ply the roads dur-
ing all hours on Saturdays and on
the eve of five public holidays –
New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year,
Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali and
Christmas – by the end of January
next year. Currently, they are al-
lowed on the roads only before
7am or after 3pm on those days.
These extra privileges will, how-
ever, come at a price for current
off-peak car owners who opt for the
revised scheme with its extended
hours. They will enjoy a smaller dis-
count on their annual road tax,
compared to those who choose to
stick with the old scheme.
The discounts will be reduced by
$20 to $300. Those who switch to
the revised scheme will also have to
pay an administrative fee of $100.
The LTA said it is not making all
existing off-peak car owners switch
to the revised scheme. But all new-
ly registered off-peak cars will come
under it.
Finally, the LTA is making the
buying of day licences more flexi-
ble. The $20 paper licences will be
replaced by electronic ones from
Nov 23. The new electronic licenc-
es can be bought online, at AXS sta-
tions and via SMS, in addition to
the existing sales outlets.
You can go online or visit a Sing-
Post outlet or an Automobile Associ-
ation office to change the usage
date of the licence or cancel it be-
fore 7am on the specified usage
date. If you have to drive your car
and have not bought a licence, you
can still buy an electronic one up to
11.59pm the next day.
Drivers have long complained
that the paper licences, which re-
semble parking coupons, are trou-
blesome to use. They are also open
to tampering and can be bought on-
ly over the counter.
All electronic licences will be
logged into a system. Instead of
stopping off-peak cars to check on
their licences, LTA enforcement of-
ficers will take down the car’s li-
cence plate number and check it
against the system.
Engineer Rachel Lee, 28, who
currently owns an off-peak car, said
she looks forward to the electronic
day licence. “It’s great as well that I
will be able to use my car for the
whole of Saturday,” she added.
Mr Michael Wong, vice-presi-
dent of the Motor Traders Associa-
tion, said the changes might
prompt drivers to switch to the
off-peak car scheme if they do not
use their cars much on weekdays.
“The unrestricted usage on Satur-
days and the cash rebates make it
very attractive. Consumers will al-
ways prefer having cash in their
pockets instead of waiting for it,”
he said.
ghimlay@sph.com.sg
See also >>Think Page 32
Are the changes attractive
enough to make you convert to
the off-peak car scheme? Send
your comments to
suntimes@sph.com.sg

POLE
DANCING Extreme sports gets
The men are
also doing it shot in the arm
Extreme sports in Singapore has received a big boost – a
LIFESTYLE spanking new facility as well as recognition from top
PAGE2 leaders.
The $8 million skate park that opened in East Coast
Park yesterday is the first in Singapore to meet interna-
tional competition standards.
index And no fewer than three Cabinet ministers were
present at the launch.
weather/tides ........................20 Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the guest of hon-
letters .....................................30
our, was accompanied by National Development Minis-
horoscopes .........................L13
ter Mah Bow Tan and Community Development,
tv listings ......................L14-L15
Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
comics .........................L16-L18
Enthusiasts took the presence of government top
brass as a sure sign that extreme sports – long consid-
ered the lesser sibling of mainstream sports – was begin-
ning to get some recognition.
Said Mr Nazeer Hussin, 23, a skateboarder who has
been in the sport for nine years: “I was very surprised
the ministers came. Normally, we are considered quite
minor. Even when I go for competitions overseas, their
To subscribe, call 6388-3838 or prime ministers don’t attend.”
go to sphsubscription.com.sg Full report >>Prime Page 4
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM