Wisdom of the Crowd - new issues for voting

Here are the new issues for your voting today:

a) What are your views on the court's decision to reject Dr. Tan Cheng Bock's challenge?
b) What are your views about the personal attack by the Deputy Attorney General on Dr. Tan Cheng Bock?
c) What should Dr. Tan Cheng Bock do now about his political goal?

Give your vote in www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

New issues for voting in Wisdom of the Crowd

Here are two new issues for you to vote:

a) Should the court accept Dr. Tan Cheng Bock's arguments on the reserved President Election?
b) Should the government take over the running of Eldershield (long term care insurance)?

You can vote on these two new issues and the other active issues in www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Wisdom of the Crowd - results for today

The results of the voting on The Wisdom of the Crowd on these two issues are now available for your viewing:

a) Is PM Lee abusing his power to convene a Parliament meeting on 3 July to discuss his family dispute? (121 Votes )

Over 60% said that Parliament should not be the place to resolve the dispute. Another 30% said that if Parliament is to be involved, the other parties (i.e. siblings) should be invited to speak.

More details:
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=153

b) If Lee HL agrees to demolish 38 Oxley Road, how will you view him? (123 Votes )

It is a "no win" for Lee HL. Even if he agrees for the house to be demolised, people will still view him negatively.

Details:
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=152

You can vote on the current issues, and win a prize, at
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Wisdom of the Crowd - you can now view these results

The results of the voting on these issues are now available for viewing:

a) If Lee HL's son enter politics in a few years time, will you support him? (89 votes)

A big majority said "no". Here are their reasons:
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=150

b) The government is considering four options for 38 Oxley Road. Which do you prefer? (90 Votes )

A big majority said "demolish the house". How big is it?
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=149

c) Do you agree with the option to keep the basement of 38 Oxley Road and demolish the building? (87 Votes )

A big majority said "it is not in keeping with LKY's wish" or "it is neither here nor there.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=151

d) Will the US Supreme Court upload President Trumps's travel ban? (80 Votes )

The results are mixed. America is divided.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=148

Wisdom of the Crowd website - some issues

I like to thank many of your for participating in the Wisdom of the Crowd website.

There are a few issues about this website that you should be aware of. They are explained here.
http://www.tankinlian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=1385

I have spent a lot of effort to develop this website. I believe that it has produced some useful results and insights, in spite of its inherent bias and potential risks.

It is still under development. I hope that it will become more popular and trusted as it is developed further.

Tan Kin Lian

Are Uber and Grab good for Singapore?

Are Uber and Grab rides good for Singapore? Are they good for commuters? And the drivers?

My view - it is improving the market for taxis and rides and offering better choice for consumers and drivers. It is not destroying the livelihood of taxi drivers. Many have given up taxis to become Uber and Grab drivers.

The people who are not happy are the taxi companies. It is good to make them work harder for their profits.

Read my views here.
http://www.tankinlian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=1384

Do you agree with my views? Do you wish to add your perspective?

Wisdom of the Crowd - new issues for your vote

Here are new issues for your voting:
a) Do you agree with the remark by DPM Teo Chee Hean that we are all sons of LKY?
b) What is your opinion of PM Lee during the July 3 session?
c) Are you happy with the debate in Parliament on 3 July?
d) Do you agree with the statement by Goh Chok Tong on 38 Oxley Road?
e) After watching the debate on 38 Oxley Road, which statement best reflect your view?

Give your vote in www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Troubled by PM's statements

KKoon Wee said:
I am also extremely troubled by some of PM's statements.
(1) PM has stated that the LHY & LWL allegations have seriously damaged the integrity of the govt and S'pore, aside from the very serious damage he suffered personally.
(2) PM then declares that under normal circumstances, he would sue the persons involved. However, he will not sue at this time because they are family members and he doesn't want the matter to drag out in the courts.
(3) One can only conclude from PM's statements that in PAP S'pore, there is one set of rules for the Lee dynasty and then there is another set of rules for the rest of us.
(4) PM is also guilty of putting his family interests before that of the govt and S'pore. Afterall, he is claiming that S'pore's reputation has been gravely damaged by the actions of his family members!
(5) while I don't advocate the use of law suits to settle differences, PM has already indicated that law suits are his usual approach in such cases, EXCEPT for family members.
(6) All very deeply troubling indeed!

My view:
We should stop the bad practice of suing for defamation, unless the condition of the perpetuator is extremely bad and mischievous.

Wisdom of the Crowd - results for three issues

Voting on these three issues have just closed. You can view the results now.

Issue: Will Air Asia suffer a drop in business due to the "shaking like a washing machine" flight from Perth to KL? (82 votes)

Surprise! The results are quite positive for Air Asia. Tony Fernandez can give a sigh of relief.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=147

Issue: Is it good for the leaders of a country to come from different generations of the same family? (82 Votes )

A large majority said no!  Not good news for LHL.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=146

Issue: When you think about democracy, what statement comes most in your mind? (81 Votes)

Singaporeans are quite positive towards democracy, in spite of our limited exposure to the practice of this concept here.

http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=145

Allow room for other points of view

Printed in Straits Times Forum, 4 Jul 2017

Professor Kishore Mahbubani's commentary about small states and foreign policy has been described by veteran diplomat Bilahari Kausikan as "muddled, mendacious and indeed dangerous", while former foreign minister K. Shanmugan said he found it "questionable intellectually" (Don's commentary on foreign policy of small states criticised; July 3).

I find the criticism to be excessive. What is wrong with having a different point of view? The view of the establishment is not the only one in Singapore.

If the establishment wishes to argue the case for small states to continue to speak beyond their size,they can put forth their points in an intellectually convincing manner, instead of resorting to giving labels to the other view.

The politics of the world has changed a lot in recent years.

We have seen big countries exercise their military and economic powers, in disregard of international law and conventions.

Is it wise for small states like Singapore to continue with their old approach, which worked in the global political environment of the past but may be dangerous to their foreign policy interests nowadays?

We cannot assume that our diplomatic problems with China have been resolved.

In a democratic society, we should not kill the messenger if we do not like the message.

Tan Kin Lian

Allegation of abuse of power

In their joint statement of 14 June, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang accused their elder brother, Lee Hsien Loong of abusing his power as prime minister to thwart Lee Kuan Yew's wish for his private house 38 Oxley Road to be demolished after LWL moves out of the house.

They did not specify which were the actual cases that they consider as abuse of power. However, they did provide a lot of information for readers to make our own judgment.

Here are my views:
http://www.tankinlian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=1382

I have addressed a question that most people did not discuss adequately. Why was LKY so unwavering in his wish for 38 Oxley Road to be demolished. He knew that LHL wanted very much for the house to be preserved. Why does LKY not accede to the request of his eldest son?

Fave bought over Groupon business in three countries

Recently, the Fave group bought over Groupon in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Fave is owned by Joel Neoh, who was formerly head of Groupon Asia Pacific.

Why did Groupon sell its business to Fave?

I found that Groupon is still incurring a loss. Here is the latest result.

Quote
This year, during the first half of the year, Groupon had a net loss of $104 million, or 18 cents per share. Groupon revenue in the first half of 2016 reached $1.49 billion. In Nasdaq trading today, Groupon shares closed at $3.78. In the past year, Groupon stock had been down 71 percent.Jul 27, 2016
Unquote

I am surprised that Groupon is still losing money. I thought that they should be able to make money, as they are just selling coupons. Maybe their expenses are too high, or maybe the full time executives are drawing high salaries?

I wonder how Fave can turn the business around, and make a profit? I guess cutting expenses is one step.

Neighborhood Watch Scheme - with help from WhatsApp

The neighborhood watch scheme was promoted by the Police to encourage neighbors to work together to promote security of their neighborhood against crime.

I suggest the following strategy to make the scheme work on a sustainable basis.

Details here:
http://www.tankinlian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=1381

I will try it with my neighbors. Maybe you can also try it?

Prepare for a greying population

There is little incentive to care for the greying population in Japan.
http://www.todayonline.com/…/little-incentive-care-japans-g…

Singapore will face the same challenges within the next decade.

However, I do not worry too much. Currently, we worry that there are not enough jobs for people, due to automation and artificial intelligence replacing the traditional work.

There will be a strong demand for people to take care of elderly people.

We need a way to pay these care givers adequately. This will be a cost to soceity. It has to come out of taxes payable by corporations that make a lot of profit and by high income earners.

We also need to make the job meaningful and enjoyable - but technology can help.

This is a challenge to the government. We need a good and wise government to overcome this challenge. Right?.

The "inevitable" terrorist attack

Are we prepared to deal with the "inevitable" terrorist attack on Singapore soil?

We will know when it happens. I hope that our response will not be like the Little India incident - which was poorly handled.

We have to take precaution by putting radicalised persons under the ISA. But we are not able to identify and deal with all of the possible suspects. We do not have enough space in the detention centers. We will also be infringing on human rights.

We need an effective response when an incident happens. Here are my "common sense" ideas on what needs to be done.

http://www.tankinlian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=1376