It is safer to make a change

I want to tell a story about this drain crossing and relate it to the need to vote non PAP.

When I first constructed this crossing, several people warned me that it might collapse and I might fall into the drain.

These people are afraid of change. They imagined what might happen if there is a change.

Well, more than six months have passed. The crossing did not collapse. I did not slip. I did not fall into the drain.

That is not all.

Suppose, I did not construct the crossing. Previously, it comprised of a few logs that were uneven. What could have happened?

I might have fallen into the drain due to the unstable logs. Do not think that no change is the safest approach. It may not be. You might get into trouble, if you refuse to change.

What is the morale of this story?

If you continue to vote PAP, you might get into trouble. If you vote non PAP and vote for change, it might be a safer option.

OK?

Wisdom of the Crowd:

Remember to vote on the issues here and make your vote count in the final outcome.
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - Trump Xi meeting in Osaka

Wisdom of the Crowd: 50% of the people who voted in this survey are positive towards the outcome of the Trump Xi meeting in Osaka. The other 50% have negative views.

See the detailed breakdown in
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1427

WOTC - Cap on legal fees

Wisdom of the Crowd: 69% of the participants in this survey prefer to have a cap imposed on the legal fees, either by the rate per hour or for each type of case. 23% prefer to have a panel to check that the charges are reasonable. Only 8% prefer to continue the current arrangement.

See the details in
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1426

How do you expect your changes to be implemented?

Someone asked me - Mr. Tan, you have made many suggestions to change many government policies and strategies. How do you expect to get these changes implemented, if you do not become the prime minister? Frankly, you chance of being PM is quite low, isn't it?

Here is my reply.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1732

Feedback - Most Viewed

Here are the feedback with the most view. You can also see the people who agreed, disagreed and their comments.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/most_view.aspx

Why I appear to be pro-China

Someone observed that I appear to be pro-China in my posts.

He asked why do I support a communist country that bans Facebook, Google and other social media platforms and censors the flow of information from their citizens?

Here are my reasons:
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1730

Quora: What is China's strategy?

Quora: What is China's strategy in aggressively announcing it requires complete removal of all tariffs for a deal to end the trade war right after an amicable meeting at the G20 between President Trump and Xi where it already got concessions on Huawei?

Ridzwan Abdul Rahman, Self employed (2000-present)
Answered

China went into the G20 meeting with the US after having announced three terms that must be fulfilled before an agreement can be signed:

- Remove sanctions on Huawei
- Remove all tariffs (both sides)
- Do not persuade China to buy more than what was agreed in December 2018

Trump agreed to remove the sanctions on Huawei, not just because China asked for it but also because the affected US companies asked for it.

Trump did not agree to the removal of tariffs and we don’t know if the US team will continue to pressure China to buy more.

So China is not asking for something new other than what they presented to the US team at the G20 meeting. After all, what is the point of having an agreement if the tariffs remain.

Dealing with a fake account in Facebook Messenger

If you receive a message from a friend, e.g. through Facebook messenger, and you suspect that the message is being sent by a fake account, this is what you should do.

You should send a message, using Facebook or email, to tell your friend about the suspected fake profile.

Your friend can inform Facebook that the profile is fake. Facebook will be able to remove it immediately.

If someone created a fake profile pretending to be you, and you learn about it, you do not need to send a message to warn all your friends. Just tell Facebook about it, and Facebook will remove that profile.

Fake profile in Facebook messenger

Someone created a profile in Messenger pretending to be me.

A friend spotted it and informed Facebook that the profile is fake. Facebook contacted me. I confirmed that I did not create a new profile.

Facebook removed that profile.

I expect Facebook to implement measures to verify the identity of the person who created a profile. This will probably take them some time.

I did not send any message to my ten thousand over fans to warn them about that fake profile. If they come across a profile that does not appear to be from me, I am sure that they would just ignore it or they could alert me. I will be able to tell Facebook that it is fake.

I do not over-react to people who create fake profiles by sending large number of messages to warn my friends.

Lessons from the Woodlands double murder

If the accused had gambled in the integrated resorts, many people would use it as a reason to blame the government for the tragedy of the double murder. He did not. So, the government did not get the blame. But he did gambled in other conventional ways.

I do not want to blame the government for allowing this tragedy to happen.

However, I like to point out that this tragedy highlights the weakness in our support system.

Let me share my views.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1729

Wisdom of the Crowd

Vote on these issues and help to give a more reliable sample. You can also win prizes for your participation.

https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - More funding for child care centers

Wisdom of the Crowd. 93% of the participants in this survey said that the government should provide more funding for child care centers and take other related measures. The remaining 7% is satisfied with the current arrangement.

See the breakdown and give your comments in
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1424

WOTC - Is President Trump doing a good job?

Wisdom of the Crowd. 58% of the participants in this survey said that President Trump is erratic and will create chaos for America. The remaining 42% think that he is doing a great job in bringing jobs back to America.

See the detail breakdown and add your comments in
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1424

Give up a child for adoption

If a family is in financial distress and is not able to provide for their children, it is better for them to give a child for adoption by other parents who can better provide for the child.

I share this story of a wealthy family who have adopted children.
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=1727

Double murder in Woodlands highlight need for financial planning

You must have followed the news about the double murder in Woodlands and the criminal trial of the husband and father who had admitted to the murders.

He was in financial distress partly due to gambling. But I suspect that the main cause was the loss of income from his job. He must have taken to gambling in the hope of earning some income.

I do not wish to comment on the relationship within the family.


However, I want to point out that the risk of a severe loss of income due to loss of job or poor business affects every working person.

The consequence can be quite harsh in the absence of a good system to provide support and financial assistance to families in need.

It is very important for every young family to have proper financial planning to deal with this big risk.

I advise young people to attend this talk on financial planning - so that you can be financially strong to deal with this risk.

Do not ignore this risk. Attend this talk and follow the simple ten tips. They are usually.

Parents should send their adult children to attend this talk as well.

https://fisca.sg/event_det.aspx?id=22

Quora: Will Donald Trump win the trade war against Huawei?

Stephanie Smith, Council on Foreign Relations answered.

Donald is such a strange character.

On Saturday at G20 he announced US companies would be allowed to sell goods to Huawei. On Tuesday he sends email to Commerce Department to reiterate there is no change in policy.

So basically he wants the election support of US companies and workers suffering under his trade war. And he needed something to announce from the meeting with Xi, under which is threatened to throw another crazy tantrum if Xi didn’t meet him to give him a photo opportunity at G20. But really, Donald has no idea what he is doing. If he keeps up the tariffs and doesn’t repair some bridges, China completely cuts US out of its entire technology stack and ecosystem. If he allows US companies to trade with China again, he faces a backlash from his support base, that are convinced that all their problems are because Chinese people are working too hard.

I think why this issue is such a central issue globally, is because is strikes to the heart of globalization. Take for instance microchips. The microchips that US produces at Intel, Qualcom, etc are not so high tech that they cannot be produced in China. It is just because they have been around for so long, that it doesn’t make sense for China to build all the factories to make them, when there is already scale production in USA. These are commoditized products. It strikes to the heart of globalization, specialization and trade.

Once China is forced to make even its own chips to replace all these little commodity products of Intel and Qualcom, the US companies are in a world of pain. Investors are too short-term minded to think or care, but it basically has doomed the US companies, it is practically impossible for them to compete cost/profit wise with Chinese manufacturers.

Wisdom of the Crowd

Vote on these issues to contribute to a more reliable poll
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/active_issue.aspx

WOTC - Foreign workers

Wisdom of the Crowd - 66% of the participants in this survey wanted Singapore to adopt the approach used by Canada and Australia to allow foreign workers to work in Singapore. The remaining 34% want to keep our current system but make changes to control the inflow.

See the details in
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1423

WOTC - Internal Security Act

Wisdom of the Crowd - 97% of the participants in this survey wanted to allow the detainees under the Internal Securities Act to apply to the court for an independent review of the reason for the detention. 3% preferred to continue the current system.

See the details in
https://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1422