Avoid investing with borrowed money

You can invest in a property without owning it. This is explained in this article. You can invest in a REIT (real estate investment trust).

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/investing-property-without-owning-one

However, many people found that they make a bigger gain by investing in a property.

Why is this the case?

When they buy a property, they are taking a loan, say 80% of the purchase price of the property. They only put in a down payment of 20%. This is called "leverage", i.e. investing with borrowed money.

Leverge is good, if the invested asset appreciate. If it goes up 10%, a leverage of 5 times give you a profit of 50%. This is what happened when the property market goes up and up.

But the property market can also go down. When it goes down 10%, your leverage of 5 times means that you lose 50%. Are you able to top up this 50%? If you can't, the bank will sell off your property at a depressed price. You will lose all of the money that you invested. The bank may sue you for the excess, and make you bankrupt.

Over the past decades, many investors have been burnt during the down cycles of the property market. They have lost all of their properties and gone bankrupt. You do not hear about these cases, because they are not publicised.

You only hear about the millions that many people make on their property investments, right?

If you invest in REIT, it is all right. You are not investing with leverage. If the price fall 20%, you still have 80% in your investment. You can wait for the price to recover. It always does. Maybe, you have to wait one, two or there years. Be patient.

Remember this. The property market is extremely high. The risk of a falling market is high. It can cause you to be bankrupt if you invest with borrowed money, including a loan on your property. Be careful.

Is President Trump performing well as President of USA?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Is President Trump performing well as President of USA?

47% of those who voted said that he is carrying out his promise to make America great.

32% said that he is creating chaos for America and the world.

21% said that he is acting in an irrational and whimsical manner.

A slight majority of 53% has a negative opinion of him.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=576

How well in Xi Jing Ping performing as President of China?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - How well in Xi Jing Ping performing as President of China?

59% said that he is raising the stature of China in the world.

24% said that he is creating prosperity and a better life for the people of China.

17% has a negative view of him for two reasons.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=577

Do you expect the trade war between US and China to get worse?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Do you expect the trade war between US and China to get worse?

60% said that this is just posturing; the two countries will find an amicable solution to the dispute.

30% said that the trade dispute will worsen as both sides do not want to back off.

10% said China will give concessions to reduce the trade imbalance.

A total of 70% are optimistic that the trade dispute will be solved.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=578

Free up the market for old HDB flats

Many seniors now find it difficult to sell their aging HDB flats (with remaining lease less than 60 years). They faced a dilemma - they have inadequate CPF savings and need to sell the flats to realise cash for their living expenses.

They are disappointed that the promise made by PAP leaders in past years that HDB flats are a good investment had turned out to be untrue.

Let me first address the issue on why it is difficult to sell the old HDB flats.

The property market is now weak. There are more sellers than buyers. Many units are vacant. Rentals have fallen. This applies to the whole property market, namely the private properties and the HDB flats.

The economy has been weak for the past few years. Business has been bad. There are less foreigners who need to rent a place to live in.

The seniors would probably be happy to rent out a room to tenants, but they probably have difficulty in finding tenants in this weak market.

Apart from the poor market conditions, the HDB owners face two obstacles. These obstacles applies to HDB flats and not private properties.

They can only sell their HDB flats to eligible buyers, who must be citizens and permanent residents. They can only sell after the "minimum occupation period".

These two obstacles may not be too serious.

There is another obstacle that cause the problem. The buyer of the old HDB flats find it difficult to get financing for the purchase. The banks are reluctant to finance the purchase of HDB flats with a remaining lease less than 60 years.

Many people (including me) are not aware that the government now allows CPF to be used for leases of at least 30 years, subject to conditions.

I am not able to find out exactly what the conditions are. I used the calculator provided in the CPF website some inputs. I obtained an answer "Not eligible".

I have two suggestions to overcome the problem faced by the seniors in selling their old HDB flats.

First, we need to change the current regulation on the use of CPF savings.

At present, CPF can be used quite freely for the purchase of a property with a remaining lease of at least 60 years. We need to change the 60 years to 30 years.

In other words, a person should be allowed to use his CPF savings to buy a property of 30 year lease as freely as he is now allowed to buy a property with at least 60 year of remaining lease.

There might be some concern that the property will have no value at the end of the lease of 30 years. This means that the CPF savings is used for consumption over 30 years.

This argument is flawed. The buyer of a 60 year lease has to pay a higher price. One part of this higher price is consumption; the other part is for "investment". The consumption element for a 30 year lease and a 60 year lease is the same.

If we can get rid of this mental confusion between consumption and investment, we can free up the market that is now affected by this artificial obstacle. We will open up the market for the aging HDB flats with a remaining lease of less than 60 years.

Some young families may opt to buy the old flats because they are cheaper or located closer to their parents. The seniors will be able to sell these flats to realize cash.

With a more active market, the prices of the old flats will reflect the market price, rather than a depressed price.

If CPF can be used freely for properties with a remaining lease of at least 30 years, the banks will be happy to provide the loan. After all, they have been lending for purchase of cars that have a lifespan of 10 years. They should be happy to lend for purchase of a property tht have a lifespan of 30 years.

I have a second suggestion; the HDB can buy back some of the old flats and rent out the flats to eligible occupiers. This will increase the supply of rental flats for young families.

Some newly married couples may opt to rent the flats for a few years while saving to pay the deposit for the flats that they will eventually buy.

If the HDB does not want to be involved in this renting operation, it can formed a subsidiary to perform this function.

My two suggestions are aimed at freely up the market for the old HDB flats, so that the seniors can realize their investment in the HDB flats and get a fair market value.

It will also provide more housing options for the newly formed families and make it possible for more people to start a famly earlier.

I am not saying that all young familes should buy the old HDB flats. Many may be happy with the current arrangement, and may opt to wait longer to buy a new flat. This option will continue to be available.

However, we should also provide the option for the young families to buy an old HDB flats at a lower price or even to rent these flats for a few years.

If you like this suggestion, please click on "Like" and "Share" it widely.

Tan Kin Lian

How to find a buyer for your aging HDB flats

I posted a comment from Jim Lion concerning the prospect that HDB flats will have no value at the end of the lease. This would destroy the savings of the HDB owner.

This post attracted 20,000 views in 24 hours. 100 people liked it and 30 people added their comment. Most of them expressed their dismay that they were misled by the PAP leaders.

One of the commenter asked for my views - what can be done to address this shocking state of affairs. I agreed to give my reply and I do it here.

First, allow me to share my personal story. In 1983, I bought a leasehold townhouse for $650,000. I could have spent 20% more and buy a freehold semi-detached house. The townhouse in the condo with facilities looked more suitable.

After a year, I started to worry about the 99 year lease. What would happen at the end of the lease? I asked my uncle for his view.

He said - at the end of 99 years, the government will take back your property. They will pay you $0 for the townhouse. You will be damned lucky that they do not ask you to demolish the townhouse, which would be very costly.

At that time, i had thought that a building would last for 200 years and will still be liveable after 99 years. I thought that it would be unfair for the government to take the building without paying any compensation to the owner.

Nevertheless, I accepted the fate that my big investment would be worth $0 at the end of the lease.

I lived in the townhouse for 12 years and rented it out for the next 20 years. The remaining lease is now less than 60 years. I could still sell it for $2.5 million on the market or twice of this sum, if the enbloc sale is successful.

What the PAP leaders, including Mr Lee KY said, was true. A property was a good investment. There is a caveat - provided you bought it earlier at a low price!

I emphatize with the dismay of seniors who now find it difficult to sell their aging HDB flats to realize cash and to downgrade to a smaller property.

it is mainly due to the cycle of the property market now. There are more sellers than buyers. Many foreigners have left Singapore due to the economic slowdown during the past two years. Business had been bad.

Many private properties are vacant. Rental rates have fallen sharply.

There is another reason. The current government policy made it difficult for aging HDB flats to be sold. There are restriction on who can buy the HDB flats and on the use of CPF savings to pay the mortgage for the flats. These restrictions have to be revised.

I will give views on a separate post.

To these seniors, I will give a few words of comfort. Be patient. There will be a solution. Your HDB flat is still a good investment, but it may not be as good as you had thought it to be. If you had bought it many years ago, you would still be able to sell it at a profit.

Wait for my next post, OK? But I need 100 likes before I write the next post, OK?

Tan Kin Lian

How to solve the magic cube puzzle

You can watch my grand daughers Vera and Nadya solve the magic cube (aka snake) puzzle. If they can do it, you can also, right?

Vera
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1918690464870263/


Nadya
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1918699284869381/

And this is how it is done. They learn from me.
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1918589181547058/

Views about Bogor, Indonesia

Here are a few videos taken from Bogor, Indonesia.

View of Gunong Salak
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1922659847806658/

Botanical Garden in Bogor (Kebun Raya)
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1922875271118449/

View from the restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1922898291116147/

Angkot in Bogor - better than taxi
https://www.facebook.com/kinlian/videos/1922864074452902/

Who pays the property tax?

Some people complain that they should not be required to pay property tax on leasehold properties. They argue that the land owner should pay the property tax, and not the leashold owners.

I do not accept this argument.

Under the law in Singapore and in most countries, the property tax is paid by the owner who tenanted their properties for short term leases, say three years or shorter.

When the lease is for a longer term, the lease agrement will specify who pays the property tax. Usually, it is the lease holder.

It does not really matter. If the owner pays the property tax, they will add it to the rental of the property. If the tenant pays the property tax, they will pay a lower rental.

So, it is more practical for the owner to pay the property tax for short term leases, as the tenant may change every few years.

However, for long leases, say 30 years to 99 years, it is more practical for the lease holders to pay the property tax.

Tan Kin Lian

Maintenance of MRT tracks

Why is it necessary for SMRT to close some stations for track maintenance during the weekends? Is this a regular feature in some other countries?

We are dealing with routine track maintenance. How long does it take to "maintain" the track? What is involved?

We are not talking about faults in trains. These faults can be attended in the maintenance depot. We are not talking about signal issues.

For track maintenance, I suspect that there are some parts of the tracks that need to be replaced. These parts are still working but does give problem to some trains some of the time.

The first step is to identify the sections of the tracks that give problems. This can be done by looking at the data that is collected when the trains pass through. I shall describe it as "smart maintenance", i.e. using data to locate faults. Is this being done?

If all the tracks that need to be "maintained" are identified, how long does it take to repair or replace these sections? I don't think it will take hours. It should be possible to carry out the work during the five hours in the early mornings, when the system is shut down.

For the maintenance work to be done effectively, we need property trained maintenance technicians who are given the right tools and are properly supervised by competent supervisors. Is this happening?

In some countries, the quality of the workforce is poor. The workers are slack. The supervisors are not competent and not on the site supervising the work. Are we facing the same syndromes in Singapore?

I repeat. I suspect that there is no need to close the tracks for regular maintenance. The work can be done using smart data analysis, competent technicians and supervisors.

This is another sign of the bad state of affairs in Singapore under the current government.

Tan Kin Lian

Tan Kin Lian

Use of CPF for lease of at least 30 years

CPF allows its savings to be used to pay a mortage of at least 30 years. But it is extremely complicated.

I tried it and got a negative response. I am not able to see the actual rules. I can only try with the calculator.

Yes, this type of convoluted arrangement is the hallmark of Lee HL. No wonder few people knew about this rule (including me). It was supposed to have been around for 5 year!

https://www.cpf.gov.sg/eSvc/Web/Schemes/PropertyWithLessThanSixtyYearsLease/Input

Why I cancelled 3 Grab bookings

Some people wondered why I cancelled three Grab bookings and had to pay a penalty of $5. Was I acting unreasonably? Was I acting unfairly to the Grab drivers?

This is what happened.

I asked for a Grab driver to take me from the Grassroots Club to my rented townhouse for an urgent appointment. The fare was $9. It was high, but acceptable to me.

I got a response. The driver would arrive in 9 minutes as he had to drop off the current passenger. I cancelled the booking immediately. Please note that the driver still had his current passenger.

I tried again and got a similar response. The driver would arrive in 9 minutes as he had to drop off the current passenger. I cancelled the call immediately.

I tried the third time. I got the same outcome. There was a mention of a penalty of $5, but I did not notice it. I cancelled the call immediately.

In all three cancellations, the driver was dropping off the current passenger. He was not on the way to pick me. I did not cause the driver any inconvenience.

Why was I not willing to wait for 9 minutes?

I had this bad experience on a few past occasions. On one occasion, the waiting time was supposed to be 5 minutes because the driver had to drop off the current passenger. It turned out to be 15 minutes. What happened? he said that he had to drive up and down a multi story car park.

For the other occasions, the waiting time was usually a few more minutes compared to what was reported.

Why should I pay a higher price and still have to wait for a long time? I went to the road side, hailed a taxi in 2 minutes and paid a lower fare.

Grab refused to refund the penalty of $5. I don't think they gave it to their driver. They did offer me a promotion code for $5 for my next ride. I rejected it.

The bubble in HDB flats

Jim Lion said:
I remember having debates with colleagues in the 1980s whether the HDB flats will worth zero when the 99 lease is up.
Most have unquestioned faith that the PAP government will take care of them in their old age n will never let this happen.
If you dig out videos on LKY, he did sell us at many different times that the prices of HDB flats will continue to rise forever.
This fed their faith n the cycle went on. It was only recently that the Minister bursted this bubble in Parliament.

Suddenly Sinkies woke up to the realities which they should have known all along:
1. The PAP government is deadset against welfare n has always been hard headed when money is concerned.
2. It should common knowledge on the law of how leases work.
3. Sinkies must be able to think for themselves n not be too reliant on the government to make financial decisions for them as SG has never been n will never be a welfare state.
4. Knowing that so many Sinkies rely on the government, the PAP should not have made those rosy promises about HDB flats.
5. The day of reckoning is approaching when the 99 year lease is up n the land will return to HDB n flat is worth zero. All their monies poured into the flat is gone, which is the worst investment in their lives.
6. Unless there is a drastic change, on the present course I see disaster n crisis ahead for millions of flat owners n their progeny as I have foreseen more than 30 years ago.

MY COMMENT:
I am afraid that the outcome will be even worse than painted by Jim.
I agree with him that HDB flats will have $0 at the end of the 99 year lease.
Here is a worse situation - the current prices are inflated, and higher than their true value. The owners have paid too much for an asset that will have no value in a definite time in the future.
This is what happens when people rush to invest in a financial bubble. It is rather sad that the HDB flats, the bedrock of Singapore's success, turns out to be a bubble.

Tan Kin Lian

Want to be a smart nation?

I finally managed to pay the stamp duty on the tenancy. It was a really big hassle.

I had to go through so much trouble to make the payment. I must have spent at least one hour to stamp the tenancy agreement.

Someone said that the IRAS website has this kind of issues for years or decades. They did not improve, in spite of many feedbacks over the years.

I wish to make this suggestion to IRAS.

They should provide an option to pay by credit card. Many people are paying by credit card, and they do not have any issue.

I have made hundreds of payments by credit card for online purchases. It is completed easily, with no hassle. Why should I be required to spend one hour to pay the stamp fee of $110 using NETS?

I am not the only person facing this issue. I asked my tenant to pay the fee online, as I was travelling. He tried and gave up.

Here is my message to our prime minister who wants his two ministers, VB and JP, to head the smart nation. Be smart. Just introduce credit card payment as an option to NETS for IRAS. It is a low lying fruit.

You do not need to spend tens or hundreds of millions on grand projects that take years to realize.

Tan Kin Lian

Allow CPF members to invest and earn a higher return

Mr. Tan
Will CPF's low interest still provide adequate retirement needs for the middle-class after the value of one's BTO plunges after 35 years?

REPLY
The low interest of 2.5% paid by CPF is inadequate to take core of the retirement needs of the members. The higher interest rate of 4% paid on the savings account is just barely adequate.

The benchmark for an adequate interest rate is a return of 2% higher than inflation.

If the inflation rate is expected to be 2% over the long term, we need a CPF return of 4% per annum. If the inflation rate experiened by the middle and lower class is actually higher than 2%, they need a higher interest rate on their CPF savings.

We know that the inflation of medical fees is much higher than 2%. For the elderly, the medical expenses form a significant part of their expenditure.

In the past, most people rely on the appreciation of their HDB flats to compensate for the low rate of interest paid by CPF. They were able to sell their flats at the appreciated value to get some cash to downgrade to a smaller flat and to spend on their retirement needs.

This method is no longer possible for most seniors. They are not able to find buyers for their aging flats, which now have a remaining lease of less than 60 years.

There is a big supply of these aging flats and a small demand. The supply and demand situation had reversed and now worked against the owners.

The method that worked in the past is not working now. Many of the seniors are strugglying with inadequate cash flow from the CPF savings and an overpriced HDB flat that they are not able to liquidate.

What is the solution?

For the immediate future, the government must change the regulation to allow CPF to be used to buy a property with a shorter lease.

The current regulation actually allows CPF to be used for a remaining lease of 30 years, but the rules are quite complex. It should be simplified.

Over the longer term, the government must allow members to opt for their CPF savings to be invested in equities to earn a higher return. Although equities may fluctuate in value from time to time, this does not concern people who are investing for the long term and can ride out the fluctuations.

CPF members can be educated to understand how to manage this risk through diversification and investing for the long term.

In Australia, many people are investing their superannuation funds to earn a yield of more than 10% a year. This is much better than the "safe" yield of 4% paid by CPF.

CPF members need a better return to earn enough for their retirement needs. The current CPF regulations should be changed. We need a new approach.

Tan Kin Lian

Get rid of the "stupid" GRC system

Mr. Tan
Do you agree with the decision of the judge in this matter?
http://www.straitstimes.com/…/high-court-dismisses-bid-for-…

REPLY
I empathise with the judge. He was given a very difficult matter to decide.
The root of the problem is the "stupid" GRC system. It is better to get rid of the GRC system and revert to single seats.
There are better ways to ensure minority representation. They can be appointed as non-constituency MPs, if the minorites are not adequately represented in Parliament.

It is difficult to pay stamp duty to the government

I wish to share episode #2 of the e-stamping of tenancy agreement.

I went to the IRAS website to do the e-stamping. I had to go through a lot of trouble. It asked for a lot of detailed information. I suspect that some of the information are not necessary.

The website was also buggy. On a few pages, I had to wait for several minutes to get a response. It is not the poor internet connection in my office, as I am using fibre optics. Furthermore, I do not have the problem surfing other websites. It is the buggy IRAS website.

Finally, I managed to complete the transaction and have to make payment.

It uses NETS. I have to read their detailed instruction on the type of browser to use, etc. Wow, do we really need all this kind of hassle?

I finally got through to DBS Bank. I provided by user id and password. Then the bank asked for my token. I did not have it.

As I was travelling for two days, I asked my tenant to make the payment. It is really his responsibility to pay for the e-stamping.

On my return from overseas, I asked my tenant if he had made the payment. He told me that he tried many times and could not get through. There was issue with the version of the browser that he used. He is IT savvy and much younger than me. He also faced this trouble. It is clearly the bad website that is designed.

Now, I have to pay payment using the DBS token in my home.

Why does it have to be so complicated to pay stamp duty to the government? Why can't the government allow payment by credit card?

Perhaps the government finds the credit card charges to be too high and want to avoid it? Why can't the government set reasonable limits on the credit card charges imposed by the banks?

I am convinced that Singapore is doomed under the government of Lee HL. Each new episode reinforces this pessimistic view.

Tan Kin Lian


Tan Kin Lian

A bad business practice

I had a disagreement with Grab over their penalty for cancelling my booking. I wanted to delete the app. I checked the app and found that I had a balance of $35 (or thereabouts) in the Grabpay account. There was no way for me to transfer the balance back to my credit card.

I wrote to ask Grab Support on how this is to be done.

I received a reply that I had to forfeit all my points and incentives when I delete my app. I was asked to confirm that I wish to close my account.

I do not care about their points and incentives. I find them difficult to understand and to use. I don't know how much they are worth. I don't want to waste my time over these small things.

I had to ask them about the money in my Grabpay account. They replied that it would be forfeited when I close my account. They sent to me the "terms and conditions".

I asked Grab if they are trying to "cheat" me of this balance? Was the staff trying to help Grab to earn some revenue by forfeiting my balance? This is money that I put into the account, and not the points and incentives that Grab gave to me.

I told them that they are not authorised to close my account. I will use the balance and close the account myself.

I find this business practice to be bad.

Tan Kin Lian

A more efficient form of local transport?

Bogor is referred to as the city with "satu juta angkot", i.e. one million public transport vehicles. Angkot is short for angkutan kota or "transport for town".

It is an exaggeration. There are many angkots, but not one million. The population of Bogor is just one million.

Many of the towns in Indonesia rely on the angkot. It can take 10 people. It is a vehicle that is bigger than a taxi but smaller than a bus.

I believe that the angkot ply a fixed route. It picks up passengers from designated places but can drop them off anywhere along the route.

It is a cheap and convenient form of transport. As there are many angkots, the waiting time is short.

It helps to reduce the cost of living for the residents of the town. It also creates jobs for many drivers. I think the angkot is an efficient form of local transport.

The "light bus" system used in Hong Kong operates in a manner similar to the angkot. Most visitors and locals find the light bus to be efficient.

The big buses and the taxis in Singapore are more expensive and not convenient or efficient.

Maybe, we should rethink our mode of transport?

Tan Kin Lian

Poor customer service

I booked Grab for my trip from airport to home last night. I had a cash balance in Grabpay that I have to use, before I delete the app.

I was able to get a Grab driver within 5 minutes. As it took me 5 minutes to clear customs and walk to the pickup point, the driver had arrived. The fare was $19.

Uber showed a fare of $18, so the difference was small.

I should be able to clear off my Grabpay balance within the next two trips, so I would be saying goodbye to Grab.

My recent experience showed that the customer service of Grab is quite bad. They followed SOP blindly and turn me off. If they had exercised initiative and common sense, they would not lose me as a customer.

I hope that Grab will wake up.

This is the "mentality" of many large organizations in Singapore. Their employees apply SOP blindly and cause a lot of harm in customer relations.

I hope that our large organizations realize this weakness and address it.

Allow CPF to be used to pay mortgages for short leases

Several people have expressed concern over the difficulty faced by seniors in selling their aging HDB flats to realize cash to down grade to a smaller flat and to use their cash for retirement.

Their aging HDB flats have a lease less than 50 years, compared to the original 99 years.

The problem is an outdated policy that needs to be revised.

Currently, the bank will not finance a mortgage on a lease less than 60 years old. The CPF will now allow the savings to be used to pay for the mortgage to purchase on old flat.

The first step is to allow CPF savings to be used to purchase flats with a lease longer than 20 years. In other words, the threshold should be reduced from 60 to 20 years.

Some people may argue against this change on the grounds that a short term lease is consumption and a long term lease is "investment".

The reality is that all property is partly investment and largely consumption. It is a matter of degree.

A short lease property is cheaper. Although a larger portion of the mortgage payment is consumption, the absolute amount used for consumption is probably the same as for a longer lease property, even though the consumption proportion may appear to be smaller.

If people can get financing to buy short leases at lower prices, there will be a market for the aging HDB flats. The seniors will be able to sell their flats into this market and realise cash for their living needs.

Some younger people may opt to buy a short lease as it is cheaper. By that time, they will also realize that a property is largely consumption. It is similar to renting the property but they are locking up the rental rates over the term of the lease.

If CPF changes its rules, the banks are likely to follow the cue and offer financing for short leases. After all, the banks are financing cars on short lease of up to 7 years. What is the difference between cars and property?

The key is therefore a change in CPF rules. Will our elites who run the government, including the highly paid ministers and civil servants, wake up and deal with this looming issue?

Tan Kin Lian

Income gap

I prepared this chart to give a talk about Singapore to a group from Europe.
It tells an interesting story.

Singapore and USA have a high per capita income. But they also have a high income gap.
Switzerland has a higher per capital income than Singapore and USA and have a smaller income gap.
Germany and Austria have a lower income gap than Switzerland but their per capita income is also lower. 

Does this chart suggests that the most efficient income gap should be that figure shown for Switzerland?

Although the per capita income of Germany and Austria are lower than Singapore, the majority of their people are better off than the people of Singapore. We need to take one third of the per capita income for Singapore for the comparison, because the gap is three times of these two countries.
Right?

Shuttle bus to Singapore General Hospital

I have visited Singapore General Hospital many times during the past years. I always walk to the Eye Center from the MRT station. I did not take the shuttle bus.

Why? I was not aware that there was a shuttle bus service. The sign was not prominent.

On a few occasions where I wanted to take a shuttle bus, I was not able to find the shuttle bus stop.

I wish that there was a more prominent sign in the MRT station to show the location of the shuttle bus stop. Maybe there should put it in the location map.

Security checks at condos

I visited a condo with a big backpack. The security guard was not interested to check the content of my backback (i.e. it could easily contain some explosives). He was busy recording the particulars of a car that is visiting the condo. He is not interested to check if the car contain explosives.

I wonder what the security check was for?

Recording visitors to office buildings

I visited UOB Plaza this morning. The security guard wanted me to pass them my NRIC for safekeeping. They also asked for my mobile number, but I decline to give it to them.

I wonder what is the purpose of recording visitors to an office building?

Somebody said earlier - in case there is a fire, they will know who are in the building. Really? How often does this occur? Once in a lifetime?

What about shopping malls or cinemas? Do they need to record customers, to know who are in these places, in case there is a fire?

Why is there a need to record visitors to office buildings, which are public places?

I guess that many decades ago, some minister decided that this was necessary and the practice continue since. What a waste of manpower. No wonder we had to employ security guards from other countries, to keep the cost low.

It is better to stop the unproductive and unnecessary activities.

If there is a security risk, I prefer the security guards to check backpacks and keep an eye for terrorists carrying explosives, rather than record the particulars of visitors.

What is your opinion of Law Minister Shanmugam

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - What is your opinion of Law Minister Shanmugam?

50% of those who voted said that he is a bully.
39% said that he is not honest.
11% said he is capable and focused.

A total of 89% has a negative view of him.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=573

Han HH's removal from the Select Committee hearing

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Do you agree with Han HH's removal from the Select Committee hearing.

36% of those who voted said that the was unfairly targeted by the panel.
24% said that she acted in a provocative manner
20% said that she was causing a disturbance.
20% said that she was minding her own business.

A total of 56% felt he removal was not justified. 44% thought otherwise.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=574

Lengthy grilling of the historian Thum Ping Tjin

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Do you agree with the lengthy grilling of the historian Thum Pin Ping Tjin?

48% of those who voted said the grilling was out of focus to the main issue.
37% said the law minister was a bully.
7% said the grlling was too long.
7% said that it was necessary to question his objectivity.

A total of 93% were against the lengthy grilling.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=575

HDB flat is no longer an investment for old age

This letter was publised in the Straits Times Forum a few days ago.

The notion that owning a Housing Board flat is an investment for old age is no longer valid today.

This is made worse by the announcement by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong that not all old HDB flats will be eligible for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) and that once flats reach 99 years, they will have zero value and owners will have to vacate (Don't assume all old HDB flats will become eligible for Sers, cautions Lawrence Wong, March 24, 2017; and Understanding what happens at the end of a 99-year lease, Dec 28, 2017).

Presently, many seniors who want to downgrade to Built-To-Order studio apartments for the elderly are in a fix as they are unable to sell their old flats.

They stand to lose their deposits on their new flat if they cannot sell their old flat.

Most of them were hoping to downgrade and live on the profits from selling their flats but have become disillusioned.

The Government needs to step in to manage this problem and not just leave things to market forces.

Ronnie Lim Ah Bee

Seniors are not able to sell their old HDB flats

Hi, Mr. Tan,

As seen from yahoo.com.sg news as reported that most of the elderly citizens/residents who staying in the old HDB apartments, which are having slightly more than half of the 99-year leasehold balance, thus now find themselves cannot really enjoy better value of the premises(assents) as retirement benefits.

Due to depreciation, and value declinding because of lease-property, thus it could be detrimental to the expection of most elderly citizens/residents as what had been earlier told in the different sceanario.

As most of the elderly citizens/residents have lesser or even no retirement fund under CPF, it would be an hardship to all of them, and would HDB offer them better amount in the "Lease Sales Back" Scheme.....???

Thanks for your comment.

MY COMMENT:
HDB flat owners should understand that their HDB asset is a leasehold and a depreciating asset.

It is not different from buying a COE that last for 10 years only (and people are buying $50,000 or more for the COE) or a car that have a limited life span and will have no value at the end of its life.

They should not look at the HDB flat as an investment that will always appreciate in value. Instead, it should be just an advanced payment for the use of the flat for the remainder of the lease.

The seniors face a double whammy. They have a HDB flat that has depreciated in value due to a shorter remaining lease and to age. They also faced the additional short of a lack of demand for their flat.

The government can help to ease their burden in the following ways:

a) Encourage banks to provide a loan for short leasehold and allow the CPF to be used to pay off these loans
b) Provide financing for these old flats through the HDB.

Will the government step forward and do its part to reduce the burden for the seniors? Or will they neglect their duty?


Tan Kin Lian

Have a curious mind, be willing to give it a try

I have shown my wooden puzzles to many people. I will share with you the most common reaction.

At least 9 out of 10 will reply - it is too difficult for me. I am not good at this kind of things.

They reflect a total lack of curiosity, an unwillingness to even give it a try. It showed a totally closed mind.

This is a characteristics quite common among Singaporeans. I think most Asians have this trait. I am not sure about westerners. Maybe, they are more open minded and curious?

I am quite different from most people. I have a curious mind. I want to try any new puzzle, even at my age!

I also learned that any new puzzle, any new challenge, can be learned. Especially, if there is someone around to teach us.

During the Genting Dream Cruise, I decided to join the Cha Cha Dance lesson. I knew Cha Cha before, but I lost it due to lack of practice. After 1 hour, I got back the basics. I will be watching a few Youtube videos to brush up.

Back to the wooden puzzles. If you want to open up your mind and curiosity, watch this video on the Magic Cube Wooden Puzzle. You can but the wooden puzzle in Jogjakarta or Bali.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tJFyBm0Ujs

Magic cube wooden puzzle

This is an interesting wooden puzzle. I call it the magic cube. I bought it in Jogjakarta, Central Java.
It is a challenging puzzle. I had to try it more than 100 times to get the solution. I created this video to show how to solve this puzzle.

Magic cube wooden puzzle. 
https://youtu.be/7tJFyBm0Ujs

Will North Korea give up its nuclear development?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Will North Korea give up its nuclear development?

35% said that North Korea is likely to give up its nuclear ambition in exchange for trade and aid.

35% said that the North Korea leaders cannot be trusted. They are just playing a game.

15% said that the leaders wanted North Korea to prosper.

15% said that there will be peace in the Korean peninsular.

A total of 65% are positive towards the development in North Korea.

You can view the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=572

Select committee hearing on online fake news

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - What is your view about the select committee hearing on online fake news?

56% of those who voted said that some panel members acted like bullies.

40% said that the panel members are adopting an adversorial approach towards feedback from the public.

A total of 96% provided a negative comment.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=570

What is your view about the small online news websites?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - What is your view about the small online news websites?

57% of those who voted said that they provide a useful alternative source of news.

38% said that the readers can distinguish between fair and distored news reporting.

A total of 95% felt that they are useful and are not harmful.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=571

Should teachers be required to pay a fee to park their cars in schools?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should teachers be required to pay a fee to park their cars in schools?

48% of those who voted said that they should continue to enjoy the privilege of free parking in the school.

22% said that they should pay a parking fee to be fair to the teachers who do not drive cars.

19% said that it should be left to the principla to decide.

11% said that this should be decided by the government.

A total of 67% disagree with the government decision to charge a parking fee. 33% agreed with this decision.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=568

Should the government pass a law to deal with deliberate fake news?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the government pass a law to deal with deliberate fake news?

56% said that it is an attempt to obstruct freedom of speech and expression.

24% said that this matter can be handled by existing laws.

12% said that the new law is likely to lead to confusion, uncertainty and possibility of abuse by the government.

A total of 92% are not in favor of this new law.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=569

Why does the attorney General charge Li Shengwu for criticising the judiciary

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Why does the attorney General charge Li Shengwu for criticising the judiciary.

67% said that he acted on the wish of the prime minister.
17% said that he was advised by his legal assistants
13% said that he consulted the prime minister.

A total of 80% believed that the prime minister was personally involved in this decision.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=567

Should the government approve the merger of Uber and Grab in Singapore?

I asked this question in The Wisom of the Crowd - Should the government approve the merger of Uber and Grab in Singapore?

42% said that the merger will create a monopoly and be bad for drivers and riders.

19% said that this decision should be left to the market.

19% said that the government should not interfere with a commercial decision.

19% said that the government should ban this merger.

A small majority (61%) is in favor of government action to stop the merger.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=564

Indiscriminate parking of shared bikes

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Croswd - Should there be a law to impose penalty on riders for indiscriminate parking of shared bikes?

43% said that it is proper for all aspects of the shared bike operation to be regulated.

36% said that this will lead to an orderly parking of the bicycles.

11% said that indiscriminate parking is similar to vandalism.

11% said that the government should not interfere with the operation.

A total of 89% are in favor of government action.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=565

Should the restriction on Thaipusam procession be removed?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the restriction on Thaipusam procession be removed?

52% said that the procession is an important part of the festival and should be allowed without restriction.

24% said there is no harm in removing the current restriction on the use of music during the procession.

14% said that it is all right for music to be used as it is only for a short while.

A total of 90% are in favor of removing the restriction on the use of music.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=566

How can the government reduce the cost of living for ordinary people?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - How can the government reduce the cost of living for ordinary people?

61% said that the government should abolish GST totally.

36% said they should remove GST on essential items.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=563

GST as applied in Singapore and other countries

Someone sent this article to me by e-mail. She did not quote the source. Most of the information are quite reliable.

Quote:

Spore cost of living is impacted by factors of COE/ ERP/ GST/ FW Levy plus the high rental of shopping Centres owned by our Govt. Buzz operating cost is high.....

The Singapore media only reported half of the truth when they compare GST with the VAT in the advanced countries.

The PAP’s propaganda – “Singapore’s 7% GST is the LOWEST in the world, look at Europe and the U.K., their VAT is 20%……Singapore’s 13% lower !!!”

Really? Do you even know the truth?

Yes, in the Western countries like U.K. the headline VAT (value-added-tax aka GST in Singapore) is 20%. But this is only for your luxury items – your LVs, APs and Rolexes.

VAT is exempt for basic essential foodstuff like your milk, eggs, sugar, flour, bread, rice, baby milk powder etc.

So suffice to say when you go grocery shopping in the UK, you don’t need to pay any VAT on your foodstuff!

Just check your last NTUC Fairprice grocery receipt; how much GST have you paid for your daily essential foodstuff?

Of course, if I decided to go for a nice brunch at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, I would need to pay the VAT for my poached eggs.

So whilst many have the perception that UK and Europe are high-taxation and expensive places to live in; people there do have a choice – to buy GST-free groceries or eat at a restaurant.

Do Singaporeans have the option of not paying GST for their foodstuff???

Singapore today have REGRESSED after 13 years under LHL’s vision and leadership or the lack thereof, if you have be observing carefully and doing meaningful global cross-borders comparison!

A lot of Singaporeans who have not lived overseas for a meaningful period as a local can never understand the real issues that Singapore is facing today.

Especially those with lesser critical thinking and constantly fed by half-truths unknowingly, of which the VAT is a very good example.

In Singapore the 7% GST is applied across everything.

In the western countries like Australia, UK etc. a LOT of things are GST/VAT-exempt.

These include, if you do not already know – all education, insurance, medical and social services.

So you do not need to pay any GST on the story books you buy from Popular or Kinokuniya.

No GST on all your educational courses, tuition classes or university fees.

No GST on medicines and when you are sick and have to visit the doctors or have an ops procedure.

When you buy insurance for yourself, your family or even your car, there’s no need to pay any GST too.

This goes for all medical and social welfare services from birth to burial – NO GST/VAT.

In Singapore, you have to pay a goods and services tax on even your own coffin and funeral service!

How did Donald Trump win the US Presidential Election?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - How did Donald Trump win the US Presidential Election?

35% of the people who voted said that the voters liked what he said at the rallies.

35% said that his opponent was hated by the voters.

19% said the data analytic company helped by campaign by hacking into Facebook.

12% said that the Russians helped him.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=560

How was China's response to the US trade tariff?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - How was China's response to the US trade tariff?

This was in the context of a retaliatory tariff of $3 billion on US exports.

63% of those who voted said this is the first part of the retaliation. More will come.

21% said it is in China's interest to reduce the scale of the dispute.

8% said it was swift and impactful.

8% said it was mild.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=561

Will Facebook suffer a major backlash for the hacking of its data?

I asked this question in the wisdom of the crowd - Will Facebook suffer a major backlash for the hacking of its data?

40% of those who voted said the long term impact will be minor. The users will return to Facebook.

40% said that users will accept that other websites face the same risk.


16% said that the users will realize that the breach does not affect them personally.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=562

Is it good to change the labour chief?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Is it good to change the labour chief to Ng Chee Meng?

48% of the people who voted said that the labor movement should be allowed to choose its leader from the grassroots.

35% said that Chan Chun Sing is doing a bad job as labor chief and should be replaced.

The remaining 17% are supportive of this change.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=557

Who will form the next government in Malaysia?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Who will form the next government in Malaysia?

41% of the people who voted said that Barisan National will win through gerrymandering.

33% said that Barisan National will win under PM Najib and UMNO.

13% said that Pakatan Harapan will win.

13% said that Pakatan Harapan will fail due to incompatible parties.

A total of 87% expect Barisan National to win the next general election.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=558

A better way to implement democracy

Is there a better way to implement democracy around the world?

In many countries, the existing government "cheated" by redrawing the electorial boundaries to ensure that they have a better chance of winning the next general election. It is called "gerrymandering".

In some cases, they give money or goodies to the poor people to buy their votes. The poor people are usually illiterate or politically naive.

In some cases, they stuff the ballot boxes with fake votes in their favor. Or they simply replace the actual ballot boxes with the fake ones containing fake voting slips in their favor.

Even in a country that is regarded as the "bastion of democracy", their system is influenced by large sums of money that is spent on advertising to influence the voters using untruths. The candidates with the most campaign funds usually win. Their elections are "bought" with money.

What is the purpose of this "democratic process" which can be abused in many countries to perpetuate a regime for several decades?

When is the purpose of allowing each person to have a vote when that person is not educated or mature to exercise the vote correctly?

Is there a better way to exercise democracy?

I want to make a statement that will surprise many people. A good example of effective democracy is ...... China.

Why do I say so?

In China, the leaders are elected through voting by members of the communist party. These members or cadres are educated on the principles that govern their party, which are also the same principles enshrined in their constitution. All countries have a constitution that lay down the principles for which their country should be governed. China is also following the same approach.

The main difference is that the principles enshrined in the constitution in China are different in some respects from the principles enshrined in the constitution of America. But it does not make the consitution of China worse than America. In fact, the development of China showed that their approach is more effective in uplifting the well being of their people.

I am not saying that the system in China will continue to be better over the long term. But we can see that it is better for the past few decades.

I will now deal with the argument that their leaders are voted only by the members or cadres of the communist party. In my view, this is a better system.

To earn the right to vote, the voter must be educated in the constitution of the country. This is a requirement for all members of the party. They have to be educated in these matters. Being educated, they can make better decisions.

The communist party has more than 100 million members. This is more than the voting population in most "free countries" where every citizen (including the uneducated ones) is allowed to vote.

The leaders of the communist party are elected through a democratic system that is exercised at different layers - the villages, counties, provinces and at the national level. The leaders elected at each level become the voters at the next higher level. This system is quite democratic.

I am not saying that the system in China is free of corruption. On the contrary, it has been riddled with corrupt practices in past years. This disease is now being addressed by the current leaders.

I hope that they will succeed, and that there is a clean process of electing the right leaders for the country and, after being elected, they will use their powers with honesty and integrity and make the right decisions for their countries.

Even the principles of the community party and the constitution of the country can be changed to allow the country to move forward. If you recall, there was a seismic change when the communist party decided to adopt "free market economics" in a socialist system. It turned out to be the best strategy for China.

There is a risk that the people elected under the communist system can become dictators. This has happened in past years under many communist countries. But there are also many dictators who are elected under the non-communist system aslo. Dictatorship is not a monopoly of the communist system.

I hope that people will realize that the system that is now adopted in China is more democratic and better than the systems of "free elections" adopted by most non-communist countries.

Tan Kin Lian

Where will Chan Chun Sing go after leaving NTUC?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Where will Chan Chun Sing go after leaving NTUC?

44% of the people who voted said he would be deputy prime minister and coordinating minister.

41% voted that he will head another ministry.

15% said he will leave the government or become an ambassador.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=556

Should the government reserve public sector jobs only for locals?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the government reserve public sector jobs only for locals?

75% of those who voted said it will provide better employment opportunity for locals.

13% said locals can provide better service in these jobs.

9% said it is better to have open competition for these jobs.

3% said it will help to raise wages.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=554

Should the government give a wage subsidy to private sector employers to employ locals?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the government give a wage subsidy to private sector employers to employ locals?

45% of those who voted said it is better to reduce the cost of doing business in Singapore.

34% said it will help to equalise the cost of employing locals and foreigners.

14% said it is better to allow the employer to choose the most suitable worker.

7% said it will be too costly for the country.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=555

Will PM Lee's efforts as chair of ASEAN benefit Singapore?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Will PM Lee's efforts as chair of ASEAN benefit Singapore?

50% of those who voted said that PM Lee should focus on the problems in Singapore.

35% said that Singapore has little to gain on this international effort.

The remaining 15% find the effort to be useful for Singapore.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=550

Can patients trust their doctors to be ethical and avoid over servicing?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Can patients trust their doctors to be ethical and avoid over servicing?

39% of those who voted said it is difficult for patients to know what is necessary and what is over servicing.

36% said that the Singapore Medical Council should set up a system to deal with complaints on over servicing.

21% said that the doctors are under commercial pressure to raise their revenues to meet the high rental and operating expenses.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=551

How will China respond to strong tariffs imposed by President Trump?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - How will China respond to strong tariffs imposed by President Trump?

36% of those who voted said China will sell more products to other countries.

32% said that China will sell its holdings of US Treasuries.

16% said that China will buy more product from USA.

8% said that China will complain to the World Trade Organisation.

The last 8% said that China will accept that they will export less to USA

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=552

What will happen to the US Dollar when China sells a large holding of US Treasuries?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - What will happen to the US Dollar when China sells a large holding of US Treasuries?

58% of those who voted said that the US Dollar will fall sharply.

25% said that the price of Treasuries will fall and interest rate will jump sharply.

13% said that it will have a small impact as other countries will buy the US Trasuries.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=553

CPF is our hard earned money

Dear Mr Tan

1) You probably will agree that many Singaporeans are asset rich and cash poor. I believe many of them are trapped in a situation when buy a resale flat or their BTO are ready but they do not have the cash available for renovation. Do you agree that the government should allow Singaporeans to use their CPF for house renovation? Afterall, renovation is considered a capital expenditure as opposed to an expense in accounting terms and will add value to the house.

Interestingly, the Optional Component Scheme (OCS) under BTO allows a home buyer to add such renovation cost of the optional components to the selling price of the flat. But the scope and options available under OCS is very limited and many home buyers ended up having to engage private contractors to renovate their house. I feel that since the government recognizes the importance of including renovation as part of the house price, then shouldn't the government also allow Singaporeans to tap into their hard earned CPF for their house renovation?

2) The other issue I would like to address is regarding refinancing of HDB flats. Suppose you buy a private property at 1 million and took a 800k loan (80% LTV). When your property value doubled its value over the years and you refinance your loan at 80% The new loan of 1.6 million will be used to settle the previous 800k loan and the remaining 800k will be released to you as your "capital gain proceeds".

However if you buy a HDB flat instead and your house value has doubled and you refinance your HDB flat, a different rule applies. Instead of cashing out your "capital gain proceeds", the proceeds are locked in the property and can never be cash out. In this case, many retirees are unable to unlock the capital gains in their HDB flats and use it for their retirement. Instead, they are either forced to sell their flat or sell part of the lease back to HDB under the Lease Buyback Scheme just to unlock some CPF when in actual fact they shouldn't have to.

Based on the above two issues, it appears that Singaporeans has been working hard and keep part of their retirement nestegg in their CPF but the government seems to have biased regulations that deter Singaporeans access to their own CPF for their proper use. Is this not improper hoarding of our CPF by the government?

With your vast financial knowledge background, I would like to hear your personal views on these issues.

Dear X
Let me think about how to answer your question.
The correct person to answer is the minister for national development, lawrence wong.
He earns a million dollar salary.
Still I will try to answer it without getting any salary.

ONE HOUR LATER:

Dear X
I am now able to give my reply to your two questions:

1) I agree that the the CPF member should be allowed to take out some of the CPF savings for renovation. Perhaps it should be 10% of the purchase price.
Why?
The property could have been "renovated" by the developer and the cost would have been included in the sale price. If the developer sell a partly "renovated" property, the buyer should be allowed to get financing for the renovation.

2) I do not like the concept of "refinancing a loan" based on the appreciated value of the property. My objection applies both to the private property and to HDB. The refinancing locks in the appreciation, but that appreciation could be temporary or not sustainable. I like to see government regulation to stop this kind of refinancing of all property.

Make decisions based on facts, not on labels

Someone remarked that TKL prefers socialism, but he prefers capitalism.

We should not make decisions based on labels. Instead, we should look at the issues based on facts.

I prefer an approach that produces a better outcome. In some cases, a socialist approach achieves a better outcome; in other cases, a capitalist approach is better.

What is the socialist approach? Basically, this approach involves state ownership of the means of production.

Let us look at what happened in the UK. When Margaret Tatcher was the prime minister, she privatised many industries previously run by the state - for example, the railway, water and electricity.

Did the private ownership produce better results? Did they reduce the cost to consumers and achieve better quality?

Apparently they did not. The private owners cut down on the maintenance and quality. They wanted to increase their profts. Consumers paid more and get a poorer quality of service. I am not sure if I have described the situation correctly.

I read that the Labor Party had promised to re-nationalised the railway, water and energy when they become the next government. Apparently, this is well supported by the public.

I was recently in New South Wales, Australia. I took the train from the airport to Sydney, a distance of 10 km and paid a fare of $18. It was operated by a private company. I took a train from Sydney to Gosford, Central Coast. The distance was 78 km and the fare was $13. It was operated by the state.

The state government realised that it was a mistake to allow the private operator to build and operate the airport link. They wanted to buy back the line, but the private owner wanted to extract a high price.

In Singapore, we saw what happened with our SMRT. When it was under private ownership, it cut down on the maintenance of the lines to reduce cost. This caused the frequent breakdown of the MRT service. The government had to de-privatise the SMRT.

There are many situtations where private ownership leads to bad outcomes. They are caused by the profit motive. In these cases, state ownership produces a better outcome.

But there will be other situations where private ownership produces a better outcome.

We have to keep an open mind. We have to make decisions based on facts, rather than on labels.

Tan Kin Lian

Singapore is doomed

Singapore is doomed when we have people like Lee HL and his ministers running the government and citizens who are scared to voice their views. See this exchange.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Tan
I read your article to the Straits Times on 12 March 2018 re "Keep SingPass option for business users of e-government services".
I did not see a reply from the government to your published article. If you have received a reply, I would appreciate if you could forward it to me.
I agree with your article. I am also facing the same problem like you. It is better that we stick to using SingPass for both personal and business matter.

-----------------------------

My reply:
I did not receive any reply to my letter on SingPass. I suggest that you write a follow up letter to the St Times.

-----------------------------

Dear Mr. Tan
You are an influential person, well known to many people and respected, and your voice carries weight.
I strongly feel that you should write a follow-up letter to the S Times since you have not received a reply to the article you wrote. Many people feel the same what you feel.
I do not want to be involved with the government nor STimes people, please please please don't even quote or involve me on this, appreciate and many thanks for your cooperation as this CORPASS topic we share is between you and me only. Thanks also for your kind understanding.

Why we have to abolish GST totally

I gave a speech at Hong Lim Park on 3 March. 2018. My key point was that GST should be abolished to reduce the cost of living by up to 10%.

Some people commented that there is no need to abolish GST totally. We only need to abolish GST on the essential items, like food and medicine.

Many countries, such as UK and Malaysia, exclude GST on essential items. I agree that it is possible to take a step to abolish GST on essential items.

However, I still hold the view that GST should be abolished totally. Here are my reasons:

a) We can afford to abolish GST totally. It reduces the government revenue by $11 billion a year. But the real surplus is $20 to $30 billion a year, including government land sale. If GST is abolished totally, we will still have a budget surplus.

b) If we abolish GST only for essential items, we still have to identify what are essential and what are not essential items. The cost of administering GST will continue to be high. We will not achieve any significant reduction in the cost of living.

We need to be bold. We have to abolish GST totally to achieve a significant reduction in the cost of living.

The problem with our high cost of living and the high cost of doing business, and the insecurity of jobs for locals, are really serious. We cannot afford to take half measures.

Watch my video in full to understand the key points that I put forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vCRavQFYHw&t=1616s

Attractive prizes when you vote

You can win these attractive prizes when you vote on the issues in the Wisdom of the Crowd. It is easy, right?

http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/page/115

Does the Marina Barrage help to reduce flooding in Singapore?

I posted this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Does the Marina Barrage help to reduce flooding in Singapore?

65% of the votes indicate that Marina Barrage is responsible for the serious flooding in recent years.

26% said that the low lying areas have been flooded even before Marina Barrage was built.

9% said that Marina Barrage helped to reduce flooding.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=546

Is the Singapore economy in good shape?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Is the Singapore economy in good shape?

52% of the votes indicate that the economy is already in serious trouble.

44% said that the economy will be impacted by the slowdown in global trade.

4% said that the economy is doing well.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=547

Should the deductible under basic Medishield be removed?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the deductible under basic Medishield be removed?

48% voted for it to be offered as an option under Medishield Life.

29% voted that the rider should be offered by a private insurance company.

23% said that the rider should be banned.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=548

Be respectful when giving an alternative view

It is all right for a person to disagree with another person's view, but he or she should do it respectively.

He should not give the impression that the other person's view is wrong and his view is right. This arrogance can be detected in the manner in which the comment is expressed.

A worse form of arrogance is to state that the other person's view is wrong, without stating the alternative view.

I have seen many instances of rude comments. It reflects poorly on the maturity of the person who gives the comments.

Equalisation wage between locals and foreigners.

In my video, Jobs for Singaporeans, I introduced the concept of equalisation wage between locals and foreigners. This should apply to all levels, including PMET jobs. If employers have to meet the same cost, they are more likely to employ locals, instead of foreigners.

This equalisation is achieved by introducing a levy for jobs taken by foreigners and giving a subsidy for jobs taken by locals. It will address the gap between the wage that a foreigner is willing to accept (because they feed their family in a low cost country) and the wage that a local is willing to accept (because they feed their family in Singapore).

If this gap between the wages is $1,000, the equalisation can be achieved by introducing a levy of $500 for each foreign worker and a wage subsidy of $500 for each local.

This equalisation should be made only for the jobs where it is difficult to find locals, such as cleaners, security guards, bus drivers and construction workers.

For jobs where the wages are sufficient to attract locals, there is no need to give work pass for foreigners.

Here is my video;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8_CLCYH85I&t=48s

Brainwash through slogans

Many Singaporeans believe that capitalism is good and socialism is bad.

This belief, which is the outcome of ignorance and brainwashing over the decades, reminds me of the sheep in the novel titled "Animal Farm".

In that novel, the sheep represented the ordinary people. At the beginning, they were told by their animal leaders that the anmials (with four legs) were better than humans (with two legs). They were taught to repeat the slogan "four legs good, two legs bad". They were brainwashed and believed in the slogan.

Many years later, the leaders started to follow the ways of the humans. They changed their teaching and told the sheep to chant the new slogan "four legs good, two legs better".

Being ignorant, the sheep believed and followed the teachings of their leaders.

Now, I ask you. What are the color of the sheep. Most of them are white, right? Have you ever seen a blue sheep?

Back to capitalism and socialism. Many Singaporeans are ignorant about the real difference between capitalism and socialism. They only believe that the propaganda that capitalism is good, that it creates wealth and that socialism is bad, that it destroys wealth.

They follow the brainwashing of the American media. The Americans also also brainwashed. They believe that capitalism is good and that low tax regime is good.

But they also want to have their socal security, unemployment benefit and Medicare. They do not realize that these social programs are produced by socialist policies enacted a few decades ago.

We can continue to be ignorant and follow the slogans taught by the leaders. Alternatively, we can start thinking for ourselves.

Giving lower than projected return

Kum Weng Lai said:
(The policholders) can calculate their own return and arrive at the 4% conclusion. The real question is what recourse do policyholders have went they are told that this is the amount they will get after 21 years and the amount ends up being substantially less?

The insurance company has wildly exaggerated its claims, or it could have less competent fund managers, but the end result is they did not deliver on their projections and ended up giving a lower benefit for the client. Since the client depended on this money promised by the insurer, they are now facing a substantial shortfall. U do not address this issue at all.

Is there a complaint process through MAS? Is there a legal recourse through a lawsuit? I am sure this policyholder is not the only one that suffered. MAS takes a dim view of financial companies who promise one return and give deliver another. That's called fraud.

I am sure that all policies have a boiler plate caveat that returns are not guaranteed. But in this case, its not even close.

Seems to be a case of gross misrepresentation. If the client can find other insurers that manage to give a return of 6% or more during this 21 year time period, then it makes a much stronger case for them against their insurer.

At the very least, an ethical and moral insurance company should have informed all its clients years ago that their endowment policy will not be able to meet their initial stated target, so that they can make alternate plans to make up the difference.

REPLY
The complaint process is through Fidrec. Many policyholders have probably made their complaints to Fidrec, but they received the same reply - the insurance company did state that their projections are not guaranteed.

The insurance company did tell the policyholder each year about the bonus that were declared. The policyholder could have known that the actual bonus were lower than projection. But they did not realize it.

Even if the policyholder realized that the bonuses have been cut, they would be unable to cut their losses. The surrender values are very low. In most cases, it is better for them to stick to the policies to the maturity date.

Consumers can learn about a better way to invest their savings. I asked them to enrol for my talk, but they do not have the time. Who should be blamed?

Here is my next talk.
http://www.fisca.sg/event_det.aspx?id=18

Do not insult snakes

It is not proper to call a minister a snake.

This is not only rude to the minister; it is an insult to all snakes.

The snakes had nothing to do with our quarrel. Why should they be brought into this argument? This kind of animal profiling is unacceptable in the modern day world.

We claim in Singapore to be a society that is equal, regardless of race, language or religion. Surely we can extend this concept of harmony to other members of the animal world?

If we really dislike the minister, can we just call him a person? Surely, there are people who are quite despicable, especially if they wear a certain color. Right?

Watch a country go down the drain

Mr. Tan,

Most people cannot imagine how a country, that used to be great, can go down the drain.

There is no need to use their imagination. They only need to open their eyes. It is happening right in front of us.

Like
Increase GST
Pass law on fake news.

The unimaginable is possible.

My reply:
Right!

Cruise ship - Genting Dream

I am taking a cruise on Genting Dream. I just watched a video about this cruise ship.

The ship was built in Germany. (Here, what happened to our shipyards in Singapore?)

The service staff was recruited from Shanghai. What happened to our unemployed graduates?

Here is the wiki report:

And the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=526b_qUx4Jg

Lee HL can collect his million dollar salary. But he is not doing his job to make Singapore competitive and get generate more employment for our people.

What is the title of GCMG?

I saw that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had the title GCMG.

Twenty years ago, I was met an Englishman with a similar title. He explained the significance of the title to me.

This title is given to people who have served a long time and with distinction in the public service, i.e.  civil servants and political leaders.

The rationale was that public service paid a low salary compared to the private sector and those in the public service need to be separately recognized for their sacrifice to serve the people.

Of course, it does not apply to Singapore today as our public servants are political leaders are paid quite handsome salaries compared to the private sector. However, Singapore is probably an exception.

Back to the title GCMG. It is the highest among the three titles in the same series - CMG, KCMG and GCMG.

When you have served the country loyally and with distinction in the public service for many years, the Queen award you the title of CMG - Companion of St Michael and St George. I have checked and confirm that carries the title of "Sir".

After many more years of distinguished service, you may be awarded KCMG - Knight Commander of St Michael and St George.

After many more years, you get the title of GCMC - which is Grand Cross of St Michael and St George. This is the top honor in that series.

The Englishman told me that it is general public had created a new description for these titles.

If you are awarded CMG - you tell your friend that they can "Call Me God".

If you get KCMG - you can tell your fiends - the King (or Queen) calls me God.

If you get GMCG - guess who has to call you God?

I hope that Mr. LKY is now in heaven with God and he can tell God that he has the title GCMG.

I hope you enjoy the joke. Only broad minded people enjoy jokes. Others may find it offensive.

Tan Kin Lian

Venture out of comfort zone

I have two rabbits. They are kept in two separate cages and are sheltered from the rain. They receive their food three times a day.

I let them out once in a while to roam freely in the garden. If both are out together, they are likely to fight.

Do these rabbits prefer the comfort of the cages or to roam freely in the garden?

I reflect on this choice and think about the ordinary Singaporeans. If they have a job, they can live comfortably in their HDB flats and work hard every day. They don't want to venture out of their comfort zone and into the unknown.

When they lose their jobs and have no money to feed their family, they go out to fight each other for the limited jobs as Uber or Grab drivers.

But this opportunity will soon be bleak. There is an over supply of taxis and private hire cars. The high demand, which is generated by promotions has already started to reverse. Times will get very tough for them, unless they have a new government.

Back to my rabbits. When I open the door of their cage, they hesitate to come out. After a while, they leave their cage and enjoy the freedom, but still in the garden. They don't want to come back, even for food.

Is there a lesson for Singaporeans? Is it worth venturing out for some freedom? Can we move out of the comfort zone? Are they more tame than the rabbits?

Capitalism and socialism

Many Singaporeans believe that capitalism is good and socialism is bad.

This belief, which is the outcome of ignorance and brainwashing over the decades, reminds me of the sheep in the novel titled "Animal Farm".

In that novel, the sheep represented the ordinary people. At the beginning, they were told by their animal leaders that the anmials (with four legs) were better than humans (with two legs). They were taught to repeat the slogan "four legs good, two legs bad". They were brainwashed and believed in the slogan.

Many years later, the leaders started to follow the ways of the humans. They changed their teaching and told the sheep to chant the new slogan "four legs good, two legs better".

Being ignorant, the sheep believed and followed the teachings of their leaders.

Now, I ask you. What are the color of the sheep. Most of them are white, right? Have you ever seen a blue sheep?

Back to capalism and socialism. Many Singaporeans are ignorant about the real difference between capitalism and socialism. They only believe that the propaganda that capitalism is good, that it creates wealth and that socialism is bad, that it destroys wealth.

They follow the brainwashing of the American media. The Americans also also brainwashed. They believe that capitalism is good and that low tax regime is good.

But they also want to have their socal security, unemployment benefit and Medicare. They do not realize that these social programs are produced by socialist policies enacted a few decades ago.

We can continue to be ignorant and follow the slogans taught by the leaders. Alternatively, we can start thinking for ourselves.

Should the Deductible be removed from the Medishield and integrated plans?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the Deductible be removed from the Medishield and integrated plans?

55% said that this should be made optional.
36% said that the increase in premium is lower than the cost of the rider (taken with a private insurer) to cover the co-payment.
10% like to keep the status quo;

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=544

Is the government spending the tax revenue prudently and wisely?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Is the government spending the tax revenue prudently and wisely?

56% said that they are not spending enough to help the people cope with the high cost of living.

40% said that they spend too much on defense.

None said that they spend too much on infrastructure.

See the breakdown of the votes at
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=545