National Y2KCC to Monitor Overall Y2K Situation. Major Disruptions Unlikely, says Government

With three days left to the millennium crossover, public interest in the Y2K issue is expected to heighten as countries make their final round of preparations to deal with the Millennium Bug....

Singapore, 30 December 1999 | For Immediate Release

With three days left to the millennium crossover, public interest in the Y2K issue is expected to heighten as countries make their final round of preparations to deal with the Millennium Bug.

At home, the Government has assured the public that major Y2K disruptions are unlikely as Singapore's key Government systems and critical infrastructure service providers in finance, utilities, telecommunications, transportation and healthcare, have been ready since the middle of 1999, well ahead of the 31 December deadline.

Mr Alan Chan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and National Y2K Spokesman, said: "Singapore can be confident for four reasons:

• First, we took the problem seriously and started working on it early. Key Government agencies have been working to resolve the Y2K problem as early as 1995. These agencies have carried out a systematic and comprehensive examination of their systems for the Y2K problem.
  
  
• Secondly, these agencies have invested tremendous resources to fix and correct the problem in systems where they existed.
  
  
• Thirdly, these agencies have put their systems through a whole set of rigorous tests. This involves testing the systems for the various problematic dates. So far, critical dates such as 9 April 1999 (the 99th day of the Julian calendar) and 9 September 1999 (the four nines problem), have passed without any incident. This is a good indicator of the level of Y2K preparedness in Singapore.
  
  
• Finally, although we are confident that major disruptions are unlikely, key Government agencies have nonetheless prepared plans to detect glitches quickly and to take prompt action to fix them quickly should they occur. The public can be assured that the Singapore Government is ready in any case."

While Singapore is prepared, the Government will remain vigilant. IDA has set up a National Y2K Coordination Centre (Y2KCC) to monitor the Singapore Y2K situation during the millennium crossover. It will also be picking up early warning signals from the International Y2K Cooperation Centre's website. Besides monitoring the local and international developments, the National Y2KCC will keep the public informed on Singapore's Y2K situation as and when necessary through the mass media as well as via the National Y2K website.

Meanwhile, should the public have any questions about a specific service or product, they are advised to contact the appropriate service provider or supplier directly. Some of the essential services' hotline numbers can be found in Appendix A. This list was first released to the public in the Singapore Y2K Home Guide.

Added Mr Chan: "The Government is confident of having done the necessary to ensure Singapore is ready for Y2K. As such, there is no need for the public to take any special precautions - they should prepare for the new millennium crossover as they would any long holiday weekend. The millennium crossover is a momentous occasion - we would like to see Singaporeans enjoying themselves as they mark this special moment."

APPENDIX A : SOME COMMON PUBLIC HOTLINE NUMBERS