Is crony capitalism a form of corruption?

The Online Citizen has a report that Singapore has a high rating for being "non-corrupt" but ranks 4th on the crony capitalism index. Is crony capitalism a form of corruption?

Let me give my view.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2453

To build an inclusive society

Whenever I hear PM Lee say that he wants to build an inclusive society, I wonder what he means.

He may have a different understanding of an "inclusive society" from what I have. Let me say what I understand this condition to be.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2452

Alternative to POFMA

The govt has to pass a ridiculous law called POFMA. It is now being used to deal with alleged false statements issued by opposition parties. In some cases, these are just alternative opinions, but the minister invoked POFMA in an unfair way.

What is the alternative to a law on POFMA?
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2447

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Is the US implementing economic sanctions correctly?
2. Is the US promoting democracy and freedom?

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

WOTC - Hostility between US and Iran

Wisdom of the Crowd: 84% of the respondents said that the hostility between US and Iran will not lead to an all out war.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1788

WOTC - POFMA has been implemented badly

Wisdom of the Crowd: 97% of the respondents said that POFMA has been badly implemented for the first four cases.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1787

Queuing for popular items

People can queue for many hours, sometimes days, for popular products, for example:

a) new product releases
b) admission to primary schools
c) booking of hot properties

Sometimes, the long hours of queuing could lead to disputes among the people in the queue. Sometimes, proxies are used to stand in the queue in payment for a fee by the intended buyer.

Surely, there is a better way to handle the allocation of priority?

Here is my suggestion.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2442

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Why does MOM not provide data on PMET employment?

2. Should the POFMA hearing be held in open court?

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

WOTC - Minister give order to AHTC

Wisdom of the Crowd: 97% of the respondents said that it is not proper for the minister for national development to give an order to Aljunied Hougang Town Council.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1786

WOTC - POFMA order against SDP

Wisdom of the Crowd: 92% of the respondents said that the minister for manpower should withdraw the POFMA order against the SDP.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1785

How insurers cheat their way out of bad products

Some insurance companies offer investment policies that guaranteed a high rate of return. When the investment return drops, due to economic situations, they suffer a large financial loss.

This has happened many times during the past decades. Some of the insurers found a way to "cheat" their customers and get out of the loss.

This is what they do.
http://www.fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=669

My Tesla story - episode 1

I will continue my Tesla story for those who are interested to follow me. This story is not for people who are cleverer than me, and who post remarks "I told you so".

When Tesla was on the way "to the moon", I sold 100 shares at $517 and another 100 shares at $524. I still kept 100 shares.

The shares went up to $540 in the pre-market. During the subsequent two nights, it dropped at the worse point to $500 (drop of 7.4%), due to two negative forecast from Tesla bears. It closed at $513. I watched the price moved up from $500 but was not brave enough to buy (I am not HC, OK?)

Hello, a drop of $40 on 100 shares is USD 4,000, ok? Don't play play.

I now have to decide. Should I sell my 100 shares or buy another 100 shares? I will consider carefully and make my decision later.

I can show you how to be "clever". At one place, I will post "sell" and give the reasons. At another place, I will post "buy" and give another set of reasons.

After the price has moved, I will refer to the "correct" post and say "I told you so". Clever or not?

It is easy to be "clever" with the benefit of hindsight, but it is difficult when the speculator has to decide with real money. A middle step is to open a "demo account" with Plus 500 and invest with "fake money". It is still difficult.

What say you?

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. PM Lee said that govt online transactions are convenient.
2. What is the best way to make small payments?

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

WOTC - Ensure locals are employed

Wisdom of the Crowd: Only 11% of the respondents agreed with the govt's approach to strengthen the Fair Consideration Framework to ensure that locals are employed. the other 89% prefer other approaches.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1784

WOTC - Cash and credit card payment

Wisdom of the Crowd: 58% of the respondents prefer cash and credit card payment because it is convenient and free. They are not aware about the hidden cost that is reflected in the prices that they pay.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1783

Use of e-payment cards

Many banks in Indonesia issue e-payment cards. They call it e-money.

The e-money cards are anonymous. They are topped up by transferring cash into the e-money cards at convenience stores, supermarkets and at banks.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2438

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. MOM will strengthen the Fair Employment Framework

2. The education minister will review the need to hold back PSLE/GCE certificates

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

Wisdom of the crowd

Vote on these issues and win a prize

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - Cope with loss of jobs

Wisdom of the Crowd: The respondents prefer the following measures to help people to cope with the loss of jobs during a recession - allow CPF savings to be withdrawn (38%), govt to create public sector jobs (35%), give unemployment benefit (15%), give govt loans at modest interest rate (9%)

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1782

WOTC - general election in Singapore

Wisdom of the Crowd: 73% of the respondents expect the general election to be held in March/April 2020. The others expect it to be held later.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1781

E-payment in Jakarta

My friend in Jakarta have 3 children, aged 9 to 16 years.

Their mother gave them a mobile phone each, and top up their e-wallet every day. The children use the mobile phone to make payment using QR code.

I was surprised. It seems that many people in Jakarta use e-payment. It seemed to be more common than in Singapore.

I hear so many excuses in Singapore. In spite of the encouragement by PM Lee to move to e-payment over 2 years ago, nothing much has happened.

Is this what is happening in Singapore? Are we slower than Jakarta? It is very sad.

Help people to cope with a recession

I read an article that China is taking steps to make sure that their people have jobs during the global slowdown.

My friend in Jakarta told me that Indonesia is also implementing similar measures. They create jobs to keep people employed.

What about Singapore? We have a govt that does nothing but just talk, and they talk theory and nonsense.

OK - what do I expect them to do? They can try some of my ideas here.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2403

#HearMeOut

Click on this link to read the popular feedback posted by TKL and writers to the newspapers on issues affected life in Singapore.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/most_view.aspx

PDPA is a badly written law

The Privacy and Data Protection Act is a badly written law. It has caused a lot of unnecessary trouble and cost in administration. It does not achieve its primary goal of stopping the real intrusion of privacy.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2428

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Which option do you prefer for our national defense.
2. How should our education policy be changed?

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

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. How would you describe President Trump's approach in the recent Iranian conflict

2. How would you describe minister Chan Chun Sing?

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

WOTC - President Trump threaten to attack 52 Iranian sites

Wisdom of the Crowd: 52% of the respondents said that President Trump wanted to give a warning to Iran not to attack US assets and citizens. The other respondents have other views.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1780

WOTC - Killing the military head of Iran

Wisdom of the Crowd: 70% of the respondents said that it is not proper and not wise for America to kill the military head of Iran.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1779

Low fee for old folks home in Malaysia

Mr X came from Malaysia and worked in Singapore for many years. He might have converted to citizenship now.

He used to work in a MNC but lost his job as the MNC left Singapore.

He could not get another job, so he became a cook at a stall.

He has a mother, in the mid 70s, living in Butterworth, Penang. As the mother was living alone, he sent her to live in an old folks home.

What is the fee? He said RM 800 a month. It is a privately run home, and not a charity.

A similar old folks home in Singapore would cost $3,000 or RM 9,000. That is 10 times of what he paid in Butterworth.

If any minister ask me - what is the point of this post?

Well, I tell the stupid minister. This is to show that it is better to keep the cost of living low, so that people can afford the cost, rather than to jack up the cost to sky high levels and create all kinds of convoluted subsidy and funding schemes.

PM Lee - I hope you are reading.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2424

Protect consumers against rejected claims caused by alleged non disclosures

I have seen many cases of consumers being denied legitimate claims due to alleged non disclosures. I ask the regulator to study this matter and get insurers to adopt a code of practice that is fair to consumers.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2423

Why are electricity prices increased when the prices of gas has fallen?

a reader asked this question in the Straits Times Forum. The director of the Energy Market Authority gave this reply. Is he giving the correct picture?

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2422

WOTC - Ban on use of PMD on footpath

Wisdom of the Crowd: 67% of the respondents said that the food delivery riders will observe the ban on the use of PMDs on footpaths.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1778

WOTC - Description that best fits Heng SK

Wisdom of the Crowd: 83% of the respondents describe Heng SK as not suitable to be PM. 17% describe him as competent and a pleasant personality.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1777

Living in fairyland

The big tech stocks in America have an average PE ratio of 50 and a dividend yield of 1%.

This means that the current price is 2 times of a fair value for a growth stock, say PE ratio of 25 and dividend yield of 2%.

This high valuation is due to the historical low interest rate, which is negative in some countries. Investors are paying 2 times of the price to get the same dividend.

Half of the wealth in the world is ephemeral.

This will not continue for long. Look for the global stock markets to drop by 50% when the economic conditions become more "sensible".

But this may take many years to happen. In the meantime, we live in fairyland.

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Who should take the blame for the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane in Iran?

2. Was it a wise decision for Singapore to spend $3.5 billion on new fighter plans?

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

Wisdom of the Crowd:

Vote on these issues and win a prize at the end of the month.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - Opinion of Dr. Mahathir as a leader

Wisdom of the Crowd: 59% of the respondents have a positive opinion of Dr. Mahathir as a leader. 41% has a negative opinion.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1776

WOTC - Opinion of Lee HL as a leader

Wisdom of the Crowd: 100% of the respondents have a negative opinion of Lee HL as a leader.

See the details in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1775

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Should Singapore move towards e-payment, instead of paying cash?

2. Do you expect Iran to launch more attacks against American interest?

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

WOTC - State education center in Xinjiang

Wisdom of the Crowd: 56% of the participants said that it is all right for the state to mandate compulsory education for children, provided that the parents have the right to see what is being taught.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1774

WOTC - Treat accident victims in nearby hospital

Wisdom of the Crowd: 82% of the participants said that the victims of a traffic accident should be sent to a nearby hospital, even if it is a private hospital.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1773

Review the policy on home ownership

The Singapore govt encouraged home ownership during the past decades. It is time to review this policy.

http://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2413

Option to rent HDB flat

We should give an option for people to rent HDB flats, instead of forcing every one to buy a flat.

It will help to improve the birth rate and also reduce the financial burden for young people.

See here.
http://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2293

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Has POFMA been implemented properly on the first four actions?
2. Will the hostility between US and Iran escalate into a war?

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

WOTC - CPF release actual name of complainant

Wisdom of the Crowd: 84% of the respondents said that it is not proper for CPF to release the actual name of the respondents.

See the breakdown of their votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1772

WOTC - LTA stop car pooling service to JB

Wisdom of the Crowd: 91% of the respondents disagreed with the action taken by Land Transport Authority to stop the car pooling service between Singapore and Johore Bahru.

See the breakdown of their votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1771

WOTC - Stand united with the government

Wisdom of the Crowd: 75% of the respondents are not prepared to stand united with the government. 25% are willing to.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1770

WOTC - Economic prospects for 2020

Wisdom of the Crowd: 78% of the respondents are pessimistic about the economic prospects for 2020. 22% are neutral or positive.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1769

Quora: Who is more intelligent, more measured, more stable between China's Xi and US' Trump?

Masao Miwa, Always interested, especially Asia
Answered Dec 16

Let’s look at the facts.

Donald Trump was born into a rich family and his father is said to have bought his son’s way into Wharton where he got a Bachelor’s degree. None of the profs remember Trump. Trump says his father gave him a small loan to get him started. The NY Times said it was more like $60.7 million. Trump says he is worth $10 billion, Forbes claims he is only worth $3 billion. Trump is said to have declared bankruptcy 6 times.

Trump claimed he turned a 'small' $1 million loan from his father into an empire. The New York Times says it was more like $60.7 million in loans

TRUMP: My 'massive' net worth is 'in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS'

The Details About the 6 Donald Trump Corporate Bankruptcies

His followers consider him a genius, supreme leader, sharp negotiator, and super salesman On the last criteria, he must be right, his base of believers number in the millions.

On the other hand, Xi Jinping, though a princeling (a person whose parents were high in the communist government), when his father was purged, Xi was sent to the countryside to learn from the peasants there. From that rural start, Xi learned on his own and eventually when he came back, got a degree in Chemistry at Tsinghua University, China’s MIT. Later he got a Doctorate in law degree from Tsinghua. His political career started at the bottom as a village chief and worked his way up the ranks from city to province responsibilities and finally in the elite circles in Beijing where he is now President for life. He also holds several other titles as Paramount Leader, General Secretary of the Communist Party. and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. China is saving a lot of money with one person holding down so many positions. It also makes him the most powerful leader in China since Mao. Xi is the sponsor of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), responsible for the purge of corrupt officials in government, and the long-range planning of China’s economy and revitalization and architect of China’s military. 85% of Chinese think their government is on the right path. If so, Xi must have over a billion followers.

I vote for Xi Jinping based on merit and accomplishments.

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Why do consumers prefer cash and credit card payments?

2. How can we ensure locals get jobs over foreigners?

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

Hidden cost of cash and credit card payment

Many people like to pay by cash and credit card because it is convenient and free to them. They are not aware of the hidden costs that are reflected in the prices that they have to pay to hawkers and merchants.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2389

WOTC - Opinion of Boris Johnson as a leader

Wisdom of the Crowd: 45% of the respondents have a positive opinion of Boris Johnson as a leader. 55% have a negative opinion.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1768

WOTC - Opinion of Lee HL as a leader

Wisdom of the Crowd: 98% of the respondents have a negative opinion of Lee HL as a leader.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1767

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. President Trump threaten to attack 52 Iranian sites
2. When will the Singapore general election be held?
3. What is a good way to help people cope with loss of jobs during a recession?

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

What should I do with my Tesla shares this week?

Tesla issued its 3Q financials on 23 Oct 2019. The 4Q financials will likely be issued on 23 Jan 2020, in about three weeks time.

If it shows an improved profit, it is likely that Tesla will move towards my target of US$500. At that point, I intend to take profit on half of my holdings.

When Tesla announced its 4Q sales on 3 Jan, it beat analyst forecast. The price jumped from $430 to $454 within a few minutes. However, it dropped back to $443 at the close.

I shall be watching the price movement over the next few days. There is the possibility that the market will continue to push up the price of Tesla shares, say to $470. This was what happened after the announcement of the 3Q financials. The full movement occurred over 1 week.

However, if the investors thought that the price of $450 is too high, it is likely that more will take profit and the price will continue to fall.


I have to watch this price carefully, as I have 300 shares worth SGD 180,000. As this is a volatile share, we can see a 10% movement in 1 day. That is $18,000. Frightening, right?

If you want to share in this excitement, you can watch the price by searching for "Share Price Tesla" on Chrome. You will see the latest price and it is updated live.

If you want to know more about how to monitor the share price movement, come and attend my talk on Sat 11 Jan. Register at https://tklcloud.com/event/whats_on.aspx

If you want to invest a smaller sum, you can buy 10 shares for US$4,300 or S$5,800. If you cannot take the risk and just want to watch the fun, you can continue to monitor my trade. I will tell stories, OK?

Helping unemployed people in a recession

Someone asked me - will there be a recession and how will it affect the people who lost their jobs?

I gave him this view.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2403

Better than FCF?

Is there an alternative way to help locals get jobs, instead of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) which is really a farce?

Here are my views.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2402

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. President Trump threaten to attack 52 Iranian sites
2. When will the Singapore general election be held?

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

WOTC - Phase one trade deal between US and China

Wisdom of the Crowd: 47% of the respondents are optimistic about the phase one trade deal between US and China. 53% are not.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1766

WOTC - require prisoners to work

Wisdom of the Crowd: 92% of the respondents said that it is acceptable to require prisoners to do work that is suitable for them. 8% said that it is forced labor and unacceptable.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1765

My views about speculating in shares

Someone was worried that readers may follow my posts and think that it is easy to make money by investing in shares.

If these people are so idiotic, they deserve to lose their savings.

Investing in shares is risky. It requires a lot of hard work to select the shares to invest in. Even after you have selected a good share, it is a constant struggle to decide if the current price is too high or too high and whether you should buy more shares or sell some of your holdings.

Many people make mistakes in trading and they lose a lot of money.

Here are my tips on trading:

a) Never follow blindly to what other people say. They can give you a tip, but you must make your own study. If you are too lazy, don't trade shares, NEVER.

b) Trade with your spare cash, and NEVER with margin. When the share turns bad, you can afford to hold it and wait for it to recover. If you are on margin, you have to top up with more money. If you don't have, you have to take a loss.

I have shared with you some shares that I made money. My best share is Tesla. But it is highly speculative and need close monitoring. It is only easy on hindsight. It is not easy going forward.

I have realized the profit on two shares - Country Garden and China Molybdenum.

But some of my shares do not do well. I am now holding on to two shares that now show a big loss - China Sinopec and Koh Brothers.

China Sinopec is paying a dividend of 9% on the current price. I can afford to hold it for the dividend. it may take a long time for the share to recover to my cost price, but I am willing to wait, because this company is very big to fail.

Will I buy more shares at the current price? Maybe, and to enjoy the good dividend yield.

I have a big investment in Koh Brothers. I am waiting for the next financial result to come out in February. I hope that it shows an improvement in profit. If it does, the share price should jump at least 50%. If it gets worse, I have to wait another year or two.

The dividend yield is 2.7%. It is okay, compared to 1% on fixed deposit. The share price is only one third of the value of the assets. It can increase 3 times to the asset value if the company shows a good profit.

Can Koh Brothers go bankrupt? It can. But I don't think it will occur.

Remember, when you read my post, some of my shares make money and some lose money. It is not easy to make money. It requires a lot of hard work, and more importantly, it needs LUCK.

Passport fee of $90

Is it acceptable for the passport fee to be $90? I share my view here.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2401

Wisdom of the Crowd

Vote on these issues and win a prize.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - Waiting time at pedestrian crossing

Wisdom of the Crowd: The respondents prefer the green man at pedestrian crossing to appear within 30 seconds (21%), 1 minute (33%), 2 minute (16%), longer if there is heavy traffic (30%).

See the details in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1764

WOTC - Streamline the bus network

Wisdom of the Crowd: 95% of the respondents prefer the govt to streamline the bus network to reduce the inefficiency and wastage. 5% prefer to maintain the existing network and are willing to pay higher fares.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1763

Do not accept nonsensical requirement

A few people mocked me by being confused with the instruction to submit an passport size photograph to renewal a passport.

I was confused because I was thinking of a physical photograph. How can I submit it online?

These "smart" people knew that ICA only required the to submit an image that is cropped to passport size. Surely they should know that other people might be confused? Why can't ICA ask for an image to be submitted, instead of a passport size photo?

Why are these "smart" people so arrogant and unempathetic? It is a bad behavior trait, but quite common.

Some of them are quite helpful in suggesting that I could download an app to do the work. I followed their suggestion and download an app. It contained detailed instruction and would probably take me 1 hour to understand it and get the photo suitable for ICA.

I realize that if ICA allowed me to submit an ordinary photo that is front facing, they could use a software to do the work, i.e. zoom, crop and change background, and get it done for 2 minutes. Why force the public to spend 1 hour when their staff could get it done in 2 minutes?

Here is my message to the "smart" people. You know how to get around the troublesome process implemented by ICA. By so doing, ICA does not realize that they could change and improve their process to benefit the community. Are you really that "smart" to accept the nonsensical requirement?

Online renewal of passport

I was confused with the instruction in the ICA website to upload a passport size photo for renewal of my passport.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2395

Increase in public transport fares could have been avoided

The increase in public transport fares could have been avoided if we (the govt and the people) are prepared to accept changes and streamline the bus network to improve its efficiency.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2394

Ban on PMD using foot paths

I expect to see more accidents on the road when the food delivery riders use motor cycles or scooters.

We will see what happens.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2393

E-wallet linked to RFID card

Should we continue to use cash for payment when many other countries are moving to e-payment? Do you agree that a payment card is more convenient than using QR code payment with mobile phone?


Read this
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2389

How to get e-payment adopted quickly

Should we continue to use cash for payment when many other countries are moving to e-payment? Do you agree that a payment card is more convenient than using QR code payment with mobile phone?

Read this
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2371

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Which description best fits Heng Swee Kiat?

2. How will most food delivery riders respond to the ban on using PMD on footpaths?

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

WOTC - How to deal with climbing vet fees

Wisdom of the Crowd - the respondents chose the following methods to deal with climbing vet fees: learn how to take care of pets (43%), check the fees charged by vets (27%), ask govt to regulate fees (27%), buy insurance (3%).

See the detailed votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1762

WOTC - Qualities for next president of America

Wisdom of the Crowd: The respondents voted for the following qualities as being most important for the next president of America - need to reduce inequality (50%), preference for female (22%), preference for continuity (19%), preference for age and experience (9%).

See the detailed votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1761

A long term investor has a different approach from a short term speculator.

My friend has an interesting strategy for investing. He said - what what Temasek and GIC are doing and do the opposite. When they buy, you sell. When they sell, you buy.

He said that he had observed their investments for many years. They often buy at a high price and sell at a low price. He quoted a few examples, e.g. the global banks during the financial crisis.

He quoted a recent case where Temasek or GIC bought Bayer at 95 euros. It is not trading at around 70 euros. He thinks that it is now a good time to buy Bayer. At this lower price, I agree.

He is a good friend and has many years of experience in investing. But I do not agree with his approach.

Temasek and GIC are long term investors. They have to buy in large quantities and that will move the price up. When they stop buying, the price will come down. So, a correction of 10% or more can be expected.

Their approach has to be different from that of a short term trader.

I think that Bayer may be a good share for a long term investor at the current price.

Let me quote another example.

Another friend told me that GIC bought China Molybdenum at close to HK $3. It dropped to around $2.40. I decided to buy this share at around the price. I found that it has good fundamentals, and has a strategic value as a rare earth mining company.

The share price stayed below $3 for several months. Towards year end, it jumped sharply above $3. I sold my holdings, having made a gain of 20%. It has since increased further to $3.30.

http://www.fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=664

WOTC - Next President of USA

Wisdom of the Crowd: The respondents voted in favor of the following persons as the next president of the United States - Bernie Sanders (31%), re-election of Donald Trump (28%), Elizabeth Warren (22%), Joe Biden (9%), another Republican (9%).

See the details of the voting in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1760

WOTC - Communicate by email

Wisdom of the Crowd: 95% of the respondents said that organizations should make it easier for customers to communicate with them using email. 5% are worried that emails are not secure.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1759

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Which description best fits PM Lee?
2. Which description best fits Dr. Mahathir?

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

WOTC - State surveillance in public areas

Wisdom of the Crowd: 48% of the participants said that it is all right for the state to conduct surveillance in the public areas to combat terrorism. 52% disagreed.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1758

WOTC: MOE will review the need to withhold certificates where fees are in arrears

Wisdom of the Crowd: 81% of the respondents reacted negatively to minister Ong's statement that he will review the practice of withholding the education certificate to force payment of arrears in fees.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1757

Wasteful to create a retail electricity market

Is it wasteful to create a retail electricity market and ask consumers to speculate on the pricing of electricity?

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2381

Wisdom of the Crowd

Vote on these issues and win a prize (to be distributed on 1st of each month).

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - Landslide win for Boris Johnson

Wisdom of the Crowd: 65% of the respondents said that the landslide win of Boris Johnson is good for the UK. 35% disagreed.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1756

WOTC - Install water filtration system

Wisdom of the Crowd: 74% of the respondents said that it is advisable to install a water filtration system in the home. 26% disagreed.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1755

A mess with opening up of electricity market

Hello, I want to pass this message to LHL.
Your open market for electricity is in a mess.
I signed up with Keppel Electric to have their supply to my office a few years ago.
Someone came a few months to renew the contract.
Today, another person came to my office, also wanting to renew the contract.
Does Keppel Electric have a proper record of the renewal?
I don't know what is the status now.
Why does LHL want to introduce this kind of complicated and costly measures?
He could have just asked SP Services to reduce the electricity charges by 20%, instead of opening up the retail market.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2376

Get e-payment adopted rapidly in Singapore

I send this open letter to PM Lee on how to get e-payment adopted rapidly in Singapore.

Agree or not?
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2371

China will issue its digital yuan

I give my views on the impact of the digital yuan that will soon be introduced by China.

Singapore has a choice to continue its slumber, or to wake up. I suspect it will continue to sleep and fall backwards.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2370

Risk and cost of using currency notes

My friend said.

Why are Singaporeans so slow in accepting electronic payment?

Do they realize that currency notes can be easily faked? What would happen if some crooks flood the market with fake Singapore dollar notes?

When you accept a US dollar note, do you realize that it may be faked? With so much US notes floating around, there is a high chance that you may be receiving faked notes.

Apart from fake notes, the handling of currency notes is also inefficient and costly. Merchants have to count the notes and give change. When they bank in their notes, they also have to count. The bank also has to count.

Apart from China, India is also moving to e-payment in a big way. And very fast also.

Will Singapore prove to be among the last countries in the world to move to e-payment?

Wow! This is serious.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2369

Changes in habits are need to make streamlining work

We need to streamline our bus network to improve efficiency and reduce operating cost.

We have to change the current network of 350 bus services. This is too many. We need to reduce it to 150 bus services.

Change is needed. For people who say that the current network should be kept, there is no way that streamlining can happen without change.

Another important feature of the change is the need to have an additional transfer in most cases. Transfers between bus services are easy as it occurs at the same bus stop.

Commuters are already used to make transfer from bus to MRT service, and that is much more inconvenient. It requires a lot of walking.

So, commuters should accept one more bus transfer to improve the efficiency of the bus network. Indeed, if the network is efficient, the travel time will be shorter. The fare will also be cheaper.

I do not understand why some commuters insist on keep a large network of bus services and avoid transfers, and expect the fares to be kept low. It cannot happen.

For streamlining to work, commuters must be prepared to accept changes. True or not?

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2368

Road safety along Orchard Road

Is there a need to worry about traffic safety along Orchard Road?

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2367

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Should injured people in an accident be sent to a nearby private hospital?
2. Should children in Xinjiang be sent to state "education centers"?

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

WOTC - World led by women?

Wisdom of the Crowd: 14% of the respondents said that it would be better if the world is led by women. However 86% do not agree.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1754

WOTC - Relax ban on footpaths for food delivery

Wisdom of the Crowd: 98% of the respondents said that the ban on the use of PMDs on footpaths should be relaxed for food delivery under certain conditions.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1753

Do not allow extreme caution to cause inconvenience

There is a tendency to adopt extreme caution to the extent that it cause inconvenience. We should adopt a more practical approach, rather than to be restricted unnecessarily.

I will illustrate my point with an example.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2366

Receipts are needed to recover GST

A person wrote to the St Times to complain about the wastage of paper in printing receipts for small purchases, e.g. supermarkets, etc.

I agreed. The receipts are hardly needed.

Another person replied that his company's accounts dept always insist on getting a receipt to recover the GST.

How wasteful. We are creating a lot of work, and wasting a lot of paper, just to handle GST. This is the hidden cost of GST that many people do not realize.

I call the GST system a "bits and pieces" system. We collect GST, refund it, collect again, etc. It is so wasteful and adds a lot of administrative cost.

I dislike the GST system of collecting and refunding "bits and pieces". I prefer that GST be entirely abolished and that the lost GST revenue should be recovered from income tax - if indeed it is necessary.

I believe that we can abolish GST without the need to replace the revenue, as the govt runs a big annual surplus.

If some revenue is needed, it can be collected as a tax on certain "luxury items", rather than collected GST in "bits and pieces".

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2365

Streamline the bus network

The govt has increased the public transport fare by an average of 7% on 28 Dec 2019. It is a hefty increase.

This increase could have been avoided if the govt reduces the operating cost by streamlining the bus network.

I have given this suggestion a few months ago. The revised network will reduce operating cost and actually reduce the travelling time. However, it does require commuters to make an additional transfer.

Read this
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1817

If you prefer to avoid the fare increase and accept a streamlined network - vote Agree.

If you prefer to pay the higher fare and enjoy the current wide network - vote Disagree.

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Is it good for LTA to stop the car pooling service between SG and JB?

2. Shouild CPF release the name and details of the complainant?

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

WOTC: POFMA will suppress free expression of views

Wisdom of the Crowd: 88% of the respondents said that POFMA will suppress the free expression of views. 12% said that POFMA is useful to correct falsehoods.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1751

WOTC: Elevated walkways to MRT stations

Wisdom of the Crowd: 69% of the respondents like to have elevated walkways to link MRT stations to nearby streets. 31% said that it is too costly.

See the breakdown of the votes in
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1751

A good system of naming roads

Malaysia has a good system of naming their roads.

I quote this example. The main road is Setia India. The side roads, branching from this road are Setia Indah 1, Setia Indah 2, Setia Indah 3, etc.

The small roads branching from Setia Indah 1 are name as Setia Indah 1/1, Setia Indah 1/2, Setia Indah 1/3 etc.

They do not need to look for so many different names. The numbering system makes it easy to locate the side roads and even the smaller roads.

The names of the side roads and smaller roads are also kept short.

Do you agree?