Express your view directly

Mat Alamak said:
Nothing positive will happen from protests. And this Sinkies only know too well. Remember Hong Lim Park and the GE 2015 results?

REPLY
The purpose of a protest is to register a point. If it is not registered, the people in power thinks that their policy is right and they will continue a bad policy for a long time. This is what has happened to Singapore .Bad policies have continued for several decades.

If many people are willing to participate in a protest, the people in power will know that there is strong opposition to their bad policies. They will also know that their policies are bad and need to be changed.

It is important for the voters to vote into Parliament, people who can be full time MPs and who can spend the time to understand the concerns of the citizens and to spend time to understand and debate government policies.

The next opportunity to vote the right people into Parliament is 2020.

Before that time, the voters can express their views directly in the Wisdom of the Crowd website.  You can play your part now. Register in this website and give your votes. Let your MP in white sleep for the next five years. You give your vote directly!

http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

Life is not that bad under PAP

Andy Tan said:
To be frank I voted for the PAP. Life is actually not that bad now if you compare to many other countries and I do not want to take any risk with the inexperience opposition.

MY REPLY
Under the PAP, Singapore has become the most expensive city in the world, wide income gap, over crowded, uncertain jobs and high stress level.

Apart from these issues, life is not that bad in Singapore for those with a high paying job.

Key findings from the Wisdom of the Crowd website

Look at the pie charts of all the issues presented in the Wisdom of the Crowd website.
There are two issues that get almost 100% of the votes, i.e. all the people are fully in support.

1) We want full time MPs
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/pie_det.aspx?ID=9

2) We want a more diverse Parliament comprising of MPs from different parties.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/pie_det.aspx?ID=21

The non-PAP parties should take note of these two votes. If they campaign in 2020 to serve as full time MPs, they stand a good chance to be elected, compared to a MP in white who sleeps in Parliament and hardly attend Parliament.

The PAP is likely to command the majority in Parliament for the next one or two elections. If they lose the majority one day, they will still lead the coalition government.

There is no need for voters to fear about a fall in the PAP government. If this "once in 50 year event" or "black swan" event should appear, and the PAP is not the government, the coalition government can find the best persons in Singapore to be the ministers. This could even be better than the PAP government. (But this is a black swan event).

In 2020, voters should vote for a full time MP and a diverse Parliament.

A diverse Parliament and a strong Government

Many voters want to have an active Parliament that can address their real concerns and a PAP to be the government. This is how it can be achieved.

Voters should vote for a candidate that promises to be a full time MP and to do a proper MP job. It does not matter whether they are white, blue, red or any color.

We need a diverse Parliament comprising of full time MPs who can be active in Parliament.

The PAP is likely to form the majority. If there is an unexpected result and the PAP loses the majority, a coalition government can be formed. They can appoint a cabinet comprising of the most capable people in  Singapore, including the MPs from the PAP. The non-MP ministers can be appointed as NMP and then take up the role of ministers.

Singaporeans have to express their views

Mr. Tan
You have been promoting the Wisdom of the Crowd website many times. Sometimes, you promote it a few times each day.
But the number of votes seem to be quite low for many issue.

IMHO, there is no point because
- Sinkies like only to complain
- They have no opinion - blame on the PAP education
- They are only interested in one issue that affect them directly, and don't care about other issues.
- They think that their views do not count, as the PAP government is deaf frog.

Do you agree?

REPLY
Yes. I generally agree with your observation.
We need to put in a lot of effort and time to make a change.
We have to encourage more people to think beyond their limited interest.
This website is a good way to start.
So, I like to invite more people to put in some effort, register in this website, and cast your vote on the issues. For some issues, they already have an opinion. For other issues, they can read the reasons for and against the issue and give their vote.

Register here:
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/Register.aspx

Be an active citizen

Be an active citizen. Give your views on the issues that affect your future, and the future of your children. Register in this website and vote on the issues there.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/Register.aspx

After registration, click on Vote and vote on the issues. For some issues, you have a clear opinion. Express it. For other issues, you can read the reason For and Against each issue, and decide on how you wish to vote.

You can view the results of the vote on each issue here:
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

Do not rely on your MP to vote for you on these issues. They may be sleeping in Parliament or too busy to attend Parliament.

Be an active citizen, and express your vote on these issues.

Pay $20 to each commuter affected by SMRT breakdown

The Land Transport Authority is gaining a revenue of $5.4 million from the fine to be paid by SMRT. But it is the 250,000 commuters who have suffered from the breakdown in the train service.
A better approach is for SMRT to credit $20 to each consumer who were affected. They can be identified from the fare card system.

http://www.straitstimes.com/…/smrt-fined-54m-for-massive-br…

We need an active Parliament to bring up these issues. We cannot continue to have sleeping MPs who hardly spoke up. In 2020, remember to vote for full time MPs who can be active in Parliament.

Practice to be a Member of Parliament

One day, you may be elected as a Member of Parliament. You will have to debate and cast your votes on government policies and legislation that are presented to Parliament. Will you be ready for that role?
You can practice now to be a MP by voting on the issues that are presented in this website. With practice, you can be clear on the reason to vote for or against each issue.
Register here and cast your vote
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/Register.aspx

Express your view on key issues

Do you want the government to decide what is good for the country, without taking into account your views as a citizen?

If you don't want the government to make all the decisions in this manner, are you willing to give your views on the issues that concern our future?

If you want your views to be considered, here is your chance to express them.

Register in this website, click on "Vote" and give your vote on each of the issue.

The collective views of all the participants will send a strong message to the government on what the citizens like, or don't like.

Don't worry, if you have no strong views on some of the issues. You can ignore them, or cast your votes anyway. After a while, your views will become clearer. And you will become more mature politically.

Here is the website for you to register.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/Register.aspx

A mistake cost the family of this elderly woman $300,000.

An elderly woman was advised by the insurance agent to upgrade from a shield C plan to A plan. She was not well educated. She signed the application form without understanding the legal implications.

15 months later, she was diagnosed for colon cancer. She went to a public hospital for treatment. The specialist advised her to go to a private hospital as she was covered under the A plan.

The medical bill in the private hospital came to a staggering $300,000. She submitted her claim for reimbursement. The insurance company rejected the claim as she did not disclose that she had diabetes. The agent did not ask her. She was not aware about the impact of this non-disclosure.

Read this article.
http://c-onyx.com/page/2347

If she did not upgrade to plan A, she would probably be treated in the public hospital. Her plan C would have covered most of the cost.

This is the price of ignorance. Her family now has to incur $300,000 in medical bills, compared to a small sum, if she had been treated in the public hospital.

Reduce the wage gap between graduates and non-graduates

Should we reduce the wage gap between graduates and non-graduates and encourage some people to start work earlier and acquire practical skills and work experience, instead of learning academic subjects in university? Vote on this issue in this website.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/issue_det.aspx?ID=31

Vote on these issues

Vote on this issue. Tell us what you, as a citizen, think and prefer. Do not rely on your MP in white to vote for you. He (or she) is sleeping in Parliament.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

Harm caused by National Service

Raymond Khoo said:
We have done our NS and know how it has caused disadvantage to Singaporean men in the work place. I would not want this to be inflicted onto others.
- we lose our precious youth during active service
- we lose our competitive edge when we are young
- we lose momentum at work place when get called up
- we get bypassed for promotion due to disruption by service call up

But ... we see Jobs for foreigners, NS for Singaporeans.

REPLY
I agree with your views, totally. I have observed this for 3 decades. Only, the people in power refuse to see it. And the selfish people, who are not affected or have done their stint,  refuse to see the harm that it is causing to our young people.

Should the "opposition" parties merge into a single party?

Dear Mr. Tan
Should the opposition parties merge and form a single party to challenge the PAP? Many voters do not wish to support a fragmented opposition.

REPLY
The strategy for the alternative parties is to convince the voters that they should elect full time MPs who can play an active role in Parliament.  The full time MPs should spend time to meet their voters, to understand their concerns, and to bring up these issues in Parliament.

They should also spend time to study and understand the legislation and government policies that are put forward into Parliament for adoption. these legislation and policies have to be actively debated. The elected MPs should get the feedback and views of their constituents, and present them in Parliament.

When the elected MPs put forward the views held by a majority of their constituents, their views will be respected.

The first step is to be elected into Parliament and play an active role in Parliament. If the candidates from the alternative parties are prepared to declare that they will be a full time MP, the part time and sleeping MPs from the PAP are likely to be voted out.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE ALTERNATIVE PARTIES TO MERGE AT THIS TIME.

Why? You only need a strong party if you wish to be the government. The people are not ready to trust a new and inexperienced government at this time. Not in 2020. Maybe in 2025.

If the PAP continues to be the government and there is a strong opposition in Parliament, the PAP will have to change its style of governance to get their policies accepted by Parliament. This will allow the concerns of the citizens to be addressed.

Long standing issues that have been neglected by a "sleeping Parliament" for five decades can be brought up to be re-examined.

Do we have a good government?

Do we have a good government? 69.9% think so. Give your views in the Wisdom of the Crowd website.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

Let your views be counted

Here are the issues affecting our future. Do you agree with the proposal? Are you against the proposal? Cast your vote and let your views he counted.
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

Biggest problem faced by Singapore

I met a lawyer who has been in practice for over 20 years. He saw how Mr LKY abused his power to detain his opponents and to tame the lawyers, and he had badly treated JBJ, Chee Soon Juan, Francis Seow and Tang Liang Hong.

I asked him - what is the biggest problem faced by Singaporeans today. He was stunned. He said, "there are too many to count".

I helped him. How about
High cost of living
Insecurity of jobs
Over crowding
Spending money wastefully

He said - all of them.
I asked again - What is the biggest problem?
He gave up. So, I gave him my answer.
He said - Mr. Tan, I agree with your answer.

What is the answer?

Here to avoid getting into problems with insurance claims

It is quite common for consumers to face difficulty with insurance claims, especially on health insurance. Here is my advice to them, on how to avoid these problems. 
http://c-onyx.com/page/2322

Unprofitable businesses

I made a study of the corporate profit in Singapore and found the following:

In year of assessment 2011, a total of 57,000 companies reported a total profit of $90.4 billion, while 106,000 companies reported a total loss of $63.8 billion.

Why are so many companies reporting a loss? It represented 65% of companies making a tax return.

The number of loss making companies increased from 104,000 in 2003 to 165,000 in 2011. The average loss per company increased from $210,000 to $600,000. This is a staggering sum.

Do these figures suggest that it is difficult for small businesses to be profitable in Singapore and that the cost of doing business is so high?

And, if it is not profitable, how do so many companies continue to be in business, reporting a loss. Where do they get the capital to keep funding the loss?

Read the answer here:
http://c-onyx.com/page/1721

Indisputability clause in an insurance policy

If your insurance company rejects a claim under a life or health insurance policy and give the reason that you (the policyholder) did not disclose a pre-existing condition, you should look at "indisputability clause" in the policy document.

This clause usually states that the insurance company will not dispute a claim after, say, 1 or 2 years, except in the case of fraud.

If you were not aware of a pre-existing condition or did not know that it need to be declared, the the insurance company is not allowed to reject the claim. If the insurance company wishes to reject it due to fraud, it has the onus to prove that the policyholder intends to defraud the insurance company. It is difficult for them to prove that there was intent to defraud.

Grant long term visit pass for foreign spouses of Singaporeans

Dear Mr. Tan

I give English lessons to Vietnamese spouses of Singaporeans. I learned that some of these spouses are still on short term visit passes (1 or 3 months) and have to leave Singapore regularly. Some of them have children. This is inconvenient for the family and affects the children adversely.

Should these spouses be offered a long term visit pass (1 or 3 years) or even permanent residency?

REPLY
They are the foreign spouses of Singaporeans. It is rather harsh to ask them  to leave the country every few months. I agree that this is disruptive for the family, especially for the children.

I cannot understand why these foreign spouses of Singaporeans are not granted the same long term visit passes as the spouses of foreigners who are granted e-pass to work in Singapore.

This practice seems to discriminate against Singaporeans who have served National Service! Why are they treated worse than the foreigners on e-pass?

I suggest that the government should:

1) Grant long term visit pass for the foreign spouses of Singaporean males and females on the first marriage of the Singaporean.
2) When the family has children, the foreign spouse should be granted permanent residency.
3) The permanent residency may be revoked on divorce.
4) This treatment should be extended to all foreign spouses, regardless of their working status. Non-working mothers also carry out an important role in raising children for the family.

New domain for The Wisdom Of The Crowd

The Wisdom of the Crowd website has now moved to its own domain.
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

You can view and vote on the issues here:
http://wisdomofthecrowd.sg/view_issue.aspx

Insurance company rejected a health insurance claim for $300,000

his elderly woman, who was not well educated, was advised by the agent to upgrade from a shield C plan to a shield A plan. She took the advice.

15 months later, she was diagnosed for colon cancer. She went to a public hospital and was advised to be treated in a private hospital as she was covered under a shield A plan.
Her treatment cost a staggering $300,000. Yes - $300,000 in a private hospital!

The insurance company rejected her claim as she did not disclose that she had diabetes when she upgraded her plan. She was not aware that it had to be declared, as the insurance agent filled up the upgrade form and did not explain to her about the need to disclose her health status.

I have come across a few cases of this kind in the past. I now advise the public - NEVER, NEVER upgrade your plan when you are elderly. You never know if your claim will be rejected for ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.

http://c-onyx.com/page/2346

TREATMENT IN PUBLIC HOSPITAL
If she had been treated in a public hospital for the same condition, her bill is likely to be much lower. I do not know her case, but I guess it should be (say) $60,000.

Poor standard of insurance claim settlement

The standard of insurance claim settlement in Singapore is quite deplorable, due to lack of action by the regular, i.e. the MAS.
Read this latest case.
http://c-onyx.com/page/2348

How does "Wisdom of the Crowd" get coined?

This graphic explains the concept of the wisdom of the crowd.
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/page/1
If many people guess the number of jellies, the average of their guesses will be quite close to the actual result!

Danger of upgrading a health insurance plan

Dear Mr. Tan

My family is currently in a dispute with an insurance company with regards to a health shield upgrade.

·        My mom is elderly, cannot read and speak very limited English.

·        She was on the health shield plan C for several years, and successfully did an upgrade to plan A in Feb 2014.

·        She has been diagnosed with colon cancer and has been treated in a private hospital since Apr 2015

·        The insurance company will not honor the upgrade to Plan A as there was no disclosure of my mum’s diabetes during the upgrade.  

My mom’s proficiency in the English language is limited. When filling up the upgrade documents and questionnaires, the agent did not go through the questionnaire in detail with my mum. My mum was not aware about what she was signing. her at all.

MY REPLY

The insurance agent failed in his duty to help the policyholder to make a full disclosure of her medical condition for upgrading the plan. The insurance company was also negligent. Surely, they should know that an elderly person will have some medical condition. They should not rely on the questionnaire, especially as it was signed by the agent (who has a conflict of interest).

I have been approached on similar cases in the past - i.e. rejection of claim under an upgraded shield plan. I advise elderly people to stay with their current plan and avoid all types of upgrading. I downgraded to Medishield Basic myself, and will stick with it.

Why the PAP got more votes in GE 2015

I spoke to the two winners of the "Guess the PAP share of the Votes" contest.

Why did you guess that the PAP would get a bigger share of votes, when most people expect a smaller share?

Winner 1 - Civil servant
Singaporeans are kiasi. When they hear that the opposition is strong, they got scared and vote PAP. The passing of Mr LKY also played an important part.

Winner 2 - NS man
Mostly the passing of Mr. LKY. When the young people saw their grandparents cry, they must have felt that Mr. LKY did a lot for the country. So, they voted PAP.

RESULT OF THE GUESS THE PAP SHARE OF THE VOTES CONTEST.

Dear (two names with held)

I am happy to inform you that you have both submitted the closest answer to the final results. The final result was 69.9%. Your entry was for 70.1%.

The panel of judges have confirmed that you are the joint winners. You will share the cash prize of $500 equally, i.e. each of you will get $250 (SGD).

Are you able to visit my office (24 Sin Ming Lane #02-107 Midview City) on Saturday 19 September at 11 am to collect the cheque. I like to have a chat with you and also to take a photo with you - if you do not mind.

HDB should update its house rules

Someone told me that the HDB insists on viewing the original death certificate of her deceased mother, when it was quite clear (from the Government Register) that the mother had passed away. The HDB insisted that this is their "house rule".

Here are two troubling aspects of this behavior.

1) The civil servant insist on a requirement that is unnecessary and troublesome, because it is "the house rule". He (or she) does not care about how much trouble it cause to the citizen. He probably enjoys giving hassle to the public.

2) Why is this stupid rule allowed to remain for so many years? What has happened to the internal feedback system in HDB? What is happening to our Parliament? Surely, the MP could have raised this issue a few decades ago?

This is why we need an active and more balanced Parliament.
https://www.facebook.com/balancedParliament

Voting by age groups

When I look at the pie charts of the votes for many issues, there is something troubling me about the voting by age groups. Can you spot what is troubling me?
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Show KBW be the next Minister for Transport?

Should Khaw Boon Wan be appointed as the next Minister for Transport? He is likely to do the job well, so there is no need for him to hara kiri. Agree?
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/issue_det.aspx?ID=27

We need more votes

I need your vote on the issues listed in The Wisdom of the Crowd website.
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

we need more votes to make the results more credible.

You can view the pie charts of the results and also the individual comments given by the voters.

Can HDB be more flexible?

Dear Mr. Tan
My mother passed away. I wanted to remove her name from my HDB flat as it was bought with her name. The HDB insist on viewing the original death certificate, but I had misplaced it.

Why can't they check the Death Registry to confirm that my mother had passed away? They insisted that viewing the death certificate is their "house rule". Why are they so rigid?

REPLY
I also find it strange. I believe that the CPF does not require to view the original death certificate. It seemed that the HDB is out of date. Maybe, they enjoy making life difficult for the citizens?

I wonder if the Minister for National Development can ask the HDB CEO to hara kiri.

Will Singapore follow Japan in facing a "Lost Decade" ?

Towards the end of the 1980s, Japan had a big property bubble. The property prices were ridiculously high. When the bubble burst, Japan went through a decade (i.e. 10 years) of almost zero growth. This is called the "Lost Decade".

Singapore today is like Japan during the late 1980s. We are now prosperous because of our high property prices. We stand a high risk that our property bubble will also burst. When that happens, we could faced also a decade of slow growth.

Even if the bubble does not burst, it will remain a burden on the economy. Our cost of doing business and our cost of living is high, due to the high property prices. It will be a burden for businesses and for the people.

The government hopes to keep the property prices at the current level, and let inflation in the future restore the equilibrium. At our low rate of inflation, it may take 20 years to correct the imbalance. This is a very long time.

Sadly, it will be an uncertain and difficult future.

Let us vote directly

Here is our chance to vote directly on the issues that affect our future, rather than let an "idiot" vote for us while sleeping in Parliament.
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Town council gets the blame, unfairly

My friend lives in a private house in Aljunied GRC. He said, "The residents of private housing estate does not realize that there is little that the town council can do to keep their estate clean. The roads and trees are the responsibility of LTA and the NEA, and not the town council. The town council does not have the funds for these work.".

He said, "If these agencies do not do their work well, deliberately or otherwise, the town council gets the blame. The residents may be unaware about this split of work".

MY COMMENT
I agree with this observation. We have a bad system where one person is responsible for one area, and another person is responsible for another area. The ordinary people gets confused.

Who is responsible for this type of confusing arrangement?

One party government

Are Singaporeans like frogs in boiling water, thinking only of short term gains and ignoring the dangers of a one party government?

Do you want job security?

Many people now have jobs that pay fairly well. They are comfortable. They are satisfied with that the economic environment created by the PAP Government.

They are like the frogs in a jug of boiling water. They feel comfortable. They do not know that when the water is being boiled. They adjust to the temperature. But, eventually, they will get cooked.

They only need to read the cases of PMETs and older workers that their jobs under this economic environment. This website contains many case stories.
http://www.transitioning.org/

One day, this tragedy may happen to many of those who are now happily employed.  Just like the frogs in the boiling water.

When that happens, they will turn to Transitioning.Org for help, for support and for sympathy. But there is not much that this website can do. But they try their best.

You may be employed now - but one day you may lose your jobs to low cost foreigners.

Are you happy to take this risk? Do you want your government to address this issue of providing employment security for the citizens of Singapore?

Popular Posts on the General Election

Here are 3 Facebook posts that got many readers!

SDP and Chee Soon Juan (14K readers)


PAP will do well (27K readers)
This person got it right a few weeks before the election.

How 3 young people voted (51K - wow)

Candidate for Minister for Transport

Here is another candidate for Minister for Transport. Do you agree with this choice. Cast your vote in Wisdom of the Crowd website. Link here:http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/issue_det.aspx?ID=27

Presidential Election 2017

I have often been asked - "Will I stand for the next Presidential Election". My reply - "No Way".

Why?

1. I have a gut feel that the PAP Government will change the constitution and remove the election of the President. They will not take the risk of a non-establishment person being elected into this office.

2. If they still hold the election, I will let Dr.Tan Cheng Bok be the non-establishment candidate for this round. He is highly respected.

3. If Dr. Tan is not able to stand for health or other reasons, I will let Tan Jee Say be the non-establishment candidate.

4. If Jee Say cannot stand, I will also not stand.

Why?

I do not wish to fight the PAP machinery. They have all the resources - party, government,  grassroots, civil service, mainstream media, money, power. This is not right, but it is the reality.

What about making a stand for the people of Singapore?

What for?

The majority of the people  like the PAP Government anyway - with its lack of transparency, lack of accountability, its natural aristocratic attitude and the big and small goodies that they can dish out.

What about standing up for those who want the President to be the "check and balance" on the PAP Government?

What for?

Most of them are not willing to come forward anyway to play their part. They are not willing to expose themselves in campaigning for their candidate. They are not willing to contribute towards the election expenses.

They expect the candidate to make all the sacrifices. At the last moment, many may exercise their right to abandon the candidate that they had egged on.

There are exceptions to my general observation. But these exceptions are not enough.

Disappointed with the voters of Aljunied

A doctor, who is neutral in politics, made this observation:

"I am disappointed with the voters of Aljunied. The PAP sent in a team of 'nobodies' into Aljunied and they nearly won Aljunied from the heavy weights of the Workers Party.

Can't they tell the difference between the quality of candidates? Are they so naive?

Surely, there is no need for the voters of Aljunied to have second thoughts. They should have given the Workers Party a strong mandate of 70% and higher! "

MY COMMENT
I have to agree with him. The majority of the voters are naive and immature. They do not have strong convictions.

This is a sad state of affairs. It is a state that is brought about by 50 years of the PAP system. This is nothing to be proud about.

When Singapore hits a real crisis, who are the people that have the "guts and gumption" (to quote our departed LKY) that can be counted to stand up?

Josephine Teo as Transport Minister

Should Josephine Teo be the next Transport Minister. Here are the results of the votes in Wisdom of the Crowd website.

Two-thirds in favor. One third against.
read the specific comments.

http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/pie_det.aspx?ID=26

BEWARE OF SCAMS

Mr Tan,
Here is something I would like to share regarding scams / investment seminars and other types of illegal money schemes:  Link

Kindly note that the articles are provided by Empower Advisory (courtesy of Douglas Chow).
The information above is useful for the general public.

You voted for it

Fear of taking risk

I have made edited the comment by Constantine Giam but kept the gist of his views.

EDITED:
Most Singaporeans are like barking dogs with not teeth. They think of themselves without considering the bigger picture - how their actions will affect them in later years.

Singaporeans like to complain and voice out negative views. When it comes to change and there is some risk, they begin to waver.

Talking about national issues with all this group of Singaporeans is a waste of time. With this kind of mentality, i.e. fear to take risk, Singaporeans will not prosper in their financial investment or innovation.

Their lives is about work and earning money. But they will never earn enough due to high inflation and suppressed salary caused by influx of foreigners.

Singaporeans will complain online or in their daily conversation with friends. At the end of the day, most of them will still vote PAP because they are scared that when PAP fall, they will lose their jobs.

With this kind of thinking, i am not surprised that Singaporeans will not succeed in many fields in the future. The population will be diluted with naturalized citizens. There will be no more true blue Singaporeans.

The results of this general election in 2015 lend credence to my conviction.

Constantine Giam

It is not too late to make some amends

Mr Tan,
Thank you for posting a link to the article "Shame On You" in The Online Citizen.

I agree wholeheartedly with the views of this writer. Many Singaporeans behave in a selfish and shameful manner.

They urge the candidates from the alternative parties to stand up and contest the election, so that the PAP knows that they cannot take Singaporeans for granted.

AND THEY ABANDON THESE BRAVE CANDIDATES AT THE LAST MINUTE.

I don't know their reason for the last minute change of mind. It is a disgusting behavior.

Do they really know the sacrifice that these candidates have made to provide an alternative voice for Singaporeans? The money they have to spend on deposits, rallies, posters, printer, meals for volunteers?

How many people came forward to help them in their campaigns?

No wonder, Kenneth Jeyaretnam said - "You have voted for authoritarianism. I don't want to hear your complaint anymore".

REPLY
I understand your sentiment. I also understand that the losing candidates would have been very disappointed. (I felt the same after the Presidential Election).

The least that these Singaporeans could do now, is to donate to cover the expenses of the losing candidates.

I am only asking this from the people who had urged them to come forward to be a channel for express their unhappiness at the policies of the PAP. 

Proceed with 6.9 million population target

Mr.Tan
With the strong mandate, will the PAP government work to achieve the 6.9 million population target by the original deadline?

REPLY
They will.
Maybe, delay by a few more years.
They have no choice.
We have a low birth rate and an aging population.
We have built infrastructure to cater to a larger population.
With a 70% vote and a strong mandate, they will push ahead for the 6.9 million population target.

What can we do?

Goal - A More Balanced Parliament

This is the goal for the new page, "A More Balanced Parliament"
https://www.facebook.com/balancedParliament

GOAL
Our goal is to have an active Parliament comprising of law makers who can spend time to understand the issues and to debate them in Parliament. They should spend time to understand the concerns faced by their voters.

Preferably, the members of Parliament should be full time.

We prefer a system, similar to the US, where the elected Prime Minister (or the President in the US) can nominated his ministers from outside of Parliament. The nominated ministers have to be approved by Parliament.

We prefer the members of Parliament to be elected directly from the voters in their constituency. We prefer the GRC system to be discontinued.

A feasible alternative to a PAP government

Mr Tan,
You have advocated, on a few occasions, that our ministers can be appointed outside of Parliament.

But, many people do not agree with you, especially the anti-PAP people. They are afraid that it allows the PAP to appoint their candidates, who are rejected in the general election, to come to be ministers through the back door.

Why are you advocating this unpopular measure?

REPLY
We have to go to the root of the problem.

We can never find sufficient capable people from the 89 elected people to form our government. The base is too small. The "suitable" people cannot risk their career to enter politics.

The PAP derived the GRC system to provide a "safe" way for these "suitable" people to enter into politics. The GRC system has its harmful effects.

If we follow the US system to appoint ministers from outside of Parliament, we have a large pool of suitable people to choose from to form the government.

All government policies have to be approved by Parliament. This is the safeguard to the democratic process. Another safeguard is a strong and independent civil service.

My suggestion actually benefits the non-PAP parties. They can campaign to enter Parliament to represent the views of the voters in their constituency.

if the non-PAP parties form a coalition government, they have the freedom to appoint their ministers from outside of Parliament. They can reach out to the most suitable people in the whole country to run the ministries. The nominated people will still have to get the approval of Parliament.

This is the best and most feasible alternative to a PAP government.

A strong opposition in Parliament

Someone said:
Now... what if one day, we wake up knowing that the Singapore's reserves is nothing but hot air?
Why have the government been unwilling to return CPF, and have been issuing bonds and doing all sorts of stunts like SG50 notes? (1.7 billion printed)
Are they really insolvent? We'll never know, but once you do it'll all be too late. We'll be the second Greece/Brazil almost instantly.

REPLY
I agree with the risk. We need to have a Parliament comprising of a strong opposition to the government. They can demand transparency and accountability.

Full trust in the PAP

Mr. Tan
The Singapore Democratic Party and Dr. Chee Soon Juan have put in many man years of efforts to present alternative policy papers for the future of Singapore. It seemed that the voters do not care about them.

They only care about the SG50 goodies, and the PGP goodies. What are your views on this question?

REPLY
I agree with you. It reflects poorly on the maturity of the Singapore voters. We have to be ashamed of this state of affairs.

This situation is brought about by 50 rules of PAP rule. They do not want Singaporeans to be mature. They only want to remain in power.

The 70% are willing to put their full trust in the PAP, without any checks and balances. They may have a rude shock when the entire system collapses one day.

But, maybe, it will never happen? Meanwhile, they are happy to live in their comfort zone.

Pioneer Generation Package

Is the Pioneer Generation package a good scheme? Give your views here.
http://www.sg-pulse.com/Crowd/issue_det.aspx?ID=24

Last hope for Singapore

Hi Mr Tan,
I couldn't message you on facebook. Hence, I decided to message you here. I have some questions to ask you.
1)What exactly is the role of a NCMP?
2)Should Dr Chee Soon Juan be nominated as a NCMP?
3)Do you think that Presidential Elections in 2017 is our last hope for Singapore?

REPLY
1) The position of NCMP (Non Constituency MP) is given to a certain number of candidates (between 3 to 9) from the opposition parties who scored the highest votes in the general election. They attend Parliament and exercise the duties of an elected MP, except that they do not represent any constituency and cannot vote on certain legislation.

2) The candidates from the opposition parties who scored higher than Dr. Chee Soon Juan are:
Lee Li Lian, WP - Punggol East
Dennis Tan, WP - Fengshan
5 candidates from WP, East Coast
Dr Chee will not make it to the list.

3) There is a chance that the Presidential Election may be scrapped (this is just my opinion). If it is conducted as before, do you see the person elected as President to be "the last hope for Singapore?".
Can you be more specific on what are the actions that you expect the President to take to "save Singapore?"

General election is over. Here is another place for you to vote

The general election is over. For many people, the actual results do not reflect their views or the ground sentiments. This could be a "freak result".

Here is another chance for you to express your views directly on the issues that concern our lives. Take some time now to vote on these issues. By increasing the votes, this website can be more credible.

www.sg-pulse.com/crowd/register.aspx

What if the PAP is voted out of power?

Mr Tan
Suppose the nightmare scenario happens and the PAP is voted out of power, how will the coalition government find the capable people to form the government? The alternative parties do not have candidates who can fit into the roles of ministers.

REPLY
I have anticipated this problem earlier. My answer is given here.
http://tankinlian.blogspot.sg/2015/08/my-top-wish-for-general-election-2015.html

All the best for Chee Soon Juan

Five years ago, when most people consider Dr Chee Soon Juan to be untrustworthy, I wrote a blog to present a positive view of him.

One of my friends, who is working for the establishment, wrote to say that I was "brave" to express this view, but he supported my view.

Today, the public perception of Dr Chee has changed tremendously. He is now seen in a positive light. Many people hope that he will be elected into Parliament. I agree with this view.

I wish all the best to Dr Chee and his family.

The citizens have to play their part

Dear Mr. Tan
I saw that you were trying hard to promote the Wisdom of The Crowd website.
It is a good platform to get the views of ordinary people on the issues that you have created.

However, the website still gets insufficient response.
By now, you should know that Singaporeans like their views to be heard, but they are too lazy to express their views in a responsible manner.
Do you agree?

REPLY
I have to agree with you.
It is a bad culture that our people has developed over the years.
But I have to blame the PAP for creating this bad culture.

However, we have to remain positive and confident.
Maybe, by being persistent, more people will realize that they have to come forward and cast their votes on these issues.
More people will make the website more credible in conveying the wisdom of the crowd to the people who from the next government.

Register here to cast your vote
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/Register.aspx

Direct Democracy - Wisdom of the Crowd

Singaporeans have a chance to cast a vote only once in 4 years, and they are asked only one question - who do they want to be their Member of Parliament?

The person that they voted may not even attend Parliament regularly or speak in Parliament. This person, who is supposed to represent the views of the citizens in his constituency, may not even meet the voter for four years.

Surely, this is a very poor system?

There is another choice for citizens. You can give your vote directly on issues affecting your life and the future for you and for your children.

You can give your vote on the issues in the "Wisdom of the Crowd" website, sg-pulse.com/crowd.

Here are the issues that you can vote on. These are the hot topics not only for the general election but also for our future.

To give your vote on these issues, you can register here:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/Register.aspx

After you have registered, you will go directly to a page. When you select "Vote", you will be shown all the issues that you can vote on.

You can read the reason for and against each issue before you cast your vote. You can also give your reason for your vote.

BE EMPOWERED AS A CITIZEN.

Join "Wisdom of the Crowd" and let your vote count. And you can vote on specific issues.

Prohibition on Cooling Off Day

Mr. Tan
The prohibition of campaign activities during cooling off day and election day DOES NOT APPLY to "the transmission of personal political views by individuals to other individuals, on a non-commercial basis, using the Internet, telephone or electronic means".
Does this apply to Facebook?

REPLY
My interpretation of this rule is that it is okay, so long as you are
"an individual" and not a candidate.
But I am not sure about "other individuals". If A send to B, it is okay. But if A publishes in Facebook and it is ready by the general public, it is not clear whether it is still okay.
Anyway, since it is unclear, let the police decide. If they tell me that it is not okay, I will ask them if they are acting against a few hundred thousand people in the same category.
This law is badly written. It is not clear.

Difficult to run a small business

My friend, who run a small business said. It is difficult to be a boss of a small business. When he falls sick, he still have to come to work. His workers will be happy to send in their MC and take the time off.

He does not make enough profit. The expenses are high. The revenue is difficult to come by. He has to compete hard to get the business and his margin is small.

This year, the "stupid" government gave two extra holidays to celebrate SG50 and for polling day. It is okay for them to give holidays, because they have plenty of money. But, he has to pay his workers for the holidays. Where is his business coming from?

I agree with him. It is tough to run a small business. 

Swing of votes - general election 2015

This article shows the votes for the PAP in each constituency in the general election held in 2015.
http://sg-pulse.com/Party/PDF/2

When the results are announced for each constituency from 11 pm tomorrow, I will be able to calculate the swing of votes and predict the number of seats that will be won by the non-PAP parties, i.e. the alternative parties.

I will post my findings in my blog and Facebook. Watch my "prediction" here.

How to participate in a "mini-referendum"

The Wisdom of the Crowd website allows you to vote on issues affecting our future and the future of our children. This is similar to the referendum that is carried out in Switzerland every three months. Take this opportunity express your views, so that the collective view can be viewed by the policy makers.

You can register  here:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

If you registered earlier, you can sign in here:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/Login.aspx

If you forgot your password, you can click on"Forget Password". You can get an email to reset your password.

After you sign in, you can click on "Vote". This shows all the issues that you have not yet voted. So, you can vote for them one at a time.

Please cast your vote now, and also encourage your friends to cast their votes on these issues. We need more votes to give stability and credibility to the results show in this website.

You can view the pie charts of the issues here:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Issues affecting our future

Look at the pie charts of the votes for the various issues here:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Register here to cast your votes and win an e-book worth $4
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/Register.aspx

Today is cooling off day. No rallies to attend. So, it is time to hear your views on the important issues facing our future.

Wisdom of the Crowd

The "Wisdom of the Crowd" website contains several issues affecting our lives and the lives of our children.

You can view the pie charts of the votes from this link
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

To submit your vote on these issue, you can register here
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/Register.aspx

After voting on 5 issues, you will get a free copy of the e-book on medical bills for the elderly

Cooling Off Day

Cooling-Off Day 

The eve of Polling Day is designated as Cooling-Off Day, a day when election campaigning is prohibited. This 24-hour campaign silence period is to give voters some time to reflect rationally on issues raised during the election before going to the polls. 

There are some exceptions to the prohibition of campaign activities on Cooling-Off Day: 

1. Party political broadcasts on television;
2. Reports in the newspapers, on radio and television relating to election matters;
3. Approved posters and banners that were already up, and lawful Internet advertising that was already published before the eve of Polling Day;
4. Books previously scheduled for publication;
5. The transmission of personal political views by individuals to other individuals, on a non-commercial basis, using the Internet, telephone or electronic means; and
6. Such activities or circumstances as may be prescribed by the Minister.

Minimum wage and minister salaries

Should we have a minimum wage in Singapore? Should we pay high salaries to ministers?

These are two new issues for you to vote in "Wisdom of the Crowd".
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Stranded with wine investment

Dear Mr Tan,
I am a stranded wine investor with Assets Wine Management (AWM) and Australian Wine Index.
I am served a Writ of Summon from the lawyer of CWT for the outstanding payment for the storage of my wines under AWM.
I would greatly appreciate if you can advise me of what I can do.
Thank you for your kind attention.

REPLY
You can sell off the wine investment and take a loss. Or talk to other investors and see what you can do collectively.

Policyholder was shocked to see the high distribution cost

Dear Mr. Tan,
I would like to seek your advice on personal finance.

Recently i met up my insurance agent to discuss about long term investment ( retirement, education for kids).  I was offered something like, save for 10 years, pay out at the age of 65 years old for 20 years.

The return is guarantee 3% plus bonus add up to total of 4.75%. When i look at the product info, what caught my eye and surprised me is the distribution cost. For total premium paid of around 200k, the distribution cost is around 13,000, which is around 7%! I think it is way too high!

When i showed this concern of high fee to my agent, she sort of like saying, dont envy of what they are paid, cos of the effort and trouble they all experience as agent ( which i do not totally agree).  And she is saying this is the norm and what is available in the market.

I believe what she offered is not the only option. I was considering DIY regularly purchase ETF. I only worry if i could consistent have the return of 3%.

What do you think about my situation? Is there anything I can do? Thank you very much.

REPLY

I have seen many benefit illustration of this type of product. The product is bad for consumers.

I agree with your that the distribution cost is too high. If you study the effect of deduction, you will be shocked at the amount that is taken away from your accumulated premium.

Read this book to understand what this "effect of deduction" means.
http://c-pearl.com/cart.aspx?ID=19

We need a fundamental change in the old policies

Question
Over the past week voters have heard the various rallies by the parties, most have proposals unlike the PAP as they only focus on local amenities etc.

Mr Tan, just wonder what is your objective view of GE15?  Will it be good for Singapore if PAP win all the seats?

I hope that opposition will get 40 seats as PAP need to get the message that citizens come first and their leaders need to be 100% hands on.

REPLY
It will be good for the alternative parties to win 15 to 20 seats, maybe more seats.

We need an active Parliament where the law makers meet regularly to discuss and debate the concerns of the people.

There are many issues that need to be addressed. We cannot have a Parliament that meets only occasionally to rubber stamp the decisions of the cabinet. We cannot have law makers who do not attend Parliament and who hardly spoke in Parliament.

We need more law makers who will treat this job as their full time job.

It is important for voters to vote for the alternative parties, so that the wish of an active Parliament can be achieved in this general election.

There is very little risk of a change of government in this general election. We can only aim for a change in the composition of Parliament.

A stronger representation of the alternative parties in Parliament will pass a strong message to the incoming government that the people want to see a fundamental change in the old policies.

To LHL: That's what you have done!

It is ironic for Lee Hsien Loong to tell the voters - "Don't write cheques that your children must pay".

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/…/if-you-belie…/2111534.html…

This is precisely what he has done over the past ten years. By increasing the price of housing and the cost of living, he has made the next generation of Singaporeans pay for the wealth of the current elites in Singapore.

We must VOTE FOR CHANGE.

Your Life and My Life/ Too Many foreigners

Someone sent this email to me.
From a friend, true story, like to remain anonymous:

GLC appointed foreigner as CEO.
CEO appointed his fellow foreigners as senior management.
Singaporeans forced to resign or sacked.

Senior management (foreigners) engaged his fellow foreigners as employees.
More Singaporeans edged out.

Most foreigners employees are underqualified but got his PR or even
citizenship easily from MOM with middle management (foreigners) help.

Singaporeans that stay, dare not to take sick leave when sick and
annual leave. They suffered low annual wage increments.
Difficult jobs assigned to them, credits goes to foreigners.

The same story are repeated in many GLC, MNC and many private firms.
This is your life and my life.

VOTE FOR CHANGE

Wrong to describe LHL as PM Lee

Lee Hsien Loong. If you believe in me, support my team. Link

Reply - sorry, I don't!

It is wrong for Channel News Asia to refer to him as PM Lee, when he is not acting in the role of the caretaker prime minister. In this situation, he is just one of the candidates in this general election.

Vote for change - our goal is to have alternative voices in Parliament

This PAP candidate warns that opposition parties can't get along. Link

He is missing the point. The alternative parties are not aiming to form the next government.

They want to be represented in Parliament to voice the concerns of the people and to debate and pass laws that reflect these concerns.

We need to change the system of governance in Singapore. We need to have a Parliament that is more active in discussing and debating government policies and passing the laws.

We need law makers who are able to spend more time in their work in discussing issues in Parliament and in discussing the concerns of the people. Preferably, they should be full time law makers. At the least, they should not have a busy full time work.

It is time to vote for a change, for the future of Singapore, for the future of our children.

Register - Wisdom of the Crowd

You can register here to submit your votes for the Wisdom of the Crowd website:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/Register.aspx

After you sign in, you can vote on the issues by selecting the "Vote" menu.
After you have voted on 5 issues, you will receive the e-book "Medical Bills for the Elderly". This book sells for $4, so you earn a prize of $4.

You can view the pie charts of the votes on the various issues from this link:
http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Dr Chee Soon Juat should be voted into Parliament

40 people submitted their vote on Dr. Chee Soon Juat. 90% said that he should be voted into Parliament.
The public standing of CSJ had increased significantly in recent years. He is more popular than Tan Jee Say or Kenneth Jeyaretnam.

http://sg-pulse.com/Crowd/view_issue.aspx

Unreasonable requirement for a travel insurance claim

The policyholder bought a travel insurance policy. He was pick pocketed in St. Petersburg, Russia. His hotel helped him to lodge a police report. The report was written in the Russian language.

When he submitted the police report to support his travel insurance claim for the loss of his belongings, the insurance company required him to obtain a translation of the police report into English to be made by a "certified Russian translator".

He was not able to find this expert. He was also unhappy to bear the cost of translation (if he could find this expert). He felt the requirement was unreasonable.

I agree with him. He has fulfilled the requirement to obtain a police report. The insurance company, which was an international company, could have access to their own translators. If they needed an external expert to make the translation, they should bear the cost.

The standard of claim handling in Singapore is deplorable. I am helping the policyholder to find a Russian national to make the translation. If this is rejected, I will help the policyholder to file a complaint.

All political parties are now at par

Channel news Asia has the headlines: Highlights: Opposition rallies on Sep 6

This is not acceptable. Does this media know that Parliament has dissolved. There is no government now (only a caretaker government), and no opposition? All political parties are at par.

A government and an opposition will only be formed after the general election on Sep 11.

The headline of "Opposition Rallies" is not fair, and is not correct. This kind of unfair labeling has to stop.

Swiss standard of living - not about money

30 years ago, the first deputy prime minister promoted the vision of “The Swiss Standard of Living”. He was thinking about the material aspects – about money, about GDP.

We did not achieve this goal. Instead, we got a high cost of living, but not a good standard of living.

But, there is another aspect of the Swiss way of life that is not about money. They have a government that truly listens to the people, that truly respects the views of the people.

How?

Every three months, the government in Switzerland organizes a referendum to ask the people for their views on several social and economic issues.

They study the votes of the people on each issue and take them into account when they formulate their government policies and pass their laws.

Do you want a government that listen to the people, like in Switzerland?

What type of government do we have now? We have a government that is not in touch with the people, that makes its decision in the ivory tower, and then push these bad decisions on the people.

We have a government that brought in large number of foreign workers and immigrants, and did not realize even the impact on the people, until much harm had occurred.

Many citizens have lose their jobs to foreigners. The cost of housing and the cost of living have increased sharply. Our trains and buses are crowded and break down often. There are long queues in hospital.

Do we still want to continue with this style of government? Or do we want to see a change?