Find a way to solve the dispute

Some people accused me of taking the side of Malaysia on this dispute. That accusation is unfair.

My first task is to understand the nature of the dispute. Our govt has given its side of the dispute. But the Malaysian govt has a different perspective.

The dispute concerns the sending of vessels to certain parts of the waters. Each party claim that the water comes under their "sovereignty".

I look at Google Map and see a line that appears to run midway between the shores of Johore and Singapore prior to the building of Tuas Port. After Tuas Port was built, the waters between this line and the port seems to be quite narrow.

I saw a map from the CNA article that shows the line being pushed towards Johore. How did this new line came about? Was there agreement for this revised line to be pushed outwards from Singapore?

The CNA article shows that the "intruding vessels" were between the original and the new lines.

The CNA article did not explain this new line. If anyone knows the background for this revised line, please share with me.

Malaysia has asked that both countries withdraw this vessels from the disputed waters for talks to start. The Singapore govt ask that Malaysia should withdraw their vessels before talks can begin.

I do not wish to comment on which side is acting fairly in this respect.

I like to approach this matter by understanding the nature of the dispute, rather than act on "patriotism". There were many wars in the past that occurred because the people of both sides acted on "patriotism". It is better to understand the nature of the dispute and to try to resolve it by being fair to both sides.

It is not good for one side to win at the expense of the other side. It is also not good for the stronger side to win because of their strength.

For the people who accuse me of being unpatriotic to Singapore, I wish to tell them to look at the issue more rationally. Do not take any side blindly.

If I am convinced that the Singapore side is acting fairly, you can be sure that I will speak out. It is my duty as a loyal citizen.

In the meantime, I like to urge both govts to act with restrain and find a way to solve the dispute.

Tan Kin Lian

Act on these attractive offers

FEEDBACK
Here are the most recent feedback given to govt agencies and commercial organizations and on govt policies.

Read the feedback and vote (agree, disagree) on each feedback. Play an active part as a citizen. Give your view.

http://tklcloud.com/Feedback/latest.aspx

FINANCIAL PLANNING
Do not fall into the trap and lock up your savings in a life insurance policy that gives you a poor return over many years in the future. If you want to quit, you will lose a lot of money. So, you are stuck.

Here are some tips on how to avoid this costly mistake.
https://tankinlian.com/video.aspx

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WISDOM OF THE CROWD
Click on these links to see how ordinary people voted on various issues concerning life in Singapore.
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/result.aspx

Click here to give your votes on the current issues:
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/active_issue.aspx

You will win a prize for participating.

PERFORMANCE OF AGENCIES AND MINISTERS
Click here to find out how the ordinary people assess the performance of our govt agencies and ministers.

Click on the link to submit your vote and win a prize.
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/ChartJS.aspx?Section=Minister

Promote cashless payments

There is a fear among some people that cashless payments, e.g. through e-wallets, allow the govt to track the spending of citizens.

This fear is misplaced.

The e-wallet payments are micro-payments. They are payments of small amounts, e.g. to hawkers and small retailers.

There are more than 30 million transactions a day, assuming 6 transactions for each person.

If the govt wants to track the transactions of any individual person, they can already do it through the banking system. These payments are made through bank transfers and credit cards. These payments are larger and more significant.

There is no need for the govt to go down to track the micro-payments.

Furthermore, the payments are for spending at outlets and do not go down to the individual items that are purchased.

So, this fear is unfounded.

Many people still prefer cash, because they can draw it out of ATM machines without paying any charge. They can also bank in cash without any fee.

The banks have to incur costs to provide these cash withdrawal and deposit services. These cost are not negligible.

If the banks were to introduce a fee for cash withdrawal and cash deposit, the cost may encourage people to move towards cashless payments.

I know that the banks are already making big profit. These new fees will increase their profits.

In return for allowing banks to impose these fees, MAS should insist that the banks provide a higher interest rate for savings and fixed deposits.

This will offset the fees that have to be paid by consumers.

If we do not make this change, we will continue with our inefficient and costly payment system, while other countries move ahead.

Tan Kin Lian

Need for wallet clearing house

My friend told me that he wanted to pay through WeChat pay, but was not able to top up the wallet as he does not have a bank account.

He could have asked his friend to transfer funds into his wallet and he can reimburse cash to his friend, or make a credit card transfer.

Cashless payment is popular in China because there are two big platforms - WeChat Pay and AliPay. The merchant only needs to open two accounts.

In Singapore, the merchant has to open 20 accounts to collect cashless payments from 20 platforms, maybe more.

The solution in Singapore is to introduce a low cash clearing house for cashless payments using wallets.

The approach adopted by the govt of using PayNow for the transfers is not efficient. There is a high cost in transfers through the bank clearing system. Although the banks are subsidising the cost at the present time, it is not a sustainable operation.

We need to introduce a wallet clearing house in Singapore.

Tan Kin Lian

Merchant refused to collect cash

A friend told this story about paying for a purchase in China.

He wanted to pay cash. The merchant insisted on cashless payments.

He could not find someone to make the payment on his behalf.

The merchant told him that he will give the food free, i.e. no need to pay.

OK, we still find all kinds of excuses to pay cash. We can keep far behind other countries. We can continue to be a high cost country, with inefficient and costly way of doing business.

WOTC - Most respected senior ministers

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Which of these senior ministers do you respect most?

Here are the responses: (41 Votes)

80 % - Tharman Shanmugaratnam
7 % - Teo Chee Hean
5 % - Ng Eng Hen 
5 % - Lee Hsien Loong
2 % - Khaw Boon Wan

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1034

WOTC - Bonus for civil servants

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should civil servants be given a bonus based on KPI?

Here are the responses: (58 Votes)

38 % - This will encourage the civil servants to improve their performance.
36 % - The bonus will lead them to forget about their service to the public.
19 % - The bonus leads to jealousy, competition and loss of teamwork among the civil servants in a department
7 % - Civil servants should be behave like business executives.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1033

Swiss system of direct democracy

The Swiss practices a system of direct democracy. It allows the people to decide on the laws that govern their lives. The decisions are taken at referendums held every three months.

This article in the World Economic Forum explains how the Swiss system works.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/switzerland-direct-democracy-explained/

This is democratic and works well.

In many countries, the politicians work for vested interests or are corrupt. They do not want to have truly democratic arrangements to work. They want to preserve their power and privileges.

I hope that more countries will adopt the Swiss system of direct democracy.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Most respected ministers (2)

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Which of these ministers do you respect most?

Here are the responses: (35 Votes)

29 % - S Iswaran
23 % - Masagoes Zulkilfli 
17 % - Vivian Balakrishnan
17 % - Lawrence Wong
14 % - K Shanmugam 

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1032

WOTC - Vote share of PAP at next GE

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What do you expect the vote share of the PAP at the next general election?

Here are the responses: (79 Votes)

37 % - 55 to 60%
32 % - Below 55%
19 % - 60 to 65%
10 % - 65 to 70%
3 % - 70% or higher

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1031

WOTC - Should Tan Cheng Bock set up a new party?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should Dr. Tan Cheng Bock set up a new party?

Here are the responses: (74 Votes)

64 % - It is better for Dr. Tan to lead a coalition of the existing non-PAP parties.
16 % - It is better for Dr. Tan to set up a new party and attract its own members.
11 % - A coalition of the smaller non-PAP parties will not be credible anyway.
9 % - The new party will split the non-PAP votes.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1030

Relations between friends

My friend wants to borrow my car. I am not using it. It does not cost me anything to lend the car to my friend.

Should I lend the car to my friend, or negotiate for some benefit in return, such as the access to their holiday home in another country?

I would not negotiate for the "package". It is not friendly.

I will lend my car to the friend, without condition. I would trust that he will let me use his holiday home when I need it, and if it is available.

My friend might let me down, but I would take that risk. That is what friends are for. We have to trust each other.

I believe that the same approach can be done for relations between neighboring countries.

I do not agree with the "negotiate a package" approach that was adopted by the govt in dealing with issues concerning Malaysia. History had shown that it did not work. It was difficult to negotiate a complicated package.

I am not totally adverse to negotiate a package with another country. But there need to be room for give and talk, and some leeway for generosity.

If both parties want to get the best deal, without regard for the interest and fairness to the other party, then the deal will not be struck.

Tan Kin Lian

Have an open mind towards a more protectionist world

China is now promoting globalization. But critics complained that many industries in China are still protected or are receiving govt subsidies.

Rather than complain about China, the other countries can also adopt the same approach, i.e. to protect some of their industries through tariffs and other measures.

The tariffs should be non-discriminatory, i.e. they should be applied to all countries. The intent is to protect the local industry and allow it to grow.

The tariffs increase the cost to consumers. There is nothing wrong with this approach. Consumption and sales tax, such as GST, also increase cost to consumers.

The higher cost to consumers caused by tariffs brings revenue to the govt. The govt needs revenue to provide social welfare for low income people and to provide essential services, such as health care, education and infrastructure to the people.

Some economists argue that tariffs allow the local manufacturers to make excessive profits. They cannot make the excessive profits because the country could raise the wages of workers and improve the working conditions. This will give better income to the workers, which will be good for the long term development of the country.

If the local businesses, through tariff protections, make more profit (and after paying more to the workers), the govt can take a share of their profit through taxation.

Under the current globalized system, it is difficult to get corporations to pay their share of tax because they can shift their profits to tax havens.

I am in favor of protectionism and tariffs as a way to put the global economy into a more sustainable path. It will help to improve wages and reduce inequality around the world.

Small countries, such as Singapore, will be adversely affected by a more protectionist world. We can find our niche in the new environment. As a small and well educated country, we should be able to make the adjustment. We must.

With protectionism, there will still be ample opportunity for world trade. Not every country wants to produce all of the products and services that they need. They would prefer to buy many of the products from other countries.

World trade will continue, but will be at a lower scale than now.

We need an open mind to address the challenges of the global economy and to reduce the gross inequality that exists in many countries, which is likely to cause more social unrests.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - most respected 4G leaders (1)

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Which of these 4G leaders do you respect most?

Here are the responses: (45 Votes)

38 % - Tan Chuan Jin
36 % - Heng Swee Keat
13 % - Ong Ye Kung
9 % - Chan Chun Sing
4 % - Gan Kim Yong

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1029

WOT - Compensation of life insurance agents

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should MAS review the compensation of life insurance agents?

Here are the responses: (68 Votes)

31 % - They should ensure that the compensation packages are reasonable.
29 % - They compensation packages are too generous and are at the expense of consumers.
22 % - They should leave it to the market.
18 % - The migration of agents due to high payouts is bad for the life insurance industry.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1028

WOTC - Smart city project

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is the smart city project making good progress

Here are the responses: (76 Votes)

62 % - It will be another disaster, due to poor management.
20 % - It has created a few initiates that are struggling.
18 % - It has made a small impact and need more time to be fully implemented.
0 % - It has launched several initiatives that are doing very well.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1027

WOTC - Confidence in 4G leaders

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Are you confident about the new generation (4G) leaders?

Here are the responses: (83 Votes)

61 % - I do not have confidence in the new team, due to their background.
30 % - They are likely to keep to the current policies, as they will be reluctant to make big changes.
5 % - Being a new generation, they now have the chance to bring about big changes in govt policies.
4 % - We have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1026

Resolve the water issue

The 1962 water agreement with the Malaysian govt allows the water price to be revised in 1987, i.e. after 25 years. Malaysia did not take up this revision.

Singapore govt said that Malaysia lost the right to revise the price, because they failed to act. They quote "international law". They have legal experts to confirm this position.

The Malaysian side also has legal experts who took the view that that they did not lose the right to raise the water price, even though they did not act earlier.

Who is right?

I don't know. But I know who is wrong. The amount involved is $15 million a year. It would cost us much more to argue the case in international court. The expert lawyers will be very happy, thank you very much.

There is also a moral issue. I do not expect my 1962 rental to remain the same today. It probably went up 15 times, maybe more.

What is the cost of producing water through other means, i.e. desalination and osmosis? Can this be a benchmark?

My common sense says, pay Dr. M the 50 sens that he ask for. The amount ($15 million a year) is too small to quibble. The cost of the quibbling, and the ensuing disputes over water and air rights, is many times more than $15 million a year.

Some people worry. Will Malaysia take this opportunity to bring up other issues? They might, but their case on the new issues will be much weaker.

However, I trust the people and the govt of Malaysia to be reasonable. We can only build good relations based on trust, understanding and mutual respect.

Tan Kin Lian

Extending a helping hand

Some people think that Dr. M is back to his old ways of "do Singapore in". This perception is also being fanned by some people at senior levels and the media.

I have a different view. Here are my reasons:

a) Dr. M today is quite different from the past. He came back from retirement to remove a kleptocratic govt (quoting the description that he used). He does not want to see his country go down the drain.

b) Malaysia faced financial challenges. His ministers approached Singapore to waive the penalty for the cancellation of the High Speed Rail. We refused. He asked Singapore to pay a higher price for the water. We refused.

c) He came to Singapore during the ASEAN meeting to receive an honorary doctor of law degree (which he does not need). His main purpose was, in my guess, to talk about the price of water. The meeting concluded with an understanding to continue discussions. We are talking about $15 million a year, not a lot of money.

Dr. M must be disappointed at the attitude of the Singapore govt leaders. I can understand his disappointment.

I have been alarmed at the billions that we spend on infrastructure projects in Singapore. In some cases, I felt the large sums spent were excessive and unnecessary.

I would certainly have preferred to spend just a few hundred millions to build good relations with Malaysia, especially during their hour of need.

Sadly, we did not extend a hand of help. We missed the opportunity to build goodwill.

We will now pay the price for the bad relations. It will cost many times more than the money that we should have spent.

Some people will argue that we need to be "principled" and to adhere to the rule of law.

I cannot understand why being "principled" should preclude us from being generous in helping someone who needs the help.

There is still time to change our approach. I hope that our foreign minister can play a role in bringing this about. He should not miss this opportunity.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Facebook and fake news

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is Facebook a good tool for people to communicate.

Here are the responses: (55 Votes)

55 % - It is a good tool for people to communicate and share information.
40 % - The benefits outweigh the risks.
5 % - It has been misused to spread lies and falsehood.
0 % - It has been used to spread hate and terrorist activity.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1025

WOTC - Fake news law

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Do we need a fake news law?

Here are the responses: (54 Votes)

76 % - The fake news law can be abused to silence critics of the govt policies.
13 % - It is needed to stop people from spreading hatred and racist comments.
7 % - The existing laws can cope with the lies and hate speech.
4 % - A new law is required to stop people from deliberately spreading lies.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1024

On demand bus service

I may be proved wrong.

But my common sense finds that it is not practical to operate an on-demand bus service with a large bus.

If the bus is to be despatched from its terminal, it will take quite a long time to arrive at the pickup point. It will not work for the commuters.

If the bus is already on route, it will arrive at the pickup point based on its distance anyway.

An on demand service will probably work with a smaller vehicle, maybe a 8 or 12 seater bus. We already have Grabshare that operates with a car. Allow a light bus to be used.

Anyway, let us wait and see how things turn out.

I read that there is a problem of scheduling bus during the off peak period.

This problem can be handled by analyzing the data. It should be possible to change the frequency of each bus service to meet the actual demand.

It will work better if we convert our current structure of 350 bus services to a new structure that involves maybe 30 intertown expressway services to take passengers from one town to another.

Within the town, the passengers will travel by local services.

I hope, after the six month's trial for the on demand bus services, that my suggestion will be considered.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Mechanical counting of votes

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

The Election Department is introducing mechanical counting of votes.

Here are the responses: (78 Votes)

49 % - We should introduce a more efficient system and ensure that there is transparency and security.
40 % - I prefer the votes to be manually counted.
6 % - I prefer to have electronic voting, instead of manual ballot paper.
5 % - This is more efficient than manual counting.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1023

WOTC - Heng SK as prime minister

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:
What are your views about Heng SK being the next prime minister?

Here are the responses: (82 Votes)
37 % - He will not address the underlying problems that need to be changed.
34 % - I am pessimistic about the future of Singapore.
27 % - He is probably the best that is available.
2 % - I am optimistic for the future

See the pie chart at:
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1022

Prepare for the post globalization era

I advocate a more protectionist world. It will help to protect jobs in high wage countries. This will work for large economies, such as America, European Union, China.

How will a more protectionist world affect Singapore, which has a small domestic market and depends on providing services for global trade?

We have to find out own solution. We should not continue to benefit from an economic system that produces high inequality and problems for many countries.

What are the solutions?

a) We can find our own niches, and provide new services that are needed by people in other countries.

b) We have to reduce our cost of doing business and cost of living. They are now among the highest in the world.

c) We have to cut down on wasteful spending.

d) We have to improve the efficiency. We should stop wasting time on implementing convoluted schemes. We need to simplify.

e) We need to join with other small countries to create a larger market, like small countries in the European Union.

I am optimistic that we can find the solution in the new global system, which must come within the next decade.


As a small country, we have the advantage of being easy to manage. We can create a clean and green environment that attracts people to come and live here, and to study here.


We can be the showcase of how a city should be run. We were once a showcase, but the current leaders messed it up. This can be corrected.


If we do not recognize the reality of the new global challenges, we will face more difficulty.


The era of globalization is over. The world will become more protectionist. And that will generally be good.


Tan Kin Lian

How to make America great again

I like to give best wishes to America. They were once a great country and have done a lot of good for the world.

Sadly, America has deteriorated over the past three decades - in terms of their economy, infrastructure and social fabric.

President Trump will not make America great again with his divisive policies.

America needs to return back to the economic policies in the past, i.e. which occurred for four decades after the second world war.

There were two important components of their economic policies during this period:

a) social programs to reduce inequality
b) protectionism - which allow the country to provide good paying jobs to its citizens.

The removal of protectionism was a great time for the multi national corporations. They became big and powerful. They made huge profits but moved them to tax havens and paid little tax.

However, it was a bad period for the working people who suffered through depressed wages and poor working conditions.

I am not advocating trade wars of the type practised by President Trump. I believe in tariffs that make it possible for manufacturing to survive and serve the domestic market. And it is a large market. This will allow well paying jobs to be protected in America.

I believe that this is the economic approach adopted by China. They imposed certain tariffs on foreign products to allow their domestic industry to survive and grow.

America is angry at these tariffs imposed by China and want them removed. That is a wrong strategy. Instead, America should get the Chinese economic planners to advise them on how to introduce similar tariffs in America.

When countries introduce more protectionism, global trade will still continue, but on a lesser scale. There are quality products manufactured in some countries that will still be demanded by consumers in other countries, in spite of the tariffs.

America can start to develop its infrastructure and create well paying jobs for its people. It does not need to depend on its defense industry to the same extent that exists now.

What an irony. America helped to rebuild China after the opening up of China's economy. It is now time for China to help to rebuild America by introducing the correct economic policies.

Tan Kin Lian

PS - I know that my views are controversial. You may disagree, but be polite and give your reasons. Rude comments (from idiots) will be deleted and the idiots will be banned.

Simulation of next general election

I expect a swing of 15% to 20% against the PAP at the next general election, due to several factors.

Click on these links to see the results of the simulation.

15% swing
http://tklcloud.com/Election/const2.aspx?id=1748

20% swing
http://tklcloud.com/Election/const2.aspx?id=1749

The actual seats won by the non PAP parties may change, due to realignment of the parties, but the seats won by the PAP is likely to be quite stable.

You can carry out your own simulation here:
http://tklcloud.com/Election/const.aspx







Note - the results of the simulation for the same swing percentage by differ due to a random factor built into the simulation. You can try the same swing a few times and see how the results may differ. The difference will be small.

WOTC - Require MC for sick leave

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should employees be required to get a MC for sick leave?

Here are the responses: (47 Votes)

38 % - It is better to allow the employee to have up to 3 days of sick leave without getting a MC.
36 % - It is a good way to ensure that the employee is really sick.
19 % - Some employees abuse the privilege to get many days of sick leave.
6 % - Some doctors issue MCs freely, even to employees who are not sick.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1021

WOTC - Build terminal 5 when airspace is limited

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Why are we building terminal 5 when our airspace is limited?

Here are the responses: (49 Votes)

84 % - We are quite wasteful in spending on infrastructure.
10 % - Terminal 5 will allow greater efficiency for the airport.
4 % - The planners probably overlook this important consideration.
2 % - The limited airspace is due to weather condition. We can have more planes on normal days.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1020

Vote non PAP - you will win either way

Half of the respondents of a poll preferred the non PAP parties to work together to win the general election and form the next govt. This will allow the bad policies to be changed.

The other half preferred that they win at least one third of the seats in Parliament.

The option to form a new govt requires the non PAP parties to form a coalition and to contest under one logo. This is not likely to happen. The SDP had called a meeting of the non PAP parties and asked Dr. Tan Cheng Bock to lead the coalition. He was open to that idea at that meeting.

However, there was no further development since that meeting. The grapevine reported that Dr. Tan is forming a new party. We will have yet another new party.

The unhappiness with the policies of the current PAP govt seems to be quite widespread among most segments of the society. There is clearly a yearning for change. Most people want to see change.

It is quite likely that there will be three strong non PAP parties at the next general election - the Workers Party, the SDP and Dr. Tan's new party.

What about the other parties that contested unsuccessfully at the previous election and the new party formed by Lim Tean? Tean's party seemed to have quite a good following and has a large impact in social media.

It will be best for these smaller parties to join one of the three major parties. (I am giving credit to Dr. Tan's party as being a major party). Being a new party, it is likely to be able to attract the merger of the smaller parties.

The next best thing for the non-PAP supporters is to see three major non PAP parties contesting the next general election against the PAP. It should be easy for these non PAP parties to have an understanding of the constituencies that they should be contesting, e.g. WP in the east, Dr Tan's party in the west and SDP in the north and central.

The widespread unhappiness may bring about a 15% to 20% swing against the PAP. This could lead to the non PAP parties taking over 15 to 25 seats in Parliament. It will be a healthier state of affairs for Singapore.

The PAP will still govern. But they will have to change some of their bad policies to avoid the risk of being kicked out of govt at the following general election. This change will be welcomed.

What if the PAP loses the majority in Parliament? They are likely to form a coalition with one of the other parties. It would be a good outcome.

My message to the people is - vote non PAP. You will win either way.


Tan Kin Lian

Our tax system punishes the middle class

Rachel Ash said.
Mr Tan. Our current tax system "punishes" the middle class. The "poor" does not pay tax while the rich have the means to pay "little" tax through clever accounting and personal expenses deducted as company's expense.

The middle class literally pays full tax as most are civil servants or purely salaried person. Hence, it is the middle class who is "supporting" the poor and not the rich.

As a citizen, I never cheat on my taxes because I felt it is a social responsibility. I have gotten to the extend of writing in to the IRS informing them that I forgotten to pay tax on a certain income that occurred 10 years ago. It was done NOT out of fear but plainly did NOT want our authorities to give excuse that we are evasive in helping our needy in society.

Unfortunately, the less than prudent spending by our government of white elephants (expensive computer system that cannot connect is left to rot; rubbish bin which can buy a BTO 5 room flat; Brompton bicycle because some civil servants got expensive backside; Herman M chairs that cost $500 plus for office in civil service departments; etc........

Moving the country forwards takes two hands to clap.

MY COMMENT.
I agree with your views.

Shopping at Lazada

I bought a lot of stuff from Lazada. I joined their Live up membership and get a 5% discount on all purchase and also free shipping.

I am able to compare the prices of the same product offered by other sellers, so that gives me a good idea about what is a fair price. Often I go for the lowest.

I also get a good description of the product. It improves my product knowledge and helps me to make the right choice.

Lazada offers a 7 day return policy. If the product is defective or not as advertised, I return it and get a full refund. For large items, they send a collection van. For small items, I go to the POP station.

Previously, I shopped at Q0010. But I do not like the confusing pricing structure of Q0010. They quote a price and then add on for their options. It is confusing. I stopped shopping at Q0010.

I am able to find most of the items that I need from Lazada. So, I do not need to go to other online websites.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Police questioning of editor of TOC

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

The police called up the editor of TOC for questioning.

Here are the responses: (51 Votes)

61 % - This is police harassment.
16 % - The questioning is unreasonable and takes too long.
14 % - Why should the filming equipment be taken away?
10 % - This is an acceptable practice.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1019

WOTC - Relations between Singapore and Malaysia

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Who is responsible for the unsteady relations between Malaysia and Singapore?

Here are the responses: (51 Votes)

55 % - Lee Hsien Loong. He is inflexible.
24 % - Dr. Mahathir. He does not like Singapore.
20 % - Relations will improve.
2 % - It is better to maintain unsteady relations.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1018

WOTC - Should NEA managed the new hawker centers directly?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should the new hawker centers be managed directly by NEA?

Here are the responses: (55 Votes)

60 % - They should be managed directly by NEA.
22 % - NEA will probably make a bigger mess due to their bureaucratic nature.
9 % - They can continue to be run by the social enterprises, but more controls should be introduced.
9 % - The current operations are generally satisfactory, except that some aspects need to be modified.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1017

WOTC - Mess in new hawker centers

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Who should be primarily responsible for the mess in the SE hawker centers?

Here are the responses: (55 Votes)

42 % - The senior minister of state, Amy Khor
33 % - The CEO of the national environment agency.
18 % - The minister, Mr. Masagoes
7 % - What mess? It is operating fine, it only needs to be tweaked.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1016

Port of Singapore

Somebody said that the cargo cleared through Port of Singapore dropped 40% over the past years.

I checked the port statistics. He is mistaken. (I do not think that he intentionally gave fake news).

Here are the statistics.

Total cargo (general and bulk)
2007 - 483 million tonne
2017 - 627 million tonne

Container
2007 - 27.9 m TEU
2017 - 33.7 m TEU

I think container cargo is excluded from total cargo.

1 TEU contains about 24 tonne of dry cargo (average). 33.7 TEU = 800 tonne, i.e. slightly more than general and bulk cargo.

An appointment system that is not working well

I call Denticare dental clinic. Nobody pick up the phone. They do not provide email or mobile phone number. Bad service.

Finally, after several minutes a staff picked up the phone. She said that she was busy attending to a patient.

I asked to confirm that I had an appointment at 5 pm on Monday. She checked and confirmed that the appointment was recorded.

On two previous occasions during the past month, I received a SMS from Denticare that my dental appointment was due. If there was an appointment on record, why did they send the confusing message to me?

It looks like Denticare system is not well integrated.

High distribution cost of life insurance policies

I read the news report that MAS is investigating the compensation packages of the life insurance agents in a few large companies.

I did hear from some agents of the large compensations that are paid by some companies to attract the agents from their competitors to join them.

Some of the compensation packages work out to more than $100,000 for a good producing agents.

It is necessary to pay a large compensation because the migrating agent will lose the renewal commission from their previous company when they quit. The renewal commissions are for policies sold previously, which are generally payable for six years or longer.

The senior agents will also lose the overriding commission on the policies sold by the agents under them.

Apart from the compensation for the loss of commission on past policies, the migrating agent also expect to earn a higher income with the new company.

How does the new company who recruits the migrated agent, expect to earn enough profit to pay the huge compensation and the higher commission?

This comes from the big profit margin contained in the life insurance policies that the migrated agent is expected to sell.

The profit margin, which is described as distribution cost, can be as much as two years of premium.

If the monthly premium is $1,000, the distribution cost can be $24,000.

If the migrated agent sells 5 policies a month, the profit margin is $120,000. This has to be shared by the agent, his supervisor and the insurance company.

Someone who buys a life insurance policy "for investment" may not realize that he or she is giving away as much as two years of the premium as distribution cost.

This type of policy gives a poor return. In fact, the return is negative for more than ten years.

Which buyer will agree to pay $24,000 as distribution cost? I suspect - none. But the buyer is usually not aware of the high distribution cost. The sale is made based on other considerations.

As long as the regulator (i.e. Monetary Authority of Singapore) continue to allow life insurance companies to take away a large distribution cost from its policyholders, they will not solve this problem of migrating agents, high compensation packages and other bad practices.

The ordinary unsuspecting buyers of life insurance policies pay a heavy price.

This has been going on for a few decades.

In spite of these high expenses, the life insurance companies show huge profits each year, by the billions.

All of these are made at the expense of a hundred thousand consumers every year.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Call centers of large organizations

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Do large organizations provide a good call center service?

Here are the responses: (61 Votes)

61 % - The experience is quite frustrating.
36 % - It is difficult to get through to talk to a person.
3 % - I am able to get the information and service that I need quite easily.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1015

WOTC - Outsourcing of public sector jobs

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is outsourcing of public sector jobs good?

Here are the responses: (61 Votes)

46 % - There is loss of expertise of permanent workers.
30 % - It depresses the wages of the outsourced workers.
20 % - The contractor makes a good profit margin.
5 % - It helps to improve efficiency and bring down cost.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1014

WOTC - Tender system

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is it good to rely on a tender system?

Here are the responses: (63 Votes)

59 % - The tender system can be subject to manipulation or unrealistic low bidding.
17 % - It is better to use benchmarks to get a right price.
16 % - It is the best system to award jobs to contractors.
8 % - It is only suitable for complex jobs where there are no reliable benchmark.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1013

WOTC - Legacy of Lee HL

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Will Lee HL leave a good legacy if he encourages PAP to be split into two parties?

Here are the responses: (67 Votes)

49 % - It will not help much, as the split party is more of the same. 
33 % - It will lead Singapore into a bigger mess.
10 % - It will have a positive impact on the future of Singapore.
7 % - It will help to undo the damage that he has done.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1012

WOTC - Performance of new CEO of SMRT

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is the new CEO of SMRT doing a good job so far?

Here are the responses: (62 Votes)

35 % - The performance of SMRT did not improve after he took over. 
35 % - It will be another disaster for SMRT.
23 % - He is more in touch with what is happening on the ground.
6 % - He is addressing the cultural and technical issues well.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1011

WOTC - Cleaning and dishwashing

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

NEA will provide subsidy to stalls for cleaning and dishwashing cost 

Here are the responses: (70 Votes)

39 % - NEA should ensure that the costs are obtained through open competitive tender and charged fairly to stall holders, without a profit margin.
37 % - Let the stalls handle their own dishwashing.
17 % - NEA should set a fair rate for dishwashing cost, based on experience of many hawker centers.
7 % - This is a good measure.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1010