Lapses from LTA and MOT staff

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - do you agree with the minister of transport that there is no lapses from MOT and LTA staff?

This question was related to the flooding of the MRT taunnel and the frequent breakdowns.

96% of those who voted disagreed with the minister for two reasons.

View the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=362

The Phantom of Oxley Castle

There is some mystery over the events that led to the cancellation of the book launch of "The Phantom of Oxley Castle".

This is just my guess. It is pure speculation.

Someone from the "government" probably called the staff at the Art House and told him that the book is defamatory and that the they would be receiving a lawyer's letter on Monday.

The staff probably called the publisher and said that the prime minister will be suing the publisher over this book. This was probably what he interpreted about "they would be receiving a letter". He probably advised the pubisher that it would be best to cancel the book launch. The publisher agreed.

Later, everyone denied that they made they made the statement that the prime minister will sue the publisher. The Online Citizen had to issue an unreserved apology over the earlier report on this matter.

Now, there is some confusion over who was the party that decided to call off the book launch. Anyway, does not really matter?

This episode showed how that many Singaporeans are cowards and are easily frightened over this small matter. Their focus seems to be how to avoid responsibility for the mistake, how to cover up the mistake or push the blame to the other party.

Anyway, the letter from the prime minister never arrived. It could be just a bluff.

I wonder if the prime minister is proud of the character of many Singaporeans, as reflected by this incident?

Tan Kin Lian

Should bus operators recruit only locals to be bus drivers?

Here is a question for The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the bus operators recruit only locals to be bus drivers?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Recruit locals to be bus drivers

In many cities the bus drivers are locals. These drivers are familiar with the roads, and know the languages and culture of the local people.

In Singapore, a high proportion of bus drivers are foreigners.

It is better to have local drivers for the benefits shown above. Furthermore, we need to create more job opportunities for locals to become bus drivers.

To encourage locals to take up bus driving, we need to increase the wages and to provide greater flexibility in their work schedules.

We can use technology to provide the flexibility. The drivers can choose the slots that they wish to work.

If many people are willing to be Uber or Grab drivers, they should also be willing to work as bus drivers, if they can enjoy better wages and have the flexibility.

It is important for Singapore to find the solution and encourage more locals to be bus drivers.

I suggest that all future jobs as bus drivers be reserved for locals, to force the bus operators to adjust the wages to an acceptable level and provide the flexibility to bus drivers, using technology.

This may increase the cost of public transport. However, the increase may not be that significant, as the bus operators do not have to pay a levy for local workers.

Do you agree?

Increased flooding caused by climate change?

I posed this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Is the increased flooding in many countries due to climate change?

57% of those who voted said that climate change is definitely the main cause of the severe weather experienced in recent years.

The remaining 43% chose other options.

You can view the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=361

Texas church shooting

I posed this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - How do you react to the Texas church shooting where 20 people are killed?

58% of the people who voted said that America is getting more violent and that this incident reflects the problem in the broader society.

The remaining 42% voted on four other options.

You can view the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=360

Spread specialised facilities across Singapore

The government build many of the specialised facilities in the compound of the Singapore General Hospital.

This is a bad arrangement. It is quite difficult for patients to visit the eye center, cancer center, heart center, dental center and other specialised facilities.

They should have spread them all over the island and put them close to MRT stations or bus stops.

Why do these specialised facilities need to be in the same compound? The only benefit is probably that the doctors can meet each other for lunch.

For the patients, it is a long walk from the Outram MRT stations or the bus stops to the specialised facilities.

Although they have a shuttle service, the shuttle bus has to visit the various specialised service before arriving at the MRT station. The signs to the shuttle bus stops are not prominent.

CPF is NOT a ponzi scheme

Some people describe CPF as a ponzi scheme. This is not correct.

Under a ponzi scheme, the promoter offers an attractive return on an investment, say 2% per month.annum. He cooks up a story that he is very smart in investing the money to earn a good return. The investors believe the story.

The promoter is not able to earn this kind of return. He takes the money invested by the current investors to pay the return to the earlier investors.

He has no problem with the cash flow. More people are putting in money for this great scheme, compared with the amount that is being withdrawn.

The earlier investors like the gain, so they put up reinvest and put in more money. They tell their friends about the great schem and more people come in to invest as well.

So, the scheme continues to grow very fast. The growth can be astronomical.

At any point of time, the cash available is much less than the amount invested. The difference goes to pay the attractive gain enjoyed by the earlier investors. The promoter also takes out a lot of money for marketing and for their own use.

This is a ponzi scheme.

Now, let us look at the CPF. It pays an interest rate of only 2.5% or 4% per annum. It is able to earn this return from government bonds.

As more savings goes into the CPF, the board buys more government bonds to earn the interest that is paid to the CPF members.

At any point of time, the total savings in the CPF is matched by the total amount of government bonds. The Singapore govenrment bonds are rated AAA. The government could issue the same bonds to foreign investors who will buy these bonds at the prevailing coupon rate.

CPF is not a ponzi scheme. It is a growing fund with assets in the form of government bonds that match its liabilitiies, i.e. the total savings of CPF members.

Tan Kin Lian

PM Lee: ASEAN should stay united on issues of concern

At the ASEAN summit in Manila, PM Lee said that the ASEAN countries should stand united on issues of concern. What are your views abou this statement.

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Should SMRT re-employ the maintenance staff that it retrenched previously?

SMRT had retrenched a large number of maintenance staff that earned high salaries and were in excess of requirements.

SMRT is now short of maintenance workers. Should SMRT re-employ the staff that it retrenced earlier?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Amos Yee ask for donations to make videos

Amos Yee has been granted asylum in America. He now has to make a living.

He is asking for donations to meet his living expenses while he makes videos, mostly to share his views about Singapore.

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Will you support Amos Yee in his pursuit of video making?

The answers are quite mixed. You can see the summary of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=358

Best person to lead the Workers' Party

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Who is the best person to take over as leader of Worker Party?

I will not tell you the answer. You can view the answer for yourself. I wa quite surprised with the votes.

http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=357

Why does Low Thia Khiang plan to step down from the top position of the Workers' Party?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Why does Low Thia Khiang plan to step down from Workers' Party?

62% of the people who voted said that he wanted to give a chance for younger leaders to come forward.

The other 38% held other views.

Generally, the crowd looks at this event quite favorably for Low Thia Khiang.

See a breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=356

69% want a formal inquiry to look into lapses at SMRT

I posed this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should a formal inquiry be called to look into the lapses at SMRT?

69% of the people who voted said that an independent inquiry, comprising of members from the outside, is necessary.

The other 31% said that there are better ways to deal with this issuer.

The minister for transport had since said in Parliament that an independent inquiry is not necessary as the causes are "quite clear".

The minister has a view that is quite different from "the wisdom of the crowd".

See a breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=355

Unable to claim for cataract operations under Medisheld

I went for my cataract operation. The operation on each eye cost me about $5,000. I was not able to claim on Medisheld. Why?

The actual cost for the cataract operation was about $3,000 as a private patient. Medishield applies a proration of 50%, so the claimable amount was $1,500. This fell completely within the annual deductible of $1,500. So, Medishield paid $0.

The other expenses are for pre and post-operation consultations, etc. They are not covered by Medishield.

My two cataract was done in different years. So, the annual deductible applies to each operation. If I had them done in the same year, I could claim $1,500 on the second operation.

I paid cash for my treatment. I could use Medisave, but I prefer to keep my money in Medisave to earn 4% interest. My cash in the bank earns 0.1% or less.

What is my point?

Our Medishield and health care system are quite complicated. Even I could get confused.

I hope that one day, a new government would simplify the financing system for the good of ordinary people.

Daniel Yong's Article #3 - Work Style

Hi Kin Lian,

Just this week, our work team wrapped up a major series of events as part of on-going engagement with a foreign government at a high level. The work had been weeks in the planning and on the final days everyone in our small team got involved. It was all hands on deck.

Later that day, we celebrated the successful conclusion with drinks at the local pub. Our executive director came by and joined in. He was relaxed and shared with us what happened on the side lines which not everyone knew. Conversation also drifted to a bit to our private lives and family and such. My point in saying all this is that we take time to celebrate our successes. We drink, talk, relax, and unwind. In that process, we also debrief a little and "share notes" on what happened during the day.

The mood is open. Essentially this is how it works: you work hard, relax well, and sometimes also play hard (if you have time). This is part of work life balance and is a major part of working well in a team at work. This relieves stress and sets us up for the next working week.

How does this differ from work life in Singapore? How often does something like this happen in Singapore generally? Do you trust your colleagues enough to share what when well and what didn't? Do people even take time outside of work to do so? Or do most people "keep their cards close to their chest?"

I know there must be some very good work teams even in Singapore but I think generally people do not take time out in Singapore and even if they do, it's company sponsored and just an event people have to go. Or perhaps in Singapore many work teams are too busy "fighting fires" or playing office politics. Something to think about. But I must say I'm really fortunate to have such a good team.


Daniel Yong

Book on financial planning and insurance

I recommend the following e-books for young people.

Financial Planning for Young People
http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=19

Learn about Life Insurance
http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=7

Choose the right Life Insurance Policy
http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=5

Continue my Life Insurance Policy
http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=8

Medical Bills for the Elderly
http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=2

Supplementary Retirement Scheme
http://www.tankinlian.com/cart.aspx?ID=14

Each book cost only $4 to $6. You can order them online and receive the book immediately. The book is easy to understand.

Duty of government

We have a bad government. They allowed doctors and lawyers to charge very high fees that goes to hundreds of thousand dollars. How can the ordinary people afford these fees?

The government does not act to stop the high fees. They allowed ordinary people to suffer from these unreasonably high fees.

They also do not take strong action against potential scams. They took the easy way of just putting up the names of the parties in the MAS Alert List. The ordinary people are not aware of this list.

This approach have allowed many scams to grow to be very big, involving many investors who put in many tens of millions dollars only to see the money disappear.

At the next general election, we should vote in a new government that understands its duty towards ordinary people and take appropriate actions against these abuses.

Should MAS take stronger action against suspected scams?

We read about many scams and ponzi schemes. MAS knew about these activities and put the schemes in the Alert List. Should MAS take stronger action against these schemes so that they do not grow to be so large and involve so many ordinary people.

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Can the Transpacific Partnership work without America?

Eleven countries have agreed to continue with the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) without America. They also agreed to remove some clauses on IP rights.

What are your views about the revised agreement?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg