Before Saw PH was thrust upon the SMRT team, its was quite clear that SMRT was going on the right track. It was keeping the trains running on time and safety was never an issue.
The major safety issue was the cases of ONE-UNDER where passengers fell / jumped on track. It was later to be solved. And rightly so by LTA who were responsible for its asset and its upgrading.
The previous cases of falling wall tiles were supposed to be LTA's responsibility. Since they did not want to replace the suspect tile, SMRT had to take the drastic step of removing them. To SMRT's they painted the wall's creatively so that it does not look too ugly. Kudos to SMRT then. They had a good team who solved problems and were religious in looking for Keizen (constant improvements).
When Saw PH came in, she totally changed the culture in SMRT. She brought the PAP/TH culture into SMRT. That was the beginning of the end for SMRT. 10 long years she made SMRT into a money minded, bottom-line focused, wayang kings and shareholder centric.
We all know now what can and has happened to a Public Transport Company when the PAP culture is brought in.
One BIG mess of an MRT system. It felt like FROM WORLD CLASS TO NO CLASS - Bull S.
Now Desmond, what is the culture you are bringing into SMRT? There's NO Bottom-Line to speak of....SPH had already made a BIG hole at the bottom and its leaking badly.
Mr. Desmond sir, my advice to you is before you succumb to more pressure from the TOP...RESIGN now and enjoy your retirement in Maldives.
Concerned commuter