AS EXPECTED, holders of old ez-link cards were given an additional week to exchange their cards for new ones.

It was no surprise that about 3.6 million had failed to replace their old ez-link cards by the original deadline of Sept 30, as they were certain that the deadline would be extended.

As Singaporeans are so used to being given extra time to act or respond, they have become used to procrastination.

Members of the public have been advised since the beginning of the year to change their ez-link cards, but many took no heed of the announcements.

Hence, there have been long queues at ticketing offices last week, as people make a last-minute dash to get the new cards.

Some claimed that they were so busy that they had no time to replace their cards, while others said they did not know they had to do so.

These are lame excuses as Singaporeans are well known for being early birds, especially when there are sales, when it comes to queuing for National Day Parade tickets or making purchases of private residential property.

The indifferent attitude of some towards the ez-link card-exchange and similar exercises is the result of our failure to stick to deadlines.

Things that are done at the last minute can cause a lot of inconvenience to service providers.

We should strive to become more socially responsible.

Getting things done within alloted time frames is the least we can do.

Mr Jeffrey Law Lee Beng

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