ST Online Forum - avoid tonnes of wasted paper

Published in ST Online Forum, 19 December 2011

EACH day, I receive several items of mail in my letter box. After a few days, the mail for a household becomes quite a large bundle.

Many are marketing fliers, unwanted magazines and other junk mail. Legitimate business mail is mixed with the junk mail and could be overlooked.

It would be more convenient and efficient if more businesses sent their regular clients statements and other materials in soft copy through e-mail, rather than physical mail.

They will save on printing and mailing costs and provide more convenient service to their customers. The option to receive the mail in soft or hard copy can be left to each individual customer.

Perhaps the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore could set up a portal for the people to indicate their preference. They can log into this portal to give their name, identity card details, home and e-mail addresses and indicate their preference to receive mail in soft copy. They should be required to authenticate their preference with SingPass.

The approved government or business organisations should be allowed to check their customers' identity card details against this database.

If there is a match, the home and e-mail addresses can be provided to the organisation to verify the request, update its database and to send its materials in soft copy in the future.

The relevant authority can approve the organisations that are allowed to access this database, on an undertaking by the organisations to observe a code of conduct and approved usage.

This centralised system of recording the individual's preference will be convenient for both individuals and organisations.

It will be a major step to convert a large number of individuals to the new method of receiving mail and cut down on the tonnes of paper that is now being generated and delivered.

We will see a significant reduction in our business costs and better use of our resources.

I hope the relevant government agency will take up this challenge.

Tan Kin Lian

PAP government policies

Alex Au has written an excellent article about how the PAP government is trying to change its policies. Read here.  My own view, which is quite similar to Alex, is that this is quite difficult - as it has to do with their culture and beliefs. But, if they adopt the values of honesty, fairness, courage, positive attitude and public service, they can find the way.

ST Forum: Provide Effective Alert System

This letter in the ST Forum highlights the importance of communication and customer service, in handling an emergency or unexpected overload. Many businesses fail in this task. I read about the delay in the Open Net company and had experienced with the same underlying issue - they were not able to cope with the high workload. This is an important task that big organizations have to deal with, and their existing systems cannot cope. I hope that the big experience of SMRT will get the leaders of the big organizations, including our government agencies, to pay attention to this issue.

SMRT has launched a Twitter feed to give updates on train service disruptions ('More help for passengers'; yesterday). While this is a step in the right direction and an immediate improvement to the provision of timely and accurate information to the public, we have to be mindful that the majority of people do not have Twitter accounts.
But almost all residents of Singapore have a mobile phone. So SMRT and all other major public transport providers, including taxi companies, should provide SMS alerts on any disruption to their services.
Using SMS alerts would greatly enhance public accessibility to such information. As we witnessed during two days of major train service disruptions, travelling on other modes of public transport also was affected as a result, with overcrowded bus stops, long queues at taxi stands and a long wait for buses.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and our public transport operators could learn from the National Environment Agency and national water agency PUB, which provide effective and timely round-the-clock SMS alert services for heavy rain and high water levels.
Registrations for the services are easy and the SMS alerts are reliable and extremely useful.
To make transport service disruption information via SMS alerts more accessible, there could be an option for the public to get the alerts in other languages as well, apart from English. This would help address feedback that the electronic displays, written notices and signage at the stations were in English only.
Effective remedies to the train service disruptions may take some time to implement and we cannot rule out more disruptions in the coming days. While the LTA and SMRT may not be able to provide quick solutions to the technical problems, enhancing the flow of information to the public can be done much faster.
Lee Kai Yin

Alex Au had also written an excellent article on the same issue - communication and the flow of information. I invite you to read it. Read it here.

What is the solution for big companies? They have to find an innovative way to deal with customers, to improve communication, to handle the large workload.  Here are some suggestions.

Case study of Dropbox
How to improve customer service

Discrimination against poor Singaporeans with foreign spouses

I know of many Singaporeans in the same situation as high-lighted here. It is time for Singaporeans to speak out against this bad policy. http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/discrimination-against-poor.html

Quote: Making the poor struggle and undermining the well being  of Singaporean children with foreign mothers, harms thousands of families in our country.  It exacerbates the pain of poverty for these families without any gains for our society. If the PAP may think that they gained something by penalising the poor for getting married and having children, but they have not...they have lost the trust and support of these men and everyone in the country that feels that each Singaporean should be treated with fairness and dignity.

MRT train breakdown - passing the buck

Here are the observations by Mr. Wang aka Gilbert Koh.
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/12/mrt-train-breakdown-passing-buck-in.html

Transport woes - cartoon by Wing Lee

http://www.sg-quitters.blogspot.com/

Learning Tips

Here are some interesting tips on how to live and enjoy life, and also about interesting places in Singapore. I will transfer it into a mobile app later. http://easyapps.sg/learn/

Reply to Tan Jee Say

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=606

Transport woes in Singapore

Lucky Tan made sensible comments about our transport woes. He pointed out that it is not fair to blame the woes on Saw Phaik Hwa or even the Minister Lui Tuck Yew. I agree. The problem is more deep rooted and we need to give time and resources for the problem to be solved. Blaming does not help. http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/mrt-breakdown-and-what-is-wrong-with.html

I wish to pose this problem - to people who are knowledgeable about the problem. If you were the CEO of SMRT or the Minister for Transport, what would you do to deal with this challenge?

Issues faced by Open Net company

I read in the newspapers that IDA is reviewing the performance standard of Open Net - due to delays and other customer issues. Do you have experience with the installation of Open Net at your home? Was it a good or bad experience?

In my case, I was quite confused with their documentation and procedures, and could not get through to their hotline. I believe that their cumbersome procedures and customer handling contributed to what is already a logistic challenge. Please share your views on this matter - so that I can write to the board of Open Net with some suggestions on how they can handle the challenge better in the future.

Flowchart of Taxi Booking system

Here is the flowchart of the taxi booking system. The app (for customers and taxi drivers) can be downloaded from the App Store (iPhone and iPad) or from Android Market (Android phones). http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=603

Prepaid data plan

I needed a pre-paid data plan. I bought a Starhub card for $17 and got SMS, talk time and 100 MB of data, It expire in 30 days. I only needed the data plan, so the SMS and voice seemed was quite wasteful. Is there any cheaper option?

I used a prepaid data plan in Jakarta. It offered 700 MB of data for about SGD 10, but also expire in 30 days. It seemed that the data plan in Jakarta is much cheaper - which is surprising!

An excellent website: Association of Banks in Singapore

Most organizations make it difficult for the public or their customers to contact them. I was delighted to see a notable exception today, the website of the Association of Banks in Singapore. I was able to get the e-mail address of the association easily, as follows:

Add caption

I was also able to view their council members and top management. This is what a website really shoul dbe - to make it easy for the relevant information to be obtained easily and quickly. Congratulations to ABS  management!

Reply to IDA - Wireless@SG

Dear Mr. Rai

I refer to your reply in the Straits times regarding Wireless @SG. My friend (a tech expert) helped me to  install the app that allows auto-login to Wireless@SG. It did not seem to work in many places, so I gave up.

I suggest that IDA should remove the need for login (as I have suggested), rather than continue the existing difficult practice. Do listen to the views of the public. Here are the views of the people who responded to this posting in my blog and in Facebook.

Blog

Facebook

Request for assistance or advice

I receive request for assistance or advice regularly. I wish to remind the people who need my help to read this FAQ. http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=182

Business Times: Planned CDP revamp

Planned CDP revamp raises many questions

By R SIVANITHY

 

ACCORDING to a recent news report, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is looking at allowing stockbrokers access to clients' Central Depository (CDP) accounts so that dealers and remisiers can see just what stocks their customers have at any one time.

 

To be sure, when this does materialise, it would be a step in the right direction, one that is arguably long overdue since it would help brokers tailor their advice and guidance to customers, especially those from the retail sector.

 

As SGX chief executive Magnus Bocker said when revealing the plan, the existing system is outdated and out of sync with developed markets so an upgrade is clearly needed.

 

However, several questions present themselves, the most obvious being why such a seemingly important and overdue revamp should take as long as three years to implement.

Read the Business Times for the full story

Company Inbox for E-mail

Most people send their letters to a company at its mailing address. A staff opens the letter and sends it to the appropriate person to handle it.

We are now in the age of e-mail. A company should have allow the public or its customers to send their e-mails to a common inbox such as inbox@companyname.com. This inbox should be display prominently in the company's contact information - preferably next to its mailing address. A staff can view all e-mails coming to this inbox and forward it to the right person (similar to what is done in the physical world).

By making it convenient to the public, there will be less mail sent to the mailing address and more mail sent to the e-mail mailbox. This will reduce the work for the staff of the company (who can handle e-mail more easily compared to physical mail).

Tan Kin Lian

Nobody wants gold now

Gold has fallen sharply during the past few days. Nobody wants to keep gold now. It used to be the asset that "cannot lose". This story shows how difficult it is to speculate in the market.
http://www.cnbc.com//id/45684174

Business Times: Hearing of Morgan Stanley lawsuit adjourned

A LAWSUIT brought by Morgan Stanley in Singapore's High Court is now in limbo after a US court ordered it to stop trying to thwart a suit by Singapore Pinnacle Notes investors in New York.


A High Court hearing yesterday on the US investment bank's application for an anti-suit injunction was adjourned to Jan 16 after Morgan Stanley requested more time to appeal US District Judge Leonard Sand's ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.


'As things stand now, Morgan Stanley did not proceed today because of the injunction issued against them by the New York federal court,' said Siraj Omar of Premier Law LLC. Mr Omar has been retained by several Pinnacle Notes investors to represent them in Singapore.


Read more in The Business Times

ASP.NET Developers and Mobile platform developers

Salary: $2,500 to $3,500

We wish to look for ASP.NET developers who knows VB.NET or C#.NET, MS SQL and MySQL. Knowledge of database administration will be an advantage.

We also need developers who have experience on mobile platforms (Windows, Apple, Android).

Candidates must be Singapore citizens and permanent residents and have at least two years of experience in the relevant platforms. 

We have many exciting developments that are shown in www.tankinlian.com/enterprise and www.easysearch.sg. 

If you join us, you have the chance to be involved in many exciting projects and the opportunity to learn new and innovative methods. 

Send resume to kinlian@gmail.com

iPhone projects

I have projects on iPhone for developers. If you are interested in these projects, please send e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. Please indicate your experience on iPhone app development.

Tips on Financial Risk Management

Read this article
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=595

An innovative idea - transcribing

I download an app on my iPad2. It allows me to dictate a long message and send it for transcribing. At first, I thought that the transcription would be done by machine, and I would expect some mistakes due to bad pronunciation. The transcription was perfect - to the letter.

I realized that the transcription was probably done by a human being. The service provider probably used well educated people from low cost countries to do the transcription, rather than develop an intelligent software. After all, the human mind is probably the most intelligent software that can be found!

This service provider has adopted an innovative approach. He realized that the highest value in the chain is to transmit the message to the right person, rather than to develop an expensive, intelligent software.

Many of the innovations in life can be done through a low cost, effective way - instead of spending a lot of money on hardware, software and consultancy. This is my message to our government and business leaders to respect low cost, effective solutions. Please avoid spending too much money, which can be avoided.

Malls ask for personal details

I saw this letter in the Straits Times Forum. We need to have some regulations to identify the acceptable and unacceptable practices. This is the job of Government and cannot be left to the market. We need a Government that recognizes its duty and care for the well being of the people.

Letter in Straits Times Forum
BY SPENDING at least $200 on the same day at Parkway Parade mall, shoppers are entitled to redeem an umbrella at the customer service counter.
Happily, I joined the long queue but was puzzled as to why it took about six minutes for each customer to redeem the gift. When my turn came, I found out the reason.
First, I had to produce my identity card and my particulars were scanned into a computer.
Next, I was asked for my cellphone number, which was keyed into the computer as well.
Why does the mall require a customer's identity card details and cellphone number for redemption of such a small gift?
If it is meant to avoid abuse, a customer's receipt is already stamped 'redeemed' once he obtains the umbrella, so asking for personal and contact details is redundant.
The Government is right to introduce the Do-Not-Call registry to protect the public against nuisance calls.
But the management of shopping malls and security guards are too liberal with their requests for personal and contact details. Their actual intentions are hard to ascertain, and this can lead to abuse.
Francis Cheng 

Business Times: Suit over Pinnacle Notes takes a turn for Morgan Stanley

US judge orders investment bank to drop 'vexatious' S'pore court action By GRACE LEONG  (SINGAPORE) A legal battle involving a group of Singapore investors of Morgan Stanley's failed Pinnacle Notes reached a fever pitch after the US investment bank resorted to what a federal judge deemed 'vexatious' means to block their case from proceeding in New York. US District Judge Leonard Sand on Monday ordered Morgan Stanley to drop its 'vexatious' Singapore High Court action to stop 18 Pinnacle Notes investors from pursuing their lawsuit outside of Singapore to recover US$154.7 million in investment losses. Morgan Stanley, whose application for an 'expedited' anti-suit injunction is due to be heard today in High Court, may be forced to withdraw its Singapore action because of Monday's ruling. If the bank refuses to drop its Singapore case, it may be held in contempt by federal court in New York, lawyers said. Morgan Stanley yesterday declined to comment on whether it will drop its Singapore action, but said it 'respectfully disagrees with the (federal) court's ruling.' Read the Business Times for the full story.

Avoid investing in buy-back guarantee

If someone approaches you to buy gold bars with an attractive rate of interest and a buy-back guarantee, you have to reject it. Here is the reason why:
http://tankinlian.com/Redirect.aspx?PK=7dd98438116b102ea66e67de251d2359

Morgan Stanley ordered to halt lawsuit in Singapore

It is strange that the US courts are looking after the Singapore investors by ordering Morgan Stanley not to take action in Singapore court to thwart the class action taken by Singapore investors in US courts. Why is the law in Singapore not protecting the interest of Singaporeans who have lost $160 million of savings after being sold bad financial protections?

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/pinnacle-notes-morgan-stanley-ordered.html

Quote from Lucky Tan's article:

o who was the counter party that made from all the losses from Pinnacle Notes? Morgan Stanley...the same investment bank that sold these notes to investors. Now you see why they want to avoid fighting the lawsuit in USA. In the US the authorities took up the hard work of investigating the banks, gathering evidence and suing the bank to recover investors' money....so what did our 1st world govt do for Singaporean investors? ...These Singapore investors were left to fend for themselves against a powerful investment bank, they had to get their own lawyers, fork out their own money and do every thing themselves to get some justice. Where are the men and women who say they have to be paid well to serve the people? 
In Singapore,  according our ex-MM  - they went in with their "eyes open" and signed on the contract so there is no case. This feels like an  over-simplification of justice,,,and a case that cannot be won in Singapore has more than a fighting chance in USA.

Move to e-mail for business letters

Many government agencies and business organizations continue to rely on physical mails for their transactions. Each day, we receive a lot of mail from these organizations. They come with stacks of junk mail from marketing organizations. It is quite difficult to sort out the genuine mail from the marketing mail. 

There is the possibility of using the Internet to send out business mail, instead of physical mail. It can be sent to an e-mail address of the customer. But, many organizations are reluctant to do so. Even those that are willing to take this step have to contact their customers individually to get their consent. This is too troublesome.

It would be nice if the customer can register their NRIC and email address, and that all business organisations can refer to this register to send their business letters in soft copy to this e-mail address. But, there is no law that make this possible, and no government agency (e.g. M of Communications, IDA or Ministry of Law) is willing to take the lead.  As a results, we continue to over-rely on sending of physical letters to the homes.

See the stack of mail that I receive every few days. It is troublesome to handle these mail, especially when they come together with the junk mail. I have often overlook some of the important mail, due to this outmoded form of communication.

Minimum wage in San Francisco City

America believe in the capitalist system. Yet, they have a decent minimum wage. Here are their reasons for a minimum wage. Singapore should follow and implement a minimum wage. The argument that this will drive away jobs does not hold water.  http://www.cnbc.com//id/45637508

Arabian palace - Jeddah

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I went to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to attend a business meeting. It was held in a former palace that is now managed by an international hotel. The interior furnishing of this palace is luxurious.

Customer service - the Singapore way

I received this letter from the management company of my condominium. It reminded me that my payment was overdue and interest rate would be charged to me.

The letter provided a telephone number that I could call. I have called office before on their telephone number, and faced the following experience frequently:

• The line was busy
• Nobody pick up the call
• The person who pick up the call does not handle the work and has to look for another colleague 
• They usually don't call back

I searched the letter for an e-mail address (such as inbox@companyname.sg) but most companies do not have this simple facility. Their staff have individual e-mail but they do not have a company e-mail! I also looked for a fax number, and it was not provided.

It is easy for businesses to improve their customer service, by doing some simple things, such as the following:

• Provide a company e-mail adderss (such as inbox@companyname.sg)
• Provide a fax number. They can sign up with Starbub Pfingo to get a virtual number and the fax will be sent their designated email address.
• Answer their telephone calls, take a message and get someone to call back.
• Put these simple contact details in their "Contact Us" page. (Most companies do not provide them!) 

I hope that businesses will do something to improve the quality of customer service in Singapore. It is easy to implement, and is not costly. The quality can improve tremendously.

The Old Testament - solution

Here is the revised table with some of the facts corrected. It now showed that the flood occurred in the year 1591, shortly after the death of Methuselah. Lamech died 5 years earlier. All the descendents of Adam before Noah, died before the flood. So, the ages of birth and death stated in the Bible are consistent. Great!

The Old Testament

Here are some interesting facts taken from the first few chapters of the Bible. Adam (the first person created by God) died at the age of 930 years. Each of the descendants had a shorter life span (with a few exceptions). When Adam died, seven lines of his descendants were still living. The next line of descendant was Noah, who was the person who built the Ark during the great flood. Noah was 600 years old when the flood occurred - so that was in the year 1551. But, if the flood killed all living creatures except those in the Ark, how was it possible that Methusaleh and Lamech died many years after the flood? Perhaps, some Bible scholars can point out where I was wrong!

Year of birth and death are measured from the year that Adam was created!

Confusing online form

I wanted to find out the charges for accessing data in the various countries under the Conexus mobile alliance (of which my mobile operator, Starhub, is a member). I could not find the information in their website http://www.conexusmobile.com/service.html

I went to the "Contact Us" page and was presented with this online form that asked for 9 items of information. I entered the essential information: i.e. category, e-mail address and content. I got a strange message "invalid format". It seemed that they required my telephone number as well. I provided it, and it went through.

I wonder why designers of online form make it so difficult to use - and mislead users with more fields that are really needed?

Free WiFi service in Taipei

My friend worked in Taipei for the past three years. He told me that free WiFi is accessible all over the city, including the mass transit trains, while on the move. It is a seamless operation, moving from one WiFi hotspot to another. This seemed to be way ahead of Wireless@Sg. I like to ask for confirmation from other people who have used WiFi in Taipei. Is this a correct description?

Find better ways to make payment

I used to pay conservancy fees for my apartments using GIRO. For some reason, the GIRO stopped.  I received a reminder letter including interest charges. I had to make payment to the management company in the old fashion way - write a check and send it by mail. There was no convenient way to make an online payment.

My friend told me that when he first entered USA in 15 years ago, 99% of people make payment by check. Today, Americans hardly make payment by check, as there are many convenient ways to make payment online.

My friend in China told me that he does not use the check at all, as there are many other convenient and low cost ways to make payment.

Singapore used to be far ahead in the use of technology, but today, we are way behind many countries. We are outdated and expensive. When businesses and banks have to incur the heavy cost of administration, they have to add the cost to consumers. This is why cost of living and of doing business in Singapore is now very high.

Who is responsible for this sad state of affairs in Singapore? Should the blame go to IDA (who is responsible to encourage the use of information technology) or the MAS (who supervises the banks) or the Ministry of Law (who writes the law to enable change to happen)? In Singapore, we have the culture of pointing fingers around from one agency or another - so many changes cannot happen.

There is only one party that is responsible for all of these agencies - the Singapore Government. I hope that our leaders in the cabinet will be aware that changes have to be done.

Property measures in Singapore - Lucky Tan

Read Lucky Tan's views about the property measures in Singapore
http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/finally-tough-effective-measures-to.html

Russia's ruling party loses majority in Parliament

hhttp://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/once-popular-putin-faces-uprising-in.html

Question: will this happen in Singapore in the future?:

Exemplary service by SIA supervisor

This is an example of exemplary service provided by a customer service supervisor at the airport. It shows what can be done, when employees are allowed to use their judgement and take the initiative.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=602

Simplify online form

I wanted to find the email address of the customer service manager of Singapore Airlines. I could not find it in their website. I looked for "Contact Us" and it was not available. I looked for "Enquiry" and was given this form that contained about 15 fields to be entered.

Why can't Singapore Airlines simplify the feedback form and ask only for 3 fields - name, email address and content? It seemed that they forgot about the poor customer who has to go through a lot of hassle. (By the way, this is the pattern in the online forms of countless other big organizations!).

If only Singaporeans stop to think

Here is another good blog
http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.com/

Moderating the Internet

Some countries are addressing the issue of injurious remarks posted anonymously in the Internet.
http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.com/2011/12/moderating-internet-free-speech-comes.html

Where bears roam free

Here is a bold blog
http://wherebearsroamfree.blogspot.com

Dangerous to trade in forex

Dear Sir,
Actually I wrote to you to know about X (who runs a forex training course). Somebody told me he is good, somebody told he is not good. I am confused. I got your site and I think you will know and give me a helping kind comment.

Somebody saw his video and testimonial and told me he is good. After that I see his some presentation video. I think good. But in the internet blog I see some bad reputation and scam about him. That's why I am confused. I already made decision for join with him. 

Do you have any personal experience about this guy. However people already make his course, do you know anybody, who already done his course? What should I do? Is forex trading is really good or profitable?

REPLY
I advise people not to attend expensive forex training courses, as they spend a lot of money on the training, and later they go to lose more money through trading.

I do not wish to comment on any specific person. I have given my views to you. You can now decide what you wish to do. Wish you all the best.

Caught by the new property ruling

My friend had been caught by the new property ruling. He was in the process of selling sell his private apartment (to downgrade to a HDB flat) when the ruling came suddenly into effect. He said:

You are correct the new ruling should not affect my HDB flat purchase. In fact, I might even enjoy a lightly lower price. However, with the unexpected negative sentiments towards private property, it is likely my targetted selling price will suffer a big drop.

Last month, a buyer brought his family and relatives for second viewing. They really liked my apartment, and agreed on the price. However, he wanted to show the S&P contract to his lawyer before paying the 1%. Unfortunately, he subsequently had problem getting a loan for this property.

Recently, my agent re-contacted another local buyer. I have been confident he would pay my target price, but today, I think it might go well below it.

Financial well-being of employees

This article shows how the fees charged by an investment fund can affect the payout received by the investor at the time of retirement. Many employees have been charged high fees that were not told to them. The law in US now the employer responsible to ensure that their employees are given a fair deal.

We have a similar situation in Singapore, where too many people are getting a poor deal on the financial products that they invest in. These products take away too much of the investment returns. In many cases, the fees are higher than the 1.5% that is quoted in this article as being bad for employees. Who will look after the interest of the ordinary people in Singapore?

I have been doing my best to inform people on how to select a low risk, low cost investment fund that is good for their future. This is explained in my book on financial planning and in the educational talk given by FISCA.

There is very little that I can do, if the Government does not recognize that it is responsible for the financial well-being of the people.

http://www.cnbc.com//id/45600486

Taxi booking (TABS-4)

I have launched a trial of the taxi booking system (TABS-4) for the past 4 months. The results are encouraging. There is interest in this new mode of finding a taxi. You can use this system to book a non-Comfort taxi and avoid paying the high fares.

Read this report:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=599

Taxi booking - flow chart

This is the flow chart of the taxi booking system (TABS-4) using the smart phone. It shows the process for customers and taxi driver.

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=600

Speaker's corner - protest against rising cost of living

Prabu Ramachandran is speaking at Speaker's corner on Saturday 2 pm to protest against the rising cost of living. He is asking for people to show up. More details can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/events/289906641048185/

Key challenges faced by Singapore

On the plane to Jeddah, I met a Singaporean lecturer. He recognized me and told me, in his soft spoken way, about the four challenges faced in Singapore:

• Transport. Many people spend up to 3 hours daily on transport. This is a big waste of productivity.
• Housing prices. It is too costly.
• Medical cost. The cost of medical treatment for his mother was so expensive that he had to downgrad from a private property.
• Education. It is too stressful and costly.

I replied that these challenges affect everybody and is a real test of whether the Government has build a good environment for the people. 

Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty

This is the Government's approach towards controlling speculation in property - impose complicated regulations. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1170002/1/.html

There is a simpler approach. If the Government offers HDB flats at controlled prices, and the HDB flats have to be sold back to HDB at the controlled prices, similar to the situation prior to 1980, there will be no need to implement these complicated regulations. It would also address the root cause of the problem - providing affordable housing to the people. 

Tax on Financial Transactions

This article gives a good explanation about the implications of a tax on financial transactions. I disagree with the views of the writer, who is the senior editor of CNBC. I agree with the views of several economists, including Keynes, Krugman and others, who argue that it will reduce financial speculation and give revenue to governments. But, we will need an international agreement on the rate of tax, so that it can be implemented worldwide.

http://www.cnbc.com//id/45583134

A lesson in Greek economics

I received this story by e-mail.

It is a slow day in a little Greek Village. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. 

The owner gives him some keys and as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna. 

The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit. The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. 

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.   No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.   

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

WiFi service provided by Starhub

I have been a subscriber to Starhub broadband service for many years. They offer free WiFi services to their subscribers. I did not use it for a long time, as I was quite confused with many IDs used by Starhub for their services.

Recently, I learned that I had a Hub ID, which can be used to access the WiFi. I tried it at Changi Airport and found the surfing speed to be excellent. This is a good service, which many people may not realize, due to the complexity. Having overcome it (at last), I expect to use it quite often. It is much better than Wireless@SG.

Hike in taxi fares

I like the articles written by Lucky Tan. We both share the same philosophy about what is right and what is good. Here are his views about the hike in taxi fares. He said that it is better to allow taxi drivers to work for themselves, rather than to hire a taxi from a taxi company. What are your views?

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/taxi-fare-hikes-and-what-is-wrong-with.html

Balloting for priority

I sent this letter to the Straits Times but it was not published. What are your views?

Editor 

Forum Page

Straits Times

I read the news report about the long queue that was formed that was formed a few days earlier for new launch of Bedok Residences. 

This system is archaic and poses hygiene and social problems and could lead to disputes and disorder. We have also experienced long queues for registration in primary schools and for tickets to popular events. Even online queuing leads to breakdown of the computer systems, due to the heavy demand.

We need to have a more practical way of allocating priority through the balloting system. All interested party should be given sufficient time to register their interest before a closing date. The priority should be decided by ballotting or drawing lots through an electronic system that can be verified to be transparent and fair.

It should be possible for such an online system to be developed that can be shared by any organizer in place of the queuing system. The authority may have to step in to promote such an alternative arrangement, for the sake of transparency and orderliness. 

Tan Kin Lian

Wisdom book - special offer

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=598

Words from a young mother

Just to say that I'm inspired by your drive and determination! With your positiveness, I'm sure at the end of the day, you are the true winner especially when you truly express your thoughts, statements, missions from your heart.
           
I hope things can really improve and you could help more people no matter which position you are holding on.  I think you are more real than most of them on the top.
        
I came to read more about your info and also scene in the Singapore politics during the GE and the PE. I'm saddened that Singapore is transforming to a money hungry machine, no more culture, values, substances, honesty, harmony and even sometimes integrity.
        
I'm worried for the next generation wat kind of society they are living in, where they tear down good old memories like national stadium, library, and the cement playground with sand now being replace with the sandless ones plastic ones where you can see foam tiles poking out for months.
      
I read about your articles and understand every single bit; there is no public service mentality any more in ALL government sector. they face no crisis and get bonus no matter how bad. But people  who work in private have not smell even AWS bonus for many years.

How can government sector doing better than private? Yes, you mention about wasteful  environment... I definitely agree. I have pick up so many furnitures around my estate and it's enough to have a complete set in my home, and out pathetic Resident Committee is just not doing much about educating this issue.... sigh....

Overall Singapore is not same any more... other monetary gains for some of them, I see the everyone living in fear for the future because they don't know how much they need in THEIR land.


Regards

Encourage the use of eNETS

I have been using Paypal to receive payments for two years. It was easy to set up and worked well. The cost was low.

Recently, I enquired about joining eNETS to receive payment through debit cards. The registration process was difficult. I had to provide a lot of information on their online form. I also had to print out 40 pages of information and sign several documents. I had to get supporting documents from ACRA, certification, etc.

No wonder so few merchants use eNETS. The paperwork is so tedious that most merchants would be discouraged from even trying it. There is really no need to make the process so difficult for a small merchant. I suspect that it is the requirement of the DBS bank and probably of MAS.

I wish that the process could be simplified so that more merchants are encouraged to join eNETS and receive payments through this channel, rather than making payment by cheque.  The burdensome requirements are hindering the process of change to more efficient ways of making payment. I hope that MAS and IDA read this blog and take the leadership to improve the situation in Singapore.

New regulations on financial products

A journalist ask me this question:
Hi Mr Tan,

Are you familiar with the Specified Investment Product rules that take effect from Jan 1 next year?

I would like your thoughts on the new rules as I can see a few potential problems such as raising the cost of selling investment products by forcing many people to go offline when purchasing unit trusts, ETFs etc?

Also, it does seem strange to group plain vanilla mutual funds with more complex hedge funds, structured warrants etc.

My reply

This is creating a lot of wasteful work without tackling the root of the problem. It is typical in Singapore to pass the buck to someone else, in this case the financial adviser or the relationship manager - but how on earth are they going to give the proper advice? Many relationship manager sold the toxic products to the consumers prior to the global financial crisis - because they are not suitable to give this type of advice. But (sigh), this is the Singapore way!

Asking for board resolution

Singapore continues to be quite backward, with ridiculous requirements that increases business cost and continues inefficient practices.

I wanted to send instructions by fax, instead of by mail. DBS Bank requires me to sign a form (which is all right) but they also require a board resolution and a letter of indemnity to the bank. I do not know why it is necessary to have this troublesome requirement. As the authorized signatory of the bank account, I can write a check to pay out all the money in the bank, but I am not allowed to give an authorization to the bank to make the transfer by fax!

This requirement is probably made on the advice of the lawyer and the security consultant. The bank does not realize that it is technically quite troublesome to pass a board resolution - and it has to and go through proper secretarial procedure and filed with ACRA. A bank with good customer service can receive the fax, and call back by telephone to verify the request (in case it is sent fraudulently), rather than insist on this indemnity.

Because of their impractical requirement, I will have to continue sending request by ordinary mail - continuing the outdated, inefficient practices. This is good news for Singapore Post but it adds to the cost of doing business and to the tons of wasteful paperwork in Singapore.

  

American politics and financial disaster

I do not understand how it is possible to extend the payroll tax cut and also extend the unemployment benefit at the same time. I understand that the payroll tax is used to fund the unemployment benefit and social security. If the payroll tax is cut, then the social security (i.e. old age pensions and unemployment benefit) has to be reduced - not extended. American politics has reach a ridiculous level. http://www.cnbc.com//id/45549974

NavFone - navigation on the iPhone/ iPad

I have installed the NavFone (from AGIS) on my iPad. I bought it for $2.99. It is excellent, and works better than the GPS navigation that I installed in my car (which cost nearly $300). It is easy to use and have map for Singapore and Malaysia. My challenge is to install a holder for my iPad in my car, so it can provide navigation guidance while I am driving. 

Singapore Immigration Form

This is the immigration form that Singapore requires visitors to complete before they are allowed to enter into Singapore.

A lot of information asked in this form is available in the passport which are scanned before they are allowed in. Why impose on the visitors the hassle of writing the information on the immigration form?

I hope that the immigration authorities of the Asean countries will discuss and remove this requirement, which is out of date. We have to reduce the inconvenience and stress that are given to travellers.

Panasonic Air conditioner

The air conditioner in my office was spoilt. The fault was identified to be a faulty condenser. It was installed recently and was still under warranty.

The Panasonic engineer came to fix the problem last Thursday. They were not able to solve it. They promised to come on Friday or Monday. We did not hear from them. We called their office and nobody knew who was responsible for it. My office did not have air con for 3 working days, excluding weekends.

I am worried about the poor standard of service, from a large reputable company. My air con contractor (a small SME) is helping me to chase them. But the big company seem to be not bothered about customer service or the inconvenience that they cause to their customers.

Putting things right

There are many things that are wrong in Singapore. They have accumulated over the years. These wrong things have increased costs and add stress to the public. They are imposed by government bureaucracy or by business organizations.

I want to raise these issues, so that they can be recognized and hopefully be put right. I do not wish to make complaints for the sake of being negative. But, if we really want to make improvements, we must point them out in a positive manner.

They are many people who said, "What is the point?". Things will never change. I do not agree with this negative approach. I think that if many people come forward and say, "We do not like things to get worse - we want things to be made better", then there is the chance for a change.

Difficulty to access website of DBS Bank

I log in to the DBS website to access my corporate banking account. I have to enter the organisation ID, user ID, user password and also a 8 digit number from the 2FA token. It was quite troublesome. to remember so many details - so I have to refer to a printed paper (which is really quite risky).  After this procedure, the website hang. I tried 3 times, and it kept getting hang.

I contacted DBS and told me about my problem. Why do they need a 8 digit token number, which was quite difficult to remember (on top of level of details to be entered). The answer - "security". Most banks use 6 digits, which is easier to remember. Eight digits is over-doing the security.

They are not able to explain why their website hang. They did not have the issue with other customers, so it must be my fault. However, I also log in to the website of another bank, and went through easily.

I suspected that the website hang because I was using the Chrome browser. I tried again with Internet Explorer and it went through.  It seemed that they have implemented some additional security that caused trouble with Chrome. (Actually, there are websites of several other large organizations with similar problems).

I wish to share this feedback, so that our large business organizations and government agencies are aware about the problems that their online processes are causing to their customers, and how the over-reliance on "security" (usually made at the suggestion of their security consultants) are making the websites quite impractical and difficult to use.

Waste of resources

I observe that many students spend a few years in polytechnic and university to take up an engineering, IT or other courses, but work in other occupations after graduating. It is a big waste of resources. Why can't they enrol for the course that they will finally work in?

Our economy needs people in transport, so they should learn how to drive and where the roads are, for example. The other occupations in demand are in the service and food industry. These can be meaningful occupations - provided that they get adequate pay (and are not depressed by the use of foreign workers).

Share your views.

Taxation and public spending

The US Government has fairly generous welfare payouts and large spending to run their country and maintain a strong military. But they refused to raise the taxes to pay for their expenses. They even want to cut the payroll tax (which is used to fund social security, old age pension and medical care), when these funds are in big deficit.
http://www.cnbc.com//id/45542292

Good mobile apps on smart phone and tablets

Share your experience on good mobile apps that run on various smart phone and tablets. You can post here or at www.facebook.com/kinlian.

Kudos to Nanyang Polytechnic

Nanyang Polytechnic sent to me, by e-mail, two PDFs containing details of their student internship programme for 2012 and another PDF containing an application form. I printed the application form, completed it neatly within 10 minutes (as they only asked for essential information) and faxed it to them. I was not required to log into a website and fill up an online form - thank goodness!

This is the easiest form that I have to complete to a government agency, in this case a polytechnic. To reciprocate their kindness, I completed the form neatly in block letters. If I miss out any essential information, they can always reply to me by e-mail.

I wish to thank the management of Nanyang Polytechnic for being considerate to the public.

Live a happy life

Here are some tips to live a happy life, while you are still alive.
http://exposingthetruth.info/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying/

Wireless@SG and 3G

The IDA wishes to encourage more people to use the free WiFi service called Wireless@SG, so as to reduce the data load on the 3G network.  Why are people using the chargeable 3G instead of the free WiFi service? There are many WiFi hotspots, and users can save on the data charge and also get faster access.

I hardly use Wireless@SG because it is quite troublesome to login to many hotspots, especially on a mobile hone. What is your experience?

Hard for the PAP to change

Read this analysis by Alex Au
http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/four-barriers-to-remaking-the-pap/