Future for F1 in Singapore

Singapore has spent many hundred millions to bring F1 to Singapore. If it is not continued, the money spend would go down the drain. This would be a bad outcome for Singapore, and for our tourism. Article.

On the other hand, I do not want to see the F1 Grand Priz continued on terms that are not satisfactory to Singapore, and to be a continued drain on our funds and to bring inconvenience to the public.

We have to ask this question - did we make the right decision in the first place? Did we have the right people  to manage this mega-project? What mistake did we make, and could it have been foreseen in the first place? is there something wrong with our system?

Acquiring property for a public purpose

Here is an interesting article about the right of a Government to acquire property for a public purpose. This concept is called "eminent domain" in USA. Article. I find this article to be interesting, as we have a law that gives the Government the right to acquire property and that law has been used for many decades.

Future of Singapore and for the people

Here is an article from a young person. It is pessimistic. He said, "nothing is going to change" in spite of the unhappiness expressed by many people. Article

US lawmakers protested when they learned that the uniforms for their Olympic teams were made in China, and not in America. This journalist ask the lawmakers - "did you buy your own cloths that are made in America?" This article is intended to expose the hypocrisy of the lawmakers.  Article.

Parliament members should be full time

It is time for Singapore to move to a Parliament with members who work full time in this job, and do not have any other full time work. We cannot have part timers to be MPs.

My reasons are:

• Laws have to be debated actively. There are merits and risks that have to be considered. Parliament should not be a rubber stamp.
• The Parliament should act as a "check and balance" on the Government of the day. It should be a deterrent against corruption and abuse of power.
• The allowance paid to a MP, at $15,000 a month, is sufficient to be a full time pay. 

If we make it as a full time job, we will attract the right people whose interest is to serve the people and not to enhance their business in the profession or the private sector. 

Read this blog:
http://tankinlian.blogspot.sg/2012/07/are-our-mps-taking-job-seriously.html

Questionable investments

This is a talk given to FISCA members and non-members at the dinner talk on 12 July 2012. http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=663. The dinner allows the participants to talk about the investment climate and get to know other members. Go to www.fisca.sg to see the photos and learn more about this event and future events.

Need for OneInbox

7 July 2012 

Editor, Voices

Today Paper

I refer to the letter from Tang Fook Meng on the OneInbox email service.

Like Mr. Tang, I am happy to receive e-mails from government agencies sent to my 

regular e-mail account.

However, I wish to express support for the OneInbox service for the following reasons:

• It is better to receive e-mails in OneInbox rather than signing in to the websites of individual government agencies, such as the Central Provident Fund, the Ministry of Manpower or the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Agency or receiving the letters by physical post.
• The government agency may need to have a audit trail that the message has been received and read, which is possible through OneInbox or their individual website
• It is better to receive the important mail in OneInbox, rather than to have them mixed up with all types of e-mails that are received in the regular email account

I hope that OneInbox can be developed as a means of authenticating the identity of the recipient. This can replace the current system of sending personal identification number (PIN) or temporary passwords to the physical address.

Tan Kin Lian

Are our MPs taking the job seriously?

Dear Mr. Tan,

I was shocked to read the following on the papers recently:

 

"The Land Transport Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill was not passed yesterday as fewer than a quarter of members were present in the House at the end of the debate. Mr Lui is expected to address the LTA's role in last December's train disruptions in Parliament today." Today 10 July 2012

 

How can there be fewer than 25% of the MPs be present in our Parliament at the end of a debate? A Parliament is in session and so many of them were absent or left midway? Less than 25% means 3 out of 4 MPs are absent. How effective is such a debate? And the session is an important one as it is with regard to the SMRT breakdown last year. Is it not ironic that so much time, effort and money were spent in a COI and yet when the issues were discussed and debated in Parliament less than 1 in 4 of our MPs were not even there!.

 

Do you find it healthy or even disturbing that there are so many MPs who were not present in Parliament? How can our MPs be expected to do their job when they are not even present in Parliament. There are so many of them who choose to attend to other supposedly more important matters. It is pretty sad. Regardless of what is been discussed in Parliament I think they are definitely important issues.

 

Pledge to the IMF

7 July 2012 

Editor,

Forum Page

Straits Times

Article 144 of the constitution of Singapore states, "No guarantee or loan shall be given or raised by the Government except under the authority of any resolution of Parliament with which the President concurs".

The meaning of this article seems to be quite clear to me. In my view, the pledge of US $4 billion to the International Monetary Fund constitutes a guarantee that is covered by this article. If the pledge is called by the IMF, the Government will have to grant a loan which is also clearly covered under this article.

I am. therefore, amazed by the arguments put forward by the Monetary Authority of Singapore that the pledge given to the IMF, as it now stands, did not breach the Constitution. If the position of MAS is correct, it is better for the Constitution to be re-written to reflect the position taken by MAS.

The Constitution is perhaps the most important legal document in the land. The citizens should be assured that they can trust the Constitution to mean what it says, and that the wordings are not interpreted in a manner that defy logic or common sense.

I do not understand why the pledge of this large amount is not submitted for approval by required under the Constitution. Even if there is an urgency for the pledge to be given, it can be given on a provisional basis, and be subject to obtaining the required approvals. I believe that most countries would follow such a process on a matter of great importance. This would reflect a high standard of governance, which is what the Government aims to promote in the corporate world.

Rather than justify an action that is already done, I suggest that the MAS should submit the pledge to Parliament for rectification by Parliament and the President. It is all right to make a mistake and to learn from it.

Tan Kin Lian

TKL Mailing List

I send out regular mails giving my views on financial planning, investment and insurance. If you wish to be on my mailing list, you can click here to enter your email address. You can also add the email address of your friends and contacts, to include them in the mailing list.

I will not disclose the people who have supplied the contact. If they do not like my mailing, they can "unsubscribe" easily. So, do your friends a favour, and add them to my mailing list.  Or, you can tell them to subscribe themselves.

Invest in US tenanted property

Mr Tan,

Can I ask about your opinion of another type of property investment by another company?  Company Z claimed to have great connection  - as such able to get US banks to provide 50% loans to tenanted properties yielding about 14% or more. These are real properties costing average about US$35-40K. I couldn't find any fault with this. Can you?

REPLY
This could be a genuine opportunity, but could be a scam. So you have to do  your due diligence. Maybe, it is better to get a group of potential investors to study the investment together.

Financial advice

If you have bought a life insurance policy that is giving a poor return, and you wonder if you should continue the policy, you can get advice from this source:
http://www.easyapps.sg/assn/FramePDF.aspx?ID=231

Land banking in Georgia, USA

I received an e-mail from this concerned citizen of USA. I am posting the e-mail with all reference to the land banking promoter removed, but indicated below as X. This is to avoid being sued for defamation. Those who have invested in this project will know which is X. If you have been misled into investing in this project, and you wish to take join a group to lodge a complaint collectively, please send an e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com.

For other people, do read the statements presented below carefully. Most land banking schemes follow the same pattern, i.e. the land plots are offered at 10 to 20 times of their actual value.

Dear Mr. Tan Kin Lian,

I live in Jackson County, state of Georgia, USA. This is a small, very rural county about 60 miles from the city of Atlanta. X has been buying up some big tracts of land here and is proposing to develop them for housing and industrial sites, but the land CANNOT be developed -- it's against local zoning laws, and there is no water or sewer service available.

I recently learned that X sells fractional interests in these tracts of land to small investors in Asia through sales offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. These sales are at crazy prices!

As you probably heard, we had a housing and property bubble here up till 2007, but the bubble popped. Jackson County now has about a 20-year supply of building lots available, and they can be bought for $6000 - $10000 per acre. A 37-acre piece of land next to mine recently sold for $4000/acre. From a brochure I found, it says X is selling these lands to small investors in Singapore, etc. for the price of over $82,000 per acre! 

In Georgia, it's hard for us to believe people would pay stupid prices like this, but here is the data from our county's own tax records showing that over 1,600 Asian investors bought this land at the price of $82,500/acre: 

Here is my question: How can X do this? How can these buyers be so stupid? They will never get their money back. If these investors pass this land on to their grandchildren, it will still never be worth what they paid for it--the county has huge amounts of land that is already zoned for housing and has water and sewer available. These lands are available for MUCH less than the Asian small investors paid.

What is X telling these people, that they will be able to sell at a profit in a couple of years? Or is this a Ponzi scheme, where money from new investors is used to pay off prior investors?

In Georgia, we would like to hear your reply because we are afraid X's landbanking schemes are very harmful to our community, and they may also be harming small investors in your country.

Thank you for your help,
James 

Dear James 

Thank you for your valuable information.

There were many similar land banking schemes sold in Singapore, and the investors have been stuck with the investments. They were probably told that the developer would get approval for re-zoning and the land would be worth 2 to 3 times of their investments. The land never got developed.

Some have complained to the authority, but the authority could not prosecute the promoters. Perhaps, the authority did not have evidence or sufficient resources to investigate the complaints.

There was a recent case involving another promoter who made paid interest at 2% a month and promised to pay back the invested sum after 1 year, and it is linked to some land purchase. This type of arrangement is a ponzi scheme, and the operations were closed by the authority, probably on this account. We have not heard of the case coming to court.

I was threatened with defamatory suit by a prominent legal firm in Singapore acting on behalf of a promoter. I posted an article in the British newspaper about a land banking scheme sold in Singapore. The legal letter alleged that I had defamed their client and asked me to provide evidence to back the allegations that were posted in my blog - which was just a repost of the newspaper article. This matter was settled without any payment from me, and I will not go through the history of that case.

In your particular case, I will post your article and remove all reference to the land banking company. I will also think of some way to give the information to the authority to see if they can take up the matter. 

Tan Kin Lian

Insurance policy to provide for education

I keep getting questions from from the public asking for specific advices, such as the following:

I'm currently 36 years old. I have two young children. I would like to buy an education policy for each of them. I expect to retire at 55. I would like to seek your advice which company offer the best policy. Or should I not even take up an education policy?

My reply remain the same, to read the appropriate FAQ in my website and to attend the 
educational talks conducted by FISCA.

 Read this article

http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=60

If they want specific advice, they should see an adviser and be prepared to pay a fee. If not, they should be prepared to be ripped off.

Data Privacy

The Hong Kong Legislative Council has passed the Personal Data (Privacy) Amendment Bill.

Key points:

•  introduces new obligations on the use of an individual's personal data in direct marketing

•  introduces new obligations on the transfer and sale of personal data to third parties

•  empowers the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner to provide legal assistance to individuals to seek compensation from companies/organisations if there is a breach of the Personal Data Protection Ordinance.

•  empowers the Privacy Commissioner to verify accuracy of data user returns

•  imposes heavier penalties for repeated contraventions of enforcement notices and a new penalty for repeated contravention of requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance where enforcement notices have been served

•  introduces new exemptions (e.g. processing arising from due diligence, emergency situations).

My views:
Singapore seemed to be quite slow in enacting a similar legislation.

Taking responsibility

Our leaders and civil servants should take responsibility in engaging and replying to letters from concerned citizens. Read this article by Kenneth Jeyaretnam.

Lawsuit against AIA on Financial Guardian

http://aialawsuit.blogspot.sg/

Review of casino exclusions

Here is another exercise in calibration and differentiation. Some people will be labelled as "financially vulnerable" and be restricted from visiting the casino. Others will not be restricted. All in the interest of looking after their welfare. Back to the nanny state.

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120707-0000095/Problem-gambling-safeguards-may-target-up-to-6,000-Sporeans

My preference is to pass a law to disallow gambling debts. If the casino or loan shark gives a loan for gambling or to pay off gambling debt, the loan will be illegal and will not be enforceable. If you cut off this source of funding, the gambling problem will be reduced considerably.

It is all right to gamble with money that one can afford to lose. But one should not gamble on borrowed money. This also apply to speculating in the stock market or, to use a nice term, "investing" in the stock market.

Did the IMF Pledge violate the Singapore constitution?

You can read the explanation in this article
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120707-0000033/IMF-pledge-did-not-violate-Constitution

Mr. Kenneth Jeyaretnam said that the pledge of US$4 billion to the International Monetary Fund, without approval of Parliament and the President, violate article 144 of the Constitution. The MAS said that the article refer only to borrowing and does not apply to lending by the Government.

I have to disagree with the MAS. My reasons are: 

• Article 144 states that "no guarantee or loan shall be given or raised by the Government except under the authority of any resolution of Parliament with which the President concurs". I consider the pledge to be a "guarantee". 
• Even if the article did not contain the word "guarantee", the article also stated that "no loan shall be given". How can MAS said that the article does not apply to lending by the Government?

I am surprised that MAS would give the above type of explanation - as it seemed to defy logic and common sense. 

Singapore's approach - calibration and differentiation

The PAP Government has developed the system of calibration and differentiation to a fine art. So many government schemes have to be calibrated and differentiated. The latest schemes to adopt this approach are the U-Save and the GST vouchers.

The citizens are often confused about the convoluted formulae used to determine who gets how much of these goodies. Those who get more are happy, while those who get less grumble and complain. It is almost impossible for the poor civil servants to explain the rationale used for the calibration and differentiation.

The main justification for the convoluted approach is the words of the leaders, that these schemes hae to be calibrated to achieve the targeted outcomes - whatever they mean.

To understand the convoluted approach used in Singapore, read this article by Mr. Brown, Also, read the comments. Some people said that the government is being dishonest by misleading the people on what they are given. I do not think that this is a deliberate act, but there is a lack of trust in the government now.

I have just found out another reason for the low birth rate in Singapore. The people spend so  much time figuring out the convoluted systems developed by the PAP government, that they do not have time to lead their normal family lives.

Government purchases - $2,200 foldable bikes

 

AS A taxpayer for the past 34 years and an avid cyclist,

I find it hard to comprehend how the National Parks Board's (NParks) bulk bicycle purchase

was value for money ('Khaw okay with NParks' purchase of $2,200 bikes'; Thursday).

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_819564.html

 

 

 

Target price

should have been less than $1,000

 

The National Parks Board's (NParks) explanation

that because only one vendor had responded,

and therefore Brompton bicycles (the cheaper of the two options offered)

were chosen, is questionable.

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_819466.html

 

Rise of mega churches

Here is an article by Seah Cheang Nee
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/7/7/focus/11614691&sec=focus

Ethics of bankers

This article suggest that bankers have questionable ethics.
http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC120704-0000196/Barclays-ex-boss-tells-of-2008-fears

Tips on managing personal risks

Here are the essential tips on managing personal risks through insurance and other means. Learn about what types of insurance to buy and to avoid.

http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=662

The wage gap

Read the views of Minister Chan Chun Seng
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120702-0000018/Dissecting-the-wage-issue

Adequate Life Insurance

Often, you read articles in the newspapers stating that Singaporeans do not have adequate life insurance. They are often published by sources connected with the life insurance companies. The purpose is to get people to buy more life insurance coverage. What is an adequate amount of life insurance needed by the breadwinner of the family? Article

Scared of public transport

Get a better mortgage

Read the article and case studies from the mortgage broker
http://www.moneysmart.sg/home-loans/how-much-does-a-mortgage-broker-save-you/

Defensive driving

I drive within the speed limit of 50 km on most roads. If a dog or child that run across the road or a car comes out of the side road unexpectedly, I will be able to stop in time. I wish to avoid a collision or accident, even if I have the right of way.

When crossing a road intersection now, I pay attention to Ferrari or Lexus that may come speeding to beat the light. It does not matter who has the right of way, I do not want to get into their way.

I find young people driving too fast. I advised them to drive more slowly. If there is any unexpected accident, they can be hurt badly. It is better to be safe than sorry. There is no need to be in a rush. Our roads are congested anyway - so allow more time for the travel.

Poor service for a foreign bank

Dear Mr Tan

 

I have a housing loan with Bank X for over 10 years now. They have been sending me a monthly statement showing how much I have paid for the month and how much of the loan is still outstanding since we started banking with them in 2001.

 

From  Jan 2012 I have stopped receiving this monthly statement. I called up the bank and the call centre staff gave me many "possible" reasons why I have not been receiving the statement. But none of them seemed to be convincing.

 

It was only when I scrutinised the Dec 2011 statement that I realised in small print in that at the end of the statement was a statement saying from 2012 hard copy statement will not be sent any more supposedly to save the environment but I suspect it got more to do with saving money than the environment.

 

I called up the bank and told them I would prefer to receive the hard copy of the statement so that I can keep track of my payment and the amout still outstanding.

 

The bank said they do not entertain such request and advised me to use their internet banking to check and view the statemen online. Knowing internet banking in Singapore is not one of the easiest thing to manoeuvre I told them I still prefer the hard copy of the statement.They said "No!"

 

I have 2 questions. Firstly why is it that the staff at the call centre was not aware that Bank X is doing away with hard copy of housing loan repayment statement but instead gave me lots of "possible" reasons why I have stopped receiving the monthly repayment statement. And two, are banks allowed to swich to electronic statement without getting explicit consent from its customers. And even when customers choose to opt in or out of the e-statement the bank still has the final say? What about customers who do not wish to or have no access to internet?

 

I always thought that foreign banks offer better service than local ones but it seems that in Singapore nowadays companies and organisations are trying hard to outdo each other in seeing who can offer poorer customer service.

 

Just want to share this with you.

From a customer of Bank X

 

Absolute liability

It is a crime in Singapore to engage in commercial sex with a person under age 18. Here is a report on the passing of the law in Singapore in 2007.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/300358/1/.html

I did not find any mention that this is an absolute liability case, although some people have made a statement to this effect. I made some research on what is the meaning of absolute liability and found this description in Wikipedia to be enlightening:

Regulatory bodies tend to favour the approach of declaring offences to be strict or absolute liability, because it makes it easier to prosecute people: there is no longer a requirement to demonstrate that the defendant was deliberately intending to commit an offence. Jurists consider such a mechanism to be a blunt instrument, and recommend its use only in limited circumstances:

Absolute liability is used for certain regulatory offences in which it is necessary for individuals engaged in potentially hazardous or harmful activity to exercise extreme, and not merely reasonable, care. Such offences as exceeding 60 kilometres per hour in a 60 kilometre zone, causing pollution to waters, selling alcohol to underage persons, refusing or failing to submit to breath testing and publishing a name in breach of a suppression order. In these cases, the courts accepted that the benefits to the community overrode any potential negative impact on the accused person.

According to this explanation, it is a good practice to declare an offence as absolute liability, before it can be treated as such. This will impose a duty of extreme care to be exercised by the potential offender. If it is not declared as such, then the offender can put forward the defense of "mistake of fact". 

Can someone help me to search the law, to see if this offence was declared to be a "absolute liability"? 

Public consultation on Land Transport Master Plan

I am looking for people interested to discuss and provide suggestions to improve the master plan. If you are interested, please send e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. We can arrange two or three meetings.

http://app.lta.gov.sg/corp_press_content.asp?start=03am5v9h8w8r7mziwesedz0o2g54qc3w8589p9j6hrvptr4u3v

The closing date to submit feedback is 30 September 2012.

Improve bus services

23 June 2012

Editor, Voices
Today Paper

In most buses, there is a display panel to show that the bus is stopping or is about to move off.

This panel can be used to show the sequence number and location of the next bus stop. All the stops should be numbered sequentially for each bus service.

When a passenger wants to know which bus stop to disembark, the bus driver can give the sequence number of the bus stop. The passenger will be able to count the stops to the destination.

I have missed my bus stop on a few occasions when taking the bus at night. If there is such a display, it would have avoided the mishap.

This simple service will be useful for visitors to Singapore or to people who are not familiar with a particular bus service. It is easy for the bus driver to tell them the sequence number of the bus stop to disembark. This will improve the communication and quality of service.

It may even encourage more people to take the bus and help to take away some of the load from our over-crowded trains.

Tan Kin Lian

A re-energized corruption bureau?

Recently, there were many cases of action taken on alleged corrupt practices involving civil servants and non-civil servants. The practices in some of these cases date back many years. In today's paper, the headlines highlight two cases involving a church pastor and a manager of a media company. It seemed that anti-corruption is the order of the day.  


I wonder why there are so many corruption cases recently, when there was relative silence in past years. I could guess that the focus must have occurred due to the change of minister for home affairs made after the 2011 general election. Perhaps the previous minister did not consider this matter to be important and the new minister took a different view.

While action against corrupt practices is important, we seemed to go overboard in focusing on this single issue. There are other urgent issues that need to be addressed.

Benefit illustration are not contractual

Hi Mr. Tan,

I have a question about the recent AIA case. I'd like to clarify that a benefit illustration does not count as a legal contract (as the AIA's defence suggests). If this is true, does that mean the numbers shown in the benefit illustration can be changed by the insurer at any time? 

REPLY

The benefit illustration said that the benefits are projected and are based on the projected future investment returns. If the actual investment returns are lower, the actual benefits will be lower. If the actual returns are higher, the actual benefits should be higher.

They cannot be changed at the whims of the insurer. However, the insurer may not give the fair distribution of the actual results. It is better to invest in a more transparent way, e.g. through an ETF.

Message from a great President

RECEIVED BY E-MAIL

"It is indeed worth listening to this great actor who became President of USA!"

Watch this testimony from a former U.S. President

In recent times, more strident measures have been taken to eliminate God, Christ, and the Bible from the public arena and beyond. Yet, it wasn’t that long ago when another president had some very remarkable things to say. TURN UP YOUR SPEAKERS Watch this and pass it along…

http://www.youtube.com/embed/OvN1jTkzXbY?rel=0

 

Investing in ETF

Watch this video from the SGX Academy
http://sias.org.sg/webcast/3_Feb11_Exchange/

FISCA talks - not to be missed!

TALK FOR THOSE FROM 30 TO 50 YEARS

There is a talk on 30 June 2012. The speaker is Wilfred Ling, a practising financial
adviser. He will be covering topics of special interest to those in the 30 to 50
age group - especially on SRS and CPF.

Many consumers have approached me for views on SRS (Supplementary 
Retirement Scheme). Recently, I found that the SRS scheme allows Singaporeans
to save an additional 15% of their earnings in a tax advantaged scheme. You can 
attend the talk and learn about how to take advantage of this scheme.

You can also ask Wilfred Ling about the CPF Life options. 

DINNER TALK ON 12 JULY
This is the first talk for members. Non-members are also encouraged to 
attend and learn about the activities of FISCA.

The dinner will be preceded by a talk about "Investment Scams", conducted
by Tan Kin Lian. These scams are subtle and consumers may not be aware
about them, until they get caught. Do not miss this opportunity to learn how 
to identify and avoid these scams.

This will be followed by a dinner. The cost of the dinner is $40 and members 
and non-members enjoy a subsidy. Previously, the menu included sharks
fin, which has now been replaced by a soup.

TO REGISTERhttp://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5

SGX Academy

You can attend talks organised by SGX Academy
http://www.sgxacademy.com/

License for taxi drivers

Malaysia is considering to issue taxi licenses to individual taxi drivers, instead of companies. The government thinks that this may be better for the welfare of the taxi drivers.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/06/rethinking-singapores-defence-needs/

Review our defense needs

This article contains a good analysis of our defense expenditure and options to make changes for the future.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/06/rethinking-singapores-defence-needs/

Diary of a Singapore Mind

I encourage you to visit this blog regularly.
http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/
I like the insightful articles written by Lucky Tan. He carries out his research diligently and write well.

Digital display in bus

The is the digital display in the bus. It shows only the words "Bus Stopping" and "Welcome Aboard".

I suggest that the bus companies should show the stop number and the location of the next bus stop, e.g. "Stop 15: Thomson Plaza."

The stop number should be numbered sequentially for the specific bus service. If a passenger ask the bus driver on the bus stop for Thomson Plaza,  the bus driver can say Stop 15. The passenger will be able to know how many remaining stops to reach the destination.

This is similar to the station number in the train, e.g. NS1, NS2, NS3. It is easy for visitors and tourists. It is also useful for locals who may be travelling on an unfamiliar service. 

Nursing homes in Johore Bahru

A nursing home has opened a branch in Johore Bahru to provide the service at half of the cost of Singapore. http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120623-0000069/Singapore-nursing-homes-open-more-affordable-branches-in-JB

To make it convenient for family members to keep in touch with their elderly facilities, I suggest that they should install Skype facility. The staff can arrange for the residents to talk to their family members on a weekly basis. This is an additional channel of communication, and should not replace the visits by the family members.

Choices for Singapore

Prime Minister Lee has framed the question - do you want to pay higher taxes for more welfare benefits, like the Scandinavian countries?

This is not the right way to frame the question. In the Scandinavian countries, the people who pay higher taxes are those with bigger incomes, and not the ordinary wage earners. So, the correct question should be - do you want a progressive tax system that require the higher income earners to pay more taxes, so that the Government can give better welfare benefits - and create a more equal society?

You can read the argument here:
http://therealsingapore.com/content/hard-truthlee-hsien-loong-good-businessman-not-good-pm

How to read a benefit illustration

When an insurance agent (or financial adviser) recommends a life insurance policy to you, the agent has to give you a benefit illustration.

This is an important document. You have to read it carefully and understand its contents. This article explains what you have to look out for, to see if this policy gives you an acceptable return.
http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=652

When a consumer writes to ask me about a life insurance policy, I always ask them to send the benefit illustration to me. I look for the points set out in this article to see if the life insurance policy is worth investing in. 

Wasteful practices

The petrol station that I frequently was demolished recently. The pump attendant had told me a few months ago that their company lost the tender for the renewal of the lease and a new petrol station would be taking over. I did not realize that this meant a total reconstruction work for the petrol station.

I have been quite unhappy about wasteful practices that jack up the cost of living and the cost of doing business in Singapore. The previous petrol station was in good condition. It has to be torn down and replaced by a more expensive development paying a higher cost of occupancy. It must result in a higher cost of living.

Already, Singapore has become quite an expensive place to live in, and wages are still quite modest. We have to stop the wasteful practices and higher operating cost.

Different strokes of justice

The recent spate of court sentences has got
Singaporeans wondering
whether judicial decisions favour the elite. 


“These may be early days,
 but unless the Government acts decisively
 it may affect the court’s integrity,”
one lawyer commented.


“Don’t forget,
 justice lies very much in the hands of judges and prosecutors,
 who mostly hail from the elite class.”


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/23/focus/11533036&sec=focus

Fees charged by private hospitals

Here are the charges for various treatment in private and public hospitals. Patients should ask for a fee estimate before accepting treatment in a private hospital - to avoid unpleasant surprises.
http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=659

Pinnacle Notes case in US courts

Here is an update of the ongoing case in the US courts
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/top-stories/pinnacle-notes-investors-want-mediation-stay-secret

Service standard on the bus

Alvin Tan commented 


Alvin wrote: "Its not experience that makes the ride smooth, its the professionalism & pride in service that makes the ride smooth. 


In Europe, Australia, Japan etc, the service providing staff pride themselves in giving commuters a good experience by; greeting them when they board, calling at all stops (regardless flagged or not) briefly, take a moment to check on elderly/ disabled passengers, and they enforce all passengers to be seated (nobody should be standing) etc. And they never swing out of bus bays recklessly.


Here in Sg, everything that's wrong by service & safety standards is attempted almost to perfection."

Minimum wage for specified sectors

The NTUC chief gave this reasons why he opposed minimum wage for specified sectors. He had also opposed a general minimum wage.
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120622-0000047/Raising-wages--Use-a-ladder,-not-a-floor

Although there are difficulties in a minimum wage system, many countries have overcome them, including Hong Kong. These difficulties are exaggerated. 

High bid for Farrer Drive site

The projected selling price for this new development is too high.
http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC120622-0000055/S$113m-top-bid-for-Farrer-Drive

Will this be the last high bid before the likely fall?

Microsoft's Surface Tablet

This new device from Microsoft is exciting
https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/13811511ec5708e7

I agree with the optimism. I believe that Microsoft will succeed with this gadget. There are many people who are now using Windows on PC. They will move to the Surface tablet.

This could be a big challenge to Apple. 

A competent lawyer

Lawyer Subhas Anandan does his best for his clients.
http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/06/22/underage-prostitute-case-shrewd-calculated-defence-move-by-subhas-anandan/

A more convenient journey

Beats standing in a crowded train

I took the bus from my home to the MAS office. The iPad app told me to take 857 and transfer to 130 or 167 at Raffles Hotel. I was able to find a seat all the way. I could also read the news on the iPad.

It was more convenient than taking a feeder bus to the Yio Chu Kang station and transfer to two trains.

I find the bus more comfortable and convenient than the train. It usually provides better connection and require less walking.

I encourage commuters to learn how to take the bus. You may find a better connection that the train. I also find it more convenient to take the bus, rather than drive on the crowded roads and to search for a parking space.

High cost of nursing care

Many Singaporeans are not able to afford the high cost of nursing care for their parents. They belong to the sandwiched generation, who have to take care of parents and their children. The Government can, and should, play a bigger role.

http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/2012/06/dire-consequences-of-policy-of-over.html

Too good to be true

Dear Mr. Tan,
Can you kindly do some research on (name removed)  and do a write up in your blog. This Company, which is banned in Malaysia, is selling "discounted" Gold bars in Singapore and paying buyers 2% interest per month for 12 months. It sounds too good to be true. I heard they were placed under MAS Alert List.

REPLY

Read the following
http://www.tankinlian.com/Information.aspx?q=gold

Prevent corrupt practices

17 June 2012

Editor

Forum Page

Straits Times

Over the past decades, Singapore has built up a good reputation for being 

relatively free of corrupt practices.

The two recent cases of alleged indiscretions involving the award of I.T. 

software contracts has exposed a weakness in our system. The people involved

in negotiating and recommending the contacts are often reporting

to the people who take the decision in the award of the contracts.

I suggest that the award of contracts above a certain sum, say $250,000, should be decided 

by an independent panel of knowledgeable persons who are independent of the actual operations. 

Suitable people for this panel are retired civil servants or business leaders who are people of repute, 

have held past senior positions in the respective fields, are no longer in active occupation

 and are free of any potential conflict of interest.  A different panel could be formed for each tender award.

These members of the panel should be paid a respectable honorarium for the time that 

they that have to spend to make the decision. As the amounts involved are large, the 

cost of this layer of decision making could be justified by the potential saving in 

preventing corrupt practices.

Tan Kin Lian

A new social and economic order

This video shows a new social and economic system, which depends on lower energy consumption and lower economic growth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv2MHEDlXlU

Promote the use of buses

15 June 2012 

Editor

Forum Page

Straits Times

The Land Transport Authority has been struggling for over a year to find a 

solution to the over-crowding on trains, congestions on our roads and insufficient 

parking spaces.

I wish to suggest a practical measure that can give a immediate and temporary solution to 

these challenges.

Many people may not realize that it is often more convenient to take a bus instead of

a train or a car for their journey.  

I started to use the bus service more regularly during the past year and, after becoming more 

familiar with the bus services, now prefer this mode of travel. It takes away the stress of 

driving on our congested roads or searching for a parking space. I now use an mobile app 

to tell me the bus services to take for my journey. 

On many occasions, I found that taking a bus is more convenient that travelling on our 

over-crowded trains. I was able to find a seat on the bus for most of the journey, enjoy the 

air conditioned comfort and read the news on my mobile device.

Recently, I helped a friend to find a bus alternative to commute to her home. She was taking two trains 

and one hour for the journey for almost two years. She was surprised to learn that there was 

a direct bus that took only 40  minutes and the fare was cheaper. 

If more people become familiar with the bus services, some may find that they do not need to own a car 

or to drive it to work. This would reduce the congestion on our road and improve our road situation. 

I hope that the Land Transport Authority will consider my suggestion to promote greater awareness

of the convenience of our bus services and the use of the mobile app to find the best way to travel.

FISCA Dinner Talk

FISCA is organizing a dinner talk for members and non-members. This is for members to get together and meet each other and to meet the committee members. We encourage non-members to attend as well to learn about the activities of FISCA and to join as members in the future.

The dinner is subsidized by FISCA. You pay less than the actual cost of the dinner. The venue is within walking distance of City Hall MRT station.

Details of the dinner talk can be found here:
http://www.easyapps.sg/assn/FramePDF.aspx?ID=247

You can register at
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5

Sale of life insurance policy to a student

A student was advised by an insurance agent to buy a life insurance policy as a form of savings. He was not told that if he could not continue with the regular savings, he would suffer a loss of a large part of his savings, as the cash value is much less that the premiums paid. As he did not have a regular income, he could not continue to pay the premium and had to suffer a large loss. 

The student asked for my views, if the insurance agent is contravening section 27 of the Financial Adviser's Act, as the agent failed to take reasonable steps to make sure that the policy was suitable for the student. How can the policy be suitable, when the student did not have a steady source of income to pay the premium?

tankinlian.blogspot.com/2009/07/section-27-of-financial-advisers-act.html?m=1

I replied that the student had a valid point and asked him to write a statement along the following lines:

a) state what investment product you were recommended to buy and the circumstances in which you were made to invest in the product

b) state why it was not suitable to you

c) state the wordings of section 27 that apply to this infringement

d) state how you have lost on the investment

e) state why you were not aware about the bad recommendation earlier and how you find out about it now.

Another student was sold a similar policy by the marketing officer in the bank. The mother brought up the case to me. She asked how it was possible for the bank officer to determine that the life insurance policy, which also required regular savings to be made over a long period of time, was suitable to a student who did not have a regular source of income?

I wish to call on other students, who had been mis-sold a life insurance policy and was not told about the potential loss of savings, to come forward and write a similar statement. 

Intelligence Quiz

I printed 3 volumes of the Intelligence Quiz. It is a test of logic and is based on the original quiz that was purported to be created by Dr. Albert Einstein. It was popular two years ago, but had since been overlooked.

My friend in Kuala Lumpur told me that he gave my book to his niece two years ago, but she as not interested at that time. Recently, she found the book and tried the puzzle. She became addicted to it and is now asking for additional volumes.  It seemed suitable for children after they reach a certain age.

For those who are interested to try this quiz,  you can buy it at www.tankinlian.com/ishop.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

The Malaysian authorities have done away with the disembarkation card and the custom form. This has now been confirmed on my visit to Kuala Lumpur. I first observed this change two months ago when I visited Penang but I was not sure if it was a temporary arrangement, e.g. they run out of cards, or was made only for Penang.

At KL, I was required to scan my index fingers for verification, but the process was fast. A year ago, I had to scan all the fingers and thumbs and the process was long. It took 3 hours to cleared the queue at that time.   The authorities had probably learned that it was not necessary to verify all the ten prints and that two prints are sufficient!

I am happy to see that the Malaysian authorities had been progressive in getting rid of unnecessary requirements, i.e. the entry cards, and have used technology in a sensible way. It is time for Singapore and other Asean countries to learn from Malaysia and get rid of the unnecessary cards and forms.  

FISCA Talks for Organizations

The mission of the Financial Services Consumer Association (FISCA) is to educate consumers on financial planning, investments and insurance. FISCA is a consumer based association and has no connection with any financial institution. We give tips and advice that are in the best interest of consumers. Website: www.fisca.sg

By investing in the right way, a consumer can get a much higher return, compared to the return from most financial products that are sold to them. The difference for an average consumer could be $200,000!

FISCA is able to offer the following talks to organizations for their employees and members, to be held in your premises.

More details here:
http://www.easyapps.sg/assn/FramePDF.aspx?ID=249

Bad call center service in Singapore

The Consumer Association conducted a survey and found the quality of call center services to be quite bad. Read this report. http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/06/17/majority-of-respondents-unhappy-with-attitude-of-call-centre-staff/

The difference between bad service and excellent services is a simple step, But many organizations refuse to take this step, preferring to adopt the same method, and refusing to make a change.

I wish to share my experience here. http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=140

Green Post

I registered for Green Post (https://www.gogreenpost.com/) a few months ago. This is an excellent website. But, they had little success and take-up, and it reflects the sad state of affairs in Singapore. I wish to share my experience and to reflect on our problems and what should be done to correct the wastefulness that is now typical of Singapore.

First, I was surprised to find that only a few organizations signed up for Green Post, i.e. two telephone companies and 1 utility company and some small companies. It seemed to be quite troublesome to register, so I did not try at that time.

I received an e-mail about a contest. It seemed that the largest highest score was 7 points. The participant get 1 point for registering for a service and to 1 point to refer a friend. So, the take-up must be poor, in spite of an excellent website.

I located my telephone and utility bills for these three participating organizations and made the effort to register. It was quite troublesome - due primarily to the requirements of the participating organizations. I had to provide several pieces of information that was not available to me. The requirement of Sing Tel was particularly difficult, as I had to provide a Sing Net address (which I do not have) or a mobile number registered with them (which I do not have). I only had a fixed line. I also failed to register to Starhub, also due to their difficult technical requirement (have to download a Java script which failed). After putting in much effort, I only managed to register for SP Services.

I am resigned to continue to receive my monthly statements through the post. This is good for Singapore Post, but is bad for the economy. What a wasteful country - this Singapore.

The problem is the unnecessary requirements regarding "security". Each organization felt that they had to authenticate the identity of their customer in their own peculiar way, forgetting that most customers do not remember the secret passwords and other long forgotten personal data.

It would have been easier for them to accept a login through Sing Pass or for the customer to upload a signature. We need a simpler way to authenticate a person through the website, instead of the separate methods (often ridiculous methods) used by different organizations.

Singapore may claim to be advanced in the use of technology, but if you look at the huge volumes of paper mails that are being sent around, we are indeed very inefficient and wasteful.