Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Suggestions are not welcomed

Friday, June 27, 2008

Suggestions are not welcomed

Dear mr Tan
You have given so much practical suggestion for improvement for our public transport such as for MRT, taxi etc - I presume you have also been in direct contact with the concerned parties. Do they respond at all or accept any of your suggestions? Are they allowed to read your posting or allowed to reply?

I think the authorities concerned should make it a point to browse through your blog and other websites which are frequently suggesting improvement. They should actively encouraged those citizens who so freely give out ideas for improvement without any charges or selfish intention. Perhaps I am too naive to think in such way.
monsoon

REPLY
I have given a lot of suggestions to different levels of the Land Transport Authority and Ministry for Transport. Are they listening?

Read my article on "Suggestions are not welcomed".
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/suggestions-are-not-welcomed/

Often, I do not get any reply. This is our Singapore.

5 comments:

siewkhim said...: Dear Kin Lian,

They don't reply because not only Singapore but the whole world.

You see when we are nobody and we don't have power,wealth and authority whatnever we said most of time nobody really bothers.

The servant takes instruction from the powerful master and abide to his/her demand. That is what this shity world is all about.; June 27, 2008 11:10 AM
Falcon said...: That is because unsolicited advice is seldom appreciated. This happens all over the world, not only in Singapore. But putting it in a public domain increases the chance of it being noticed and adopted. Not so much because it is more appreciated, but because the relevant department of the ministry involved knows that if subsequently some bad things happen and your good suggestion is not taken up then his job is on the line.
I have personally found that the same advices, given when I charge a fee for it, the perception is very much different. When we try to feedback to the CEO of major companies how they can improve, we often do not even get to speak to the high and mighty CEO. But the CEO prefer to receive the same advice after paying hefty consultation fees. Same reason as why free unsolicited advice is seldom appreciated.; June 27, 2008 3:32 PM
David said...: To falcon,

It is not what is the advice but WHO give you the advice. When you are sick, would you trust a layman or a doctor?
When you want a legal document, even if it consists of only a few lines, do you trust a layman or a lawyer to do it?
Free, unsolicited advice is also not the issue, it is WHO give the advice.
But the WHO can sometimes become a problem too eg powerful politicians who give non-expert advice and being taken as expert.; June 27, 2008 6:16 PM
Khiat Han Hwee Adrian said...: Singaporeans need to be spoon fed. You give an idea but you also need to tell them the best way to implement it.

If you give an idea but nothing on how to achieve it, they will shun your idea because they need to think how to do it. Its extra work and headaches. They have enough work, why find more work for themselves.

However, as mentioned in your writings, your suggestions may one day be implemented with some modification but it will appear as if its their idea, not yours.
In school, we are well trained to search for ideas from internet and books and modify them into our own. Not directly taken from book, but the main idea and points are there.; June 28, 2008 12:37 AM
Falcon said...: David,
I think what you mean is in what capacity one gives the advice. Same person, one acting in the capacity of a parent giving unsolicited advice to the principal of a school or the same person but in the capacity of a consultant to the school gives similar advices but will be received differently. This is what I meant, the first one unsolicited, the second one solicited and paid for, therefore perception is different although advice is the same.; June 29, 2008 3:58 PM