We can open up the borders - the risk is low

 If we continue to close the border and make it difficult for travelers to come to Singapore, our business will continue to suffer. Many have to close down, leading to retrenchment of workers.

Can we take the risk and open our borders?

Yes, we should open our borders now. I believe that the risk is very small and can be managed.

Here are my reasons:

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3737

Provide facilities for US Navy

Should Singapore agree to the request by the US Navy to be their base? Will China sees this as a threat? How can the government respond to this request?

Here are my views

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3731

Effectiveness and safety of a vaccine

 There are two measures for a covid vaccine:

* Effectiveness

* Safety

Two vaccines are rated to be safe and 95% effective.

It does not mean that it is 5% unsafe.

These vaccines are considered to be 100% safe and 95% effective. It means that for 5% of the subjects, the vaccine does not provide the desired immunity.

Quite likely, it will not cause any harm either.

If a vaccine is not safe, i.e. known to have serious side effects, it will not be approved for use on people.

So, if the vaccine with 95% effectiveness is authorized for us, it is quite safe to use the vaccine.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3730

Dealing with a non-existent risk

 The daily cases and deaths world wide from covid-19 have increased during the past weeks.

So, it is a concern in the countries, especially those with cold climates.

I can understand their concern, when the numbers are spiking up.

But the situation is different in Singapore.

But there has been no local infection for the past two weeks. They are a small handful of imported cases, but mostly mild). They do not spread anyway.

It the risk becomes real, we can then take the required measures and pay for their cost. There is no need to pre-empt and over-react to this potential risk.

It is insane for us to take expensive precautions against a risk that is somewhat non-existent in Singapore.

Anyway, we can continue our insanity and see more people lose their jobs, livelihood and close their business.

Difficult to use Trace Together for Safe Entry scanning

 Some people complained that it takes more time to use the Trace Together token for safe entry. At some places, they do not have the scanner.

They prefer to use the NRIC or concession transit card (which has the bar code) for scanning in.

I agree. If I have to scan in for Safe Entry, I use my transit card.

I have the Trace Together token and the TT app. But if I have to scan with Safe Entry, I will not use the TT token or app.

Okay, they will make it compulsory in December for entry to malls and other public places. Quite likely, I will stop visiting these places. (Shhhh, don't tell the insane ministers).

Talk like DT

 At the Grassroots Club, a member (GRM) told me.

GRM - Mr. Tan, the covid-19 is a scam.

TKL - Why?

GRM - We have flu all the time. This year, they scare you with covid-19.

TKL - Why?

GRM - The govt around the world use it as an excuse to control people. (He did not want to say PAP govt).

Kamala! This member talk like Donald Trump. Did he realize that DT lose the election?

But I tend to agree with him. You read that in many countries, they are declaring that there is a big increase in infection. They did not say that the deaths remain stable and that the infected cases are mild. So, I agree with GRM - that the govts are using this as an excuse to control the people.

I don't want to say - especially the insane ministers in Singapore. There is hardly any new cases for two weeks, and they still report about "imported cases". They did not say that these cases are mild.

They also don't want to remove the circuit breaker. They must enjoy CB very much!

Why premium for private hospital insurance is high

 My friend told me that he heard of a case where a patient was treated in a private hospital and the bill was over $1 million. About 80% are covered by insurance. The patient died.

Guess who pays for the 80% of the bill? It is not the insurance company. It is the policyholders who bought private hospital insurance.

This is the reason for the premium rate to go up very high.

The insurance company is not able to control the large bills charged by the private hospitals. They increase the premium rate for the insurance.

If you do not want to pay the large premium rates, it is better to buy insurance for public hospitals, and not for private hospitals.

https://fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=786

MAS allows the bank to sell this bad product

 An elderly lady went to a bank. The bank officer introduced her to a "retirement policy". It is a 16 year policy issued by a foreign company.

The bank officer told her that she can get out her money at the end of 5 years and enjoy an interest rate of about 5% for the 5 years. The interest is about 1% a year.

The lady invested $100,000 into this policy.

She does not understand how the policy works and the potential risks.

I explain them here.

https://fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=787

Open up the economy safely

 We can open up the economy safely, by adopting sensible, sane measures to control the pandemic.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3715

Contact tracing is a bad approach

 I explain why contact tracing is a bad approach and should be stopped.

Instead, we should put our resources to deal with the symptomatic cases.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3716

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

 1. Is it safe to stop safe entry recording and contact tracing?

2. Is safe entry ambassadors a good way to create jobs?

Vote in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/vote.aspx

WOTC - Claim for compensation for wrongful imprisonment

 Wisdom of the Crowd: 78% of the respondents said that the Attorney General should settle the claim for compensation by the Indonesian maid that was wrongly imprisoned. 22% said that it should be settled through the court.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=2131

WOTC - New wave of infection

 Wisdom of the Crowd: 78% of the respondents said that the new wave of infection will not increase the deaths significantly. 22% are worried about more deaths.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=2132

Is endowment policies a good investment?

 Dear Mr. Tan,

With the volatile stock markets and low yield on other investments, is it a better option to buy an endowment policy from a life insurance company? The projected return of 2% seems to be quite attractive.

I give my answer here:

https://fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=785

Adopt a new approach to stop the spread of the coronavirus

 I have a conversation with a friend about adopting a new approach to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Instead of safe entry and contact tracing, we should focus on identifying the symptomatic cases - as they are more likely to spread the virus.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3714

How to handle 1,400 calls a day

 If the government set up a hotline and receives 1,400 calls a day, they can adopt a "smart investigation" approach to handle these calls efficiently and get value from these calls.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3713

Safe entry recording is useless

 This government scholar agrees that safe entry recording is useless.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=3709