Where HDB went wrong

HDB as a public good should never have been marked to market. And like many things else, PAP has forgotten their original mission and engineered a regime of profiteering from its citizens.

http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/04/19/where-hdb-has-gone-wrong/

Three families of the Illumati

Alex Axel assked:
You have spoken much about the bad incompetent policies of SG garmen. However this issue is actually global, as more and more people around the world have awaken from the tyranny and enslavement by their govt. Singaporeans are in fact very late into this awakening.

So it is not just some stupid pappies in SG garmen that seems out of touch with the reality on the ground. Probably you have heard something called the illuminati, the new world order. The three controlling families of these entities are so powerful they are controlling the govts of many countries, hence controlling many aspects of the entire human race.

What is your view on this?

REPLY
I am not aware about the three families of the Illumati that is supposed to control the governments in many countries. Want to share which families?

But I am aware of one family that controls Singapore.

Paying a high price

Michael YP Ang asked:
It was mentioned in Parliament that SG are price takers when dealing with FIFA regarding World Cup broadcasts. Be that as it may, the govt should take note that the UK & Belgium have managed to force FIFA to sell rights to ONLY free-to-air channels. Presumably, the rights are sold at a lower price to free-to-air channels.

REPLY
I agree with you. It is clear that our Government ministers are incompetent and the system in Singapore sucks. We end up being suckers and pay the highest price in the world to watch the broadcast. 
Wow, isn't it nice? After becoming the most expensive city, we now get the recognition of paying the highest price per capita for the World Cup rights.

Boycott subscription to World Cup matches

I will not subscribe to the World Cup 2014 matches.

In fact, I stopped subscribing to Starhub Sports channel 5 years ago. My son watches some matches online live, and I watch some highlights on YouTube. The new arrangement works fine for us.

I strongly dislike the wasteful “competition” in Singapore, lack of regard for the interest of consumers and the incompetence of our regulators and government leaders.

The best recourse is for consumers to boycott the subscription to the World Cup now, and Engiish Premier League matches for next season. Let our voices be heard loud and clear.

ASEAN agreement on the movement of natural persons

The ASEAN agreement on the movement of natural persons will take effect next year.
http://cil.nus.edu.sg/rp/pdf/2012%20ASEAN%20Agreement%20on%20the%20Movement%20of%20Natural%20Persons-pdf.pdf

Many years back, such an agreement would be welcomed by Singaporeans, as it gave us the opportunity to tap into opportunities in the neighboring countries.

But this agreement will now pose dangers to Singaporean workers.

Read Leong Sze Hian's view
http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/04/18/is-fcf-even-applicable-for-asean-intra-corporate-transferees/

There was a similar agreement signed with India that brought tens of thousand professionals from India to work in Singapore. It has caused many of our PMETs to be unemployed.

At one time, the Singapore professionals were well trained, hard working and competitive. But this is not the case any more. Why is this the case?

Explore options to improve bus service now

PUBLISHED IN STRAITS TIME, 18 APRIL 2014

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IT WILL be a few years before the centralised bus management system is implemented ("$68m contract for bus management system awarded"; April 10).

In the meantime, the Land Transport Authority should analyse existing data and use it to improve bus services.

It could explore options such as:

• Reviewing the time buses leave terminals and ensuring that schedules are observed. If buses leave the terminals at the scheduled times, bunching should be reduced.
• Using a mobile app to send revised schedules to bus drivers, if traffic conditions along a certain route are causing buses to bunch up.
• Deploying buses optimally according to demand. Demand can be measured by totting up the number of commuters boarding and alighting at each stop over a few weeks.
• Providing alerts on the operator's website if some buses are overcrowded due to uncontrollable factors. This will allow commuters to make other transport arrangements and ease demand for that service.

• The public would like to see improvement in bus services now, as far as possible, rather than a few years down the road.
• 
  

Tan Kin Lian

Do not vent our anger at the foreign workers

Let us not vent our anger at the foreign workers who have to live a hard life in Singapore.
http://c-onyx.com/page/1831

Adopt a sensible approach towards internet security

I recognize the risk of hacking and steps needs to be taken to minimize the risk. 

These steps should be decided with a balance between the risk and the inconvenience to the users. 

I find the steps taken in Singapore to be rather extreme, making the user experience to be quite terrible. 

We are not the only people that have to face the risk. Sites such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook also face the risk.

Do they implement Capcha? They found ways to handle the risk without causing inconvenience to their international users.
There are international websites for forex and future trading.

They do not need to implement the complicated security measures that are found in Singapore.

It is quite clear that the security people and the regulators in Singapore do not carry out a proper analysis of the risk and balance it with the added cost of implementing the measures.
They only know how to implement extreme measures using their approach of "do not take any risk".

Digital display to show the KM of bus stop

I have met with officials of the Land Transport Authority to explain the benefit of displaying the KM of each bus stop in the bus. 

I have just sent this article to them to explain my proposed system. 
http://c-onyx.com/page/1830

Do you think that my proposal is useful for commuters?

Instill punctuality in bus service

It is now the right time to install the habit of punctuality among our bus services. This can be achieved with the intelligent use of a mobile app. It does not cost millions of dollars. 
http://c-onyx.com/page/1828

Companies need a simple reminder system

I asked DBS Bank for some new currency notes at different denominations. They told me that $10 is available, but new new notes for $50 and $100. I asked them to call me when the new notes are available.

I did not hear from them for two weeks. They forgot about it.

I sent a reminder to them. They told me that there are no new notes for $50 and $100. I have to take the recycled notes.

DBS Bank does not have a good reminder system. If they have such a system, they do not need the customer to remind them. I think all big companies should have a simple reminder system to make sure that all customer requests are "settled".

How to improve the birth rate

One thing leads to another. 
The birth rate had been declining.
The government introduced many baby packages over the years, but they did not work.
They failed as they did not address the root of the problem.
With the low birth rate, the government had to increase immigration on a large scale, and they did it surreptitiously, without telling the people. 
This led to over-crowding and other problems faced by the citizens.
We need to go back to the root problem and ask - how do we increase the birth rate in Singapore?
Here are my suggestions:
http://c-onyx.com/page/1824

Our universities should employ local professors

Hi Mr Tan
Please share this letter published in the Straits Times
'Broader' perspective on hiring profs? 
(link: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/broader-perspective-hiring-profs-20140412 )

Tommy

Dr. Wong is a former Singaporean professor. He currently works as a freelance consultant, editor and author. His website is athttp://wisdomlife.page4.me/ , and his ebooks are available athttp://c-opal.com/books/4 .

Suggestions to improve bus services now

The Land Transport Authority can improve the bus service significantly just by paying attention to the data that is currently avaialble, and by acting on the data to take the appropriate actions.

There is no need to invest a lot of money and to wait for a few years for a new "intelligent system" to be implemented. Improvements can be made using the current infrastucture and data that is already available.

http://c-onyx.com/page/1825

Learning Spanish

I am learning Spanish from a iPhone App called Duolingo. It is a difficult language as it has different words for male, female and plural genders, and it applies to the verbs and nouns.

I received a message from a friend and it has these Spanish words:

Nuestro Saludo de Semana Santa para vosotros

Nuestro - Our
Saludo - greetings
de Semana Santa - for Easter
para - for 
vosotros - you (plural)

My Spanish is now not bad.

Spanish is the second commonly spoken language in the world, after Mandarin, based on native speakers. English is third.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

Buses should be punctual

Buses should keep to the time schedule and be punctual. The bus driver should not be allowed to speed and reach the destination ahead of time, as the commuters will pass the pass at the stops at the scheduled time. 

If there is congestion and there is a delay in arrival, it is unavoidable. However, there is no reason for the bus to be ahead of time, and cause some commuters to miss the bus at thescheduled time.

With mobile apps, it is possible for the bus operator to get the drivers to keep to the schedule. They should also publicize the schedule for commuters to know when the bus is arriving.

We can accept a few minutes of delay, due to traffic congestion, but otherwise, the schedule should be kept. If the bus is behind time, it can speed up to be on schedule.

It is time for us to have the discipline of punctuality, as far as possible, subject to traffic conditions.