WOTC - Manual voting system

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is it better to keep to a manual voting system?

Here are the responses: (40 Votes)

50 % - We need a truly independent election commission in the first place.
23 % - The manual voting system has served us well.
20 % - It is possible to build safeguards to ensure the integrity of an online voting system. 
8 % - A manual voting system has many risk of fraud, as shown in other countries.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1058

Avoid costly mistake

Many customers suffered losses when they fail to keep track of the expiry of their telco contract.

Read the feedback in
http://tklcloud.com/Feedback/latest.aspx
Avoid this costly mistake.

Provide feedback in #HearMeOut website

Hi Mr Tan

Appreciate you can advise me to seek answer from government on the public hospital operation.

Should we send to moh, pmo or direct to hospital CEO?

We have questions for them to answer regarding my late mother case during her last day in hospital.

Any government agencies reply to you on your past feedback?

REPLY
You can write to the CEO of the hospital and copy to me.
I will put it in the #HearMeOut website.
So far, the govt agencies do not respond the the feedback in my website.
My aim is to let the general public should know about the feedback.

https://tklcloud.com/feedback

Tan Kin Lian

Make shared bikes a part of the integrated public transport system

Bike sharing operations are not viable in many cities around the world. Several operators have ceased their business due to large losses.

This will happen in Singapore as well.

The shared use of bikes is a good idea in an integrated transport service. Some commuters need shared bikes for the last mile, to reach their homes, especially in private housing estates.

However, the operations should be runned as a public service. A small charge can be levied but a large part of the operation has to be covered by public funds.

This mode is more important in Singapore because of our integrated fare structure for public transport. The integrated fare covers train and buses. It should now be extended to shared bikes.

As public property, the govt authority can pass regulations to ensure that the users take care of the bikes. The deliberate damage of the bikes should be treated as vandalism of public property. The bikes have to be parked at designated places, similarly to parking of vehicles.

Will the Land Transport Authority rise up to this challenge and take the necessary steps to integrated the shared bikes in the public transport system?

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Charge for criminal defamation

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is it proper for the editor of TOC to be charged for criminal defamation?

Here are the responses: (45 Votes)

42 % - He has already taken down the article as requested.
33 % - He is only publishing an article that alleges corruption at the highest level
16 % - This is malicious intent.
9 % - It is fair comment.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1057

WOTC - Malaysia restrict export of eggs

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Malaysia is restricting the export of eggs.

Here are the responses: (49 Votes)

39 % - It will increase prices in Singapore and affect the cost of living.
35 % - This dispute is unnecessary and harms both sides.
14 % - It will affect their producers in Malaysia more than the consumers in Singapore
12 % - It does not matter to us. We have other sources of supply.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1056

WOTC - Is Malaysia fair to Singapore?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Do you trust the Malaysia govt in dealing fairly with Singapore?

Here are the responses: (48 Votes)

35 % - They want to bully Singapore to distract their voters from their own problems.
31 % - They have their own priorities but the have a fair approach towards Singapore.
31 % - Singapore needs to be fair and helpful to them, to get their goodwill.
2 % - They want to see Singapore go down.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1055

WOTC - Electronic voting

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What are your views about electronic voting?

Here are the responses: (46 Votes)

52 % - I prefer the traditional old method of manual voting and counting.
35 % - I support it if there are safeguards to ensure that the results reflect the wishes of the voters.
7 % - I like the ability to vote online, instead of spending time at the voting center.
7 % - It will allow referendums to be carried out more easily.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1054

WOTC - Use force to remove intruding vessels

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should Singapore use force to remove the Malaysia vessel from "our waters"?

Here are the responses: (48 Votes)

63 % - No. The waters are still under dispute.
15 % - Block the supply boats.
13 % - Wait for them to run out of supplies.
10 % - Yes. Show we mean business.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1053

WOTC - Win more votes for PAP?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Will the standoff with Malaysia win more votes for PAP at next general election?

Here are the responses: (50 Votes)

32 % - No. The dispute could be avoided.
28 % - No. It will cause more hardship.
22 % - Yes. Out of fear.
18 % - Yes. More people will rally behind PAP

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1052

Integrity of the online voting system

A few countries that tried online voting gave up after a while.

They face the challenge of ensuring that the votes recorded in the database are the actual votes submitted by the voters.

There is the risk that the votes could be altered fraudulently by hackers or by the programmers who developed the software.

How can they assure the public that the voting results are valid, when the integrity of the votes cannot be proven?

I have a way of handling this uncertainly.

This is what I would do:

a) All votes will be recorded into two databases - a primary database that is controlled by the election authority and an audit database that is controlled by an independent third party, e.g. the supreme court or an independent auditor.

b) The tables containing the votes in both database are set to "insert mode" only. The "update" mode is disabled. This is the technology to prevent the alteration of the votes. I am not sure how strong is this technology, but it is useful to adopt it.

c) An audit program is run at regular intervals to compare the votes in the primary and the audit database. Any mismatch will be highlighted immediately to the election officials and the relevant independent officials.

If the votes in the primary or audit databases are somehow altered fraudulently, the mismatch will be thrown out by the audit program. It would be quite impossible for the hacker to be able to change the votes in both databases simultaneously.

There are technology to prevent the interception of the data in transit to the databases. This technology is able to prevent fraud for online banking transactions. It can also secure the voting results.

There is still the risk that the programmer of the voting software could acting fraudulently by taking the actual votes by the voter and altering them before updating the two databases.

This risk can be managed by checking the integrity of the software and not allowing any changes after it has been approved.

If necessary, an additional layer of check can be provided. The voter can receive a QR code that identify the ballot number. This QR code allows the voter to access the audit database and see the actual votes recorded for that online ballot.

The voter will remember the persons that he has voted for, and can point out if there were unauthorized changes. Each voter can only view the online ballot that he has submitted.

There is also the need to ensure the secrecy of the votes. Each voter is given a ballot paper that is identified by the ballot number. There is no way of identifying the actual person who has voted from the ballot number.

There is a secret table that link the ballot paper to the voter, but this is under strict control. This table is kept encrypted and secret. It can only be used to verify the authenticity of the ballot paper.
In the event of any mismatch, the vote will be invalidated. If the mismatch is small, the results from the remaining votes can be accepted. If it is extensive, the whole election process can be aborted.

The change of this happening is very slim. The main value of this process is to give confidence in the integrity of the online voting system.

I have developed a prototype of the online voting system that embrace these principles, i.e. the use of two databases and the audit program to highlight any mismatches.

This prototype can be viewed at https://tklcloud.com/democracy/home.aspx

Tan Kin Lian

Voter authentication for an online voting system

Some countries found it implement an online voting system due to voter authentication.

They do not know who is an authorized voter.

They do not have a proper register of voters. Some of the citizens have died, but their names still remain on the register. It was possible for another person to vote on behalf of the dead person.

They also face the problem of authenticating the person who turn up to vote. There is no identity card that is issued to identify the person.

In some cases, the person produces a driving licence as proof of identity, but some people do not have a driving licence of the licence could be forged.

They have other means of proving identity but these means are also subject to fraud.

This problem exists with a manual voting system. It is carried forward to an online system.

Ideally, an online voting system allows a person to login at a website, provide proof of his identity and submit his vote. This requires a proper register of voter, which has been updated to remove voters who have died or given up their citizenship, and to have the the user code and password to fully identify that person.

If the online authentication is not available to some voters, the voter can still turn up at the voting station and provide proof of identity. The voter can then submit the vote which is captured in the database.

The online voting will make it easy to count the votes electronically.

There is another concern about online voting, in that the voter may be influenced by another person when submitting the vote, as the voting is carried out in the home or elsewhere, other than a supervised voting center.

This concern also applies to postal voting. If postal voting is allowed, there should be no valid objection to online voting.

If this concern about voter influence is serious, the voting can be arranged at any supervised voting center, including overseas embassies. It should be possible to provide many centers for voting and the voter can vote at any center. There is no need for the voting to appear at a voting center that is designated for the voter.

Singapore has the advantage of a reliable register of voters which has been kept up to date. It has the further advantage of a means of online authentication using SingPass.

It should be possible for Singapore to introduce online voting, without facing the challenges that affect many other countries without a proper register of voters and the means of online authentication.

With our advantage, we should move forward to introduce online voting and provide a positive example to other countries of how such a system can work.

There is a need to make sure that the votes are recorded correctly and that they cannot be altered fraudulently. I will write about this issue in a separate post.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Cashless payments

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should cashless payments be promoted in Singapore?

Here are the responses: (49 Votes)

41 % - Cash is still the most efficient and widely used form of payment.
29 % - Cashless payments is more efficient and reduces cost for all parties.
20 % - I do not trust cashless payments as the govt can track my payments.
10 % - We need to keep up with the times and follow the lead by other countries.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1051

WOTC - Food poisoning

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What is the likely cause of food poisoning in Singapore

Here are the responses: (56 Votes)

75 % - Unclean way of preparing the food.
16 % - Contaminated supply of meat and vegetables.
9 % - Shortage of workers and cooks
0 % - Food eaten after the expiry time.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1050

Estimating the swing against PAP

This webpage shows the swing against the PAP caused by several factors.

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/swing.aspx

If we add up the swing for the top five factors, we will get 25.22%.

The simulation of GE2020 with a swing of 25.22% shows the following results.

Total seats won by each party
PAP - 30 seats
WP - 28 seats
NSP - 11 seats
SDP - 11 seats
SDA - 6 seats
SPP - 3 seats

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/show_sim.aspx?id=199

OK, this may be somewhat extreme. The PAP has dropped to 30 seats in parliament.

If we take only the top 3 factors, the swing is 15.47%.

The simulation with this swing shows the following results.

Total seats won by each party
PAP - 76 seats
WP - 13 seats

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/show_sim.aspx?id=200

The PAP still has a overwhelming control over parliament, which is bad for the people.

If you do not like the simulation, do not argue with me. You can make your own estimate and run your own simulation in this webpage:

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/sim.aspx

Enjoy.

Swing against PAP at next general election

Which factors will cause the biggest swing against the PAP at the next general election?

Here are the results of the votes submitted by participants.

The most important factors are:

a) High cost of living
b) High salaries of ministers,
c) No value for HDB flats after 99 years.

You can see the other factors in this webpage:

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/swing.aspx

I also invite you to vote on the likely impact of each issue, i.e. what is your assessment?

After you have submitted your vote, you will get a book prize - on choosing the right life insurance policy.

You can vote at

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/vote_swing.aspx

Getting old

The assistant at the noodle stall in Midview City canteen looked rather elderly.

Me: How old are you?
Him: Old already, I am 65.
Me: You are still young, I am already 70.

He and his boss, the stall owner, could not believe my age. This became the subject of conversation on my next two visits to the stall.

The assistant now feel inspired. He does not consider himself to be old anymore. When I saw him in the bus, he waved at me. When I walked by the stall, he waved at me.

Why vote non PAP

Some people, who are so fed up with the PAP, wants to see the PAP kicked out of office and a new govt take place from the other parties.

They do not even trust the Workers Party which they considered to be "too close" to the PAP.

I like these people to be more realistic.

There was an attempt to form a coalition of non PAP parties with Dr. Tan Cheng Bock appointed as the leader. Nothing materialized over the past many months.

Within the non PAP parties, there is considerable distrust among the leaders. They will be unable to form any credible coalition. This is sad, but it is a fact.

It is easy to find reasons to dislike any particular person or party. It is quite a common characteristics in Singapore.

The alternative approach is to look for what to like about a particular person or party. This is the only way that a coalition can be forged.

Anyway, I do not expect the coalition to materialize. We are likely to go into the next general election with a hodgepodge of non PAP parties contesting against the PAP. It will be like the earlier general elections.

At best, we can see three strong non-PAP parties going into the fray - the Workers Party, the Singapore Democratic Party and a third party, possibly led by Dr. Tan.

Many people will be disappointed at this arrangement, and they may feel that it is useless to vote non PAP.

I disagree with this sentiment.

It is important for voters to vote non PAP so that there will be a more diverse parliament. A parliament comprising mainly of PAP MPs will be a disaster. They have done a lot of harm already.

If the parliament is more diverse, there will be more opportunity for issues to be debated in parliament. It will be good for governance, and for the future of Singapore. It does not matter that the PAP will still form the government. But, they cannot continue the old way that they adopted for the past three decades.

Change will come if we have a more diverse parliament, even if PAP remain in charge. In the case that they do not get a majority, they can still form a coalition govt with another party.

Some voters worry that Singapore will be in trouble if the PAP is not the govt. They should consider the alternative. Singapore WILL be in trouble if the PAP continues to be the govt.

Even if the non PAP parties cannot form a coalition, it is still best for voters to vote non PAP.

Tan Kin Lian

CPF Life payout are not guaranteed

Dear Mr. Tan,

I have read articles in the newspaper and was quite convinced that I could get a "higher" monthly payout if I continue to ensure I have a big sum of money in my Retirement Account.

However, my CPF friends recently told me that the monthly CPF Life payouts are based on estimates/ projections, just like what you see in a Benefit Illustration for an Endowment insurance policy.

These monthly payout values as illustrated in your articles and on CPF website are not guaranteed. I found the following fine print when I use the CPF Life Payout Estimator tool on the CPF website:

Read my reply here:
https://fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=613

WOTC - Maids barred from restaurants in private clubs

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should a country club bar maids from eating in the restaurants? 

Here are the responses: (52 Votes)

37 % - This form of discrimination is unacceptable.
31 % - Leave it to the decision of the members of the club.
31 % - The maid should be allowed at the request of the member.
2 % - A law should be passed to deal with this matter.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1049

WOTC - Use of force to remove intruding vessels

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should Singapore use force to remove the vessels that intruded in our waters?

Here are the responses: (50 Votes)

54 % - Use force at the last resort.
24 % - Ignore them and respond when these vessels to cause trouble.
12 % - Keep shouting and the vessels will leave eventually
10 % - Use force if the vessels do not move out within a few days.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1048

Prototype of online voting system

Click on this link and get a feel of how an online voting system look like.

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/vote.aspx

It will simulate a voter who has logged in with the SingPass.

The voter is presented with several ballots - to vote for the MP, the town council rep and two referendum issues.

After you have submitted your vote, you can see the votes submitted by the other participants. (In real life, you have to wait for the polls to close before you see the results).

Click on this link to see the comparison of the votes between the audit database and the primary database. This is my method to ensure that the votes are not fraudulently altered by a hacker. Any mismatch of the votes will be highlighted.

https://tklcloud.com/Democracy/audit.aspx

WOTC - Encroaching on Singapore's territory

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Is Malaysia being aggressive in encroaching on the territory of Singapore?

Here are the responses: (55 Votes)

51 % - There is dispute over the boundary that should be resolved through discussion and, if necessary, through arbitration.
22 % - Both countries have been reclaiming land, leading to disputes over the boundary line.
18 % - Malaysia is being aggressive in putting markers on disputed territory.
9 % - The dispute is unnecessary, as there are no natural resources to be tapped and freedom of navigation is respected.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1047

WOTC - Should Singapore increase defense spending?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should Singapore increase defense spending?

Here are the responses: (58 Votes)

52 % - The current spending is excessive and can be reduced.
29 % - The current spending is adequate.
14 % - A high defense spending can lead to unintended warfare. 
5 % - This is necessary due to our territorial dispute with Malaysia.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1046

Should employers be required by law to provide retrenchment benefits?

Someone asked for my view whether retrenchment benefit should be made compulsory under law, as it the practiced in many other countries.

Here is my reply:

In some countries, employers contribute to a company pension fund. When the service of the employee is terminated, and the employee does not qualify for a pension or deferred pension, the employee loses the contribution for his period of service.

A retrenchment benefit would be fair to offset this loss to the employee.

In Singapore, the employer contribute to the Central Provident Fund, and the contribution vests immediately with the employee.

This is likely to be the reason why the government does not mandate the payment of retrenchment benefits.

The employment law however does provide for the retrenchment benefit to be negotiated individually or bargained collectively under the terms of employment. Most employers are not likely to provide retrenchment benefit as they consider that the cost of the employee is already quite high, considering the salary and the CPF contribution.

I know that many people are struggling due to the high cost of housing and the high cost of living in Singapore. This is a separate issue that I frequently write in the social media. I do not think that this problem can be solved by making retrenchment benefits mandatory under law.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - How to solve the dispute over air and water access

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What is a good way to solve the dispute over the air and water access?

Here are the responses: (52 Votes)

54 % - Discuss the issue over nasi lemak and teh tarik.
40 % - Bring the case to the International Court.
4 % - Stick to our principled approach.
2 % - Increase our defense spending.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1045

WOTC - Dispute over water and air access

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Why did we have a dispute with Malaysia over water and air access?

Here are the responses: (45 Votes)

40 % - Singapore refuses to pay a higher price for water, although the amount is small.
27 % - Malaysia is trying to trying to bring Singapore down.
18 % - Singapore refuses to help them to solve the new Malaysian govt to deal with their financial crisis.
16 % - Singapore must stick to our principled approach.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1044

An online voting system is better at preventing fraud

Many people distrust online voting system. They think that it can be manipulated.

This is the wrong thinking. Any system can be manipulated. There are ways to manage this risk and control the manipulation.

I explain in this post how the control can be exercised:

These people prefer a manual voting system because it is "safer". They do not realize that the manual system has more risks that are difficult to manage. The manual voting system has been abused in many countries for decades.

I explain the risks of the manual voting system in this post:

In fact, the people in power prefer a manual voting system, because they have the means to take advantage of its flaws.

Instead of being afraid of the hacking in an online voting system, the people who wants more transparency and a more robust democracy should be calling for a move to an online voting system.

Of course, it is important to ensure that the online system is secure and is safe from manipulation. The technology allows these goals to be achieved.

Tan Kin Lian

Can ASEAN be relevant?

PM Lee is the current chair of ASEAN. He will relinquish this seat by rotation at the end of 2018.

As the chair, he has the opportunity to make ASEAN more relevant. He could ask ASEAN to step in and find a solution to the territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia.

Some people will say that ASEAN is not useful in solving this kind of dispute. I feel that he should give ASEAN a chance.

ASEAN can never be relevant when its member countries, and its chair, undermine its role by not giving it the opportunity to do something useful.

How can other countries respect ASEAN when it cannot help to solve the dispute between two member countries?

He still have two more weeks to do something for ASEAN, right?
He should not miss this opportunity.

Tan Kin Lian

Introducing Flores, in Indonesia

I was in Bali two months ago. There were many touts selling tour packages at inflated prices. I declined them.

Later, I went to a booth selling the packages. The young man had curly hair and is quite dark - does not look like an ordinary Indonesian.

He was friendly, helpful and honest. I bought a tour package from him.

He came from Flores.

I searched Google Map for Flores. It pointed to a spot in the middle of East Nusa Tenggara.

Was Flores a town? I thought that it was a small island.

I learned later that Flores was the original name of East Nusa Tenggara. It is the entire island.

The people of Flores look like the people of New Guinea. Most of them are Christians.

Recently, a friend shared with me a chatty song. It attracted me because of the pretty girls and men dancing a line dance. Here is the video:

You can see the joy in their faces.

By the way, these dancers are stewardess and staff of Lion Air. They had a bad crash recently. I hope that they recover from the negative publicity. They seem to be contributing a lot to Indonesia as the second largest airline.

I learned later that the song is Gemu Fameri.

Here is another video that explain the song:

It is also called the Maumere song. I checked Google and found that Maumere is a town in Flores. The lyrics had some words that I recognized as Bahasa but many words that were strange. It must be a local language in Flores.

Tan Kin Lian

A manual voting system has many risks of fraud

Many people fear that electronic voting system could be abused by the people in charge. They prefer a manual voting system.

There are not aware that a manual voting system has more risks. Here are the risks:

a) It is easy for corrupt election officials to stuff the ballot boxes with fake votes in favor of certain parties.
b) The ballot boxes could be switched on the way to the counting centers.
c) The manual counting could be manipulated to show more votes for certain parties.

These abuses have been rampant in many countries.

The non incumbent parties rely on many volunteers to serve as agents at voting centers, counting centers and also to ensure the safe delivery of the ballot boxes. Still, they are not able to eliminate the fraud.

An electronic voting system also could be abused. But there are ways to ensure that the voting is secure and the the system is made safe from manipulation. It requires much less effort to ensure the integrity of the voting process.

If this is the case, why is the electronic voting system not adopted in many countries?

The answer is obvious to me. But many people miss it. What is the answer?

The incumbent party in power prefer to use the manual voting system. They have the means and resources to make better use of the defects to its advantage.

In countries where there is a more democratic practice, and where is a frequent change of government and where the election commission is truly independent, there is more chance for a better system to be adopted.

The electronic voting system has the advantage of being convenient, secure and safe from manipulation.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Commission rates on life insurance policies

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should MAS set control the commission rates paid on life insurance policies?

Here are the responses: (51 Votes)

29 % - Leave it to the market.
29 % - Set caps on the maximum commission that can be paid.
24 % - Require the insurance companies to disclose the commission rates.
18 % - Ban the payment of commissions and ask the adviser to collect a fee

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1043

WOTC - Food poisoning

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Why do we have many food poisoning cases recently?

Here are the responses: (58 Votes)

52 % - We employ food handles from third world countries that are not hygenic.
31 % - The operators are not managing the preparation carefully.
12 % - These are temporary lapses.
5 % - The food supplies are contaminated.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1042

WOTC - Pay a higher price for water from Malaysia

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Should Singapore agree earlier to pay a higher price for water from Malaysia?

Here are the responses: (58 Votes)

59 % - The annual sum is small and is worth spending to build goodwill.
31 % - We should insist on our contractual right under international law
7 % - Our sovereignty is at stake. 
3 % - Our position in international law is questionable.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1040

WOTC - Dispute over air and water space

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What is the cause of the dispute over air and water space?

Here are the responses: (57 Votes)

40 % - The inflexibility of the Singapore govt
35 % - Bullying by Malaysia
25 % - The price of water supplied by Malaysia
0 % - The origin of chendol

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1039

Make life easier fro the citizens

Earlier this year, I took a train from Woodlands to Johor Bahru. It arrived within 5 minutes, compared to a duration of more than 1 hour by bus.

I found out later that there was a train service every hour (actually slightly more) during the peak hours. This is called the KTM Trebau service. You can check Google for the details.

I calculated that it was possible to have four departures every hour, as it is possible to make the return journey every 15 minutes.

I wanted to suggest that the frequency of the train service be increased. I am sure that there will be a big demand for this service.

I read a news report that Malaysia had requested for more departures for this service, but the Singapore govt is "studying the matter". Already many months have passed.

Why does it take so many months for Singapore to study this request? Why are we making it difficult for KTM to increase the departures and put their infrastructure to better use?

It seems to be quite childish for both govts to be playing tit-for-tat and making life difficult for the citizens.

Tan Kin Lian

Be frugal but generous

Some people may get the wrong impression that I am a person who will give away financial benefit easily to the other party. If I were the leader of a country, would I give away everything?

The answer is "no".

The people who know me well will also know that I am a frugal person. Some might even describe me as "stingy". So, you can be sure that your money is safe with me, if you ever have to entrust it to me, because I would not spend it away easily.

Let me explain first why I like to waive the penalty of $350 million for the cancellation of the High Speed Rail. I have two reasons:

a) Both countries did spend money on the feasibility studies and preparatory work for the High Speed Rail. The money spend on each side is likely to be similar in amount. If Malaysia asked to cancel the project for financial reasons, they would have incurred their expenses also. Out of goodwill and friendly, I would waive the penalty.

I would also consider the money spent ($350 million or more) is not wasted. I believe that the High Speed Rail will be feasible at some time in the future. If it is re-introduced, the money spent on the preparatory work would be recovered. It is a matter of time.

b) On the price of water, I have held for a long time that Malaysia's request for 50 sens per 1,000 gallons is fair. Yes, it is an increase of 16 times from the current level of 3 sens. But we are talking about a passage of 65 years, from 1962 to 2017. Surely, inflation would have justified the increase?

The revised price of 50 sens plus the cost of treatment would probably be much lower than the cost of producing water from other sources, such as desalination and reverse osmosis. I do not know the actual figures, but I trust my gut feel and judgment. I will be happy to be enlightened with the facts.

Anyway, based on the volume of water that is drawn under the agreement, the revised price of 50 sens work out to $15 million A YEAR. This is a small sum of money compared to a national budget of $60 billion.

Be helpful
When we were poor, every dollar is important to us. I can understand this attitude.

However, when we are financially well off, we do not need to be so stingy. We can afford to be generous and helpful. The money that we forego can go to help the other party a great deal, especially when they are financially weak.

I am not talking about giving away a lot of money. It is money that we can afford to give away and get the goodwill and appreciation of the other party.

Be prudent
If you had followed my views closely, you would know that I am unhappy about the large sums of money that are being spent on infrastructure and weapons.

I believe that we could exercise cost control and reduce these expenditures. At heart, I am still a frugal and prudent person.

But when it comes to negotiating with a friendly neighbor, I would prefer to take a more generous approach, because we can afford to be more generous, and it would be more helpful to our neighbor.

Thank you for reading my post completely.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - Views about Singapore Democratic Party

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What are your views about the Singapore Democratic Party?

Here are the responses: (63 Votes)

30 % - They will get better support at the next general election.
30 % - They will continue to be tainted by the poor image of Dr. Chee Soon Juan.
24 % - They are well organized and have done their groundwork for many years.
16 % - Dr. Chee Soon Juan is an articulate and effective leader.

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1038s

WOTC - Views about Workers' Party

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

What are your views about the Workers' Party?

Here are the responses: (63 Votes)

37 % - They will continue to be well supported.
25 % - They are a credible and effective alternative party.
25 % - They will be considerably weakened after the judgment is passed on Aljunied town council.
13 % - They are too much aligned to the PAP

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1037

Resolve issues with trust and understanding

I am not small minded. I do not make decisions based on self interest.

Some people suggest that I support Malaysia because I have many properties there.

I do not have "many properties". I just have an apartment in Forest City which is not ready yet. That apartment is affected negatively by Dr. M's decision to restrict sale to foreigners, but I do not hold it against him. He has to do what is right for Malaysia.

But some people are guided by self interest. So, they think that other people think like them. They cannot understand that other people may think differently.

I do have an interest to promote friendly relations between Singapore and Malaysia. I have visited Malaysia and met people of different races there. They are friendly and helpful. Most of them are humble, polite and kind. They work hard to make a living and raise a family. They do not look down on other people - at least among those that I have met.

I do not treat the Malaysian govt as an enemy. I also do not treat the Malaysian people as an enemy.

They may be misunderstanding between countries. There may be differences of views. These differences can be resolved amicable with trust and understanding.

Tan Kin Lian

Electronic voting system

The Election Dept plans to introduce mechanical counting of the votes at the next general election.

I prefer that they go for a electronic voting system. The voters can vote online using the SingPass. Those living overseas can also vote online.

For voters who are not familiar with voting online, they can still visit any polling center and show their NRIC. They can submit their vote electronically.

Here are the important elements of the electronic voting system:

a) There is a register of voters. The SingPass or NRIC will identify the voter. This database ensures that a person can only vote once. It also checks that the correct person is submitting the vote. It prevents a fraud from impersonating a voter.

b) Each vote is registered into 2 databases. The Election Dept holds the primary database. The second database is held by the Supreme Court.

This stops a hacker from altering the votes in the primary database. The vote can be audited against the second. Any votes that do not match can be treated as spoiled.

There is technology to prevent the vote from being altered by a hacker.

c) To ensure secrecy of the vote, the identity of the voter will not appear in the voting slip. Instead, there will be a serial number. This serial number ensures that the vote is valid (i.e not a fake vote). There is another table to link the identify of the voter to the serial number, but this table cannot be accessed, except to verify the validity of the vote.

d) If a voter claims that a hacker had voted with his stolen identity, the voter can submit a new vote to replace the earlier vote, but this will be placed under strict control and verification.

At the close of polling, the results can be computed almost immediately.

Singapore has the opportunity to introduce a workable electronic voting system to the world. Due to our small population, it is easy to have this change implemented. The larger countries will have a bigger challenge, but they will be encouraged by a successful experiment on a smaller scale.

Tan Kin Lian

Why blockchain will not work as expected

I want to explain why I think that blockchain will not take off.

It was built on the concept of avoiding a trusted third party. This was necessary when one is creating a cryptocurrency. But it will not work well in other situations. In fact, it will be costly and troublesome to manage.

Why is there a need to avoid a trusted third party anyway?

When I use GMail, I have to trust Google. When I use Facebook, I have to trust Facebook (Mr. Zukerberg).

If I don't trust Google, I can go to Yahoo, Microsoft or other e-mail platforms.

My point is that it is better to select a trusted party.

There will be situations where a new platform has to be developed for a specific need and to cater to a defined group of users. For example, a logistic platform for a defined community of shippers and ship owners.

This community can form a cooperative (which they jointly own and control) to be the trusted party to manage the platform.

Apart from owning the trusted party, there is also the need to ensure that the trusted party manage the platform properly. This can be achieved by transparency and audit. All the users should have the means to satisfy themselves that the platform is operating properly. They can look at the audit reports to ensure that the control totals are matched every day.

There is also technology available that allows the transactions to be stored in a duplicate database, to be used to verify the transactions, in case of fraudulent alterations.

There are effective ways under the current technology to ensure transparency and audit. There is no need to go through the blockchain technology, which I consider to be cumbersome and costly.

In the year 1999, there was a lot of hype about the Y2K issue. Many governments around the world, including our own govt, fell for the hype and invested hundred of million dollars to prevent this Y2K issue. The consultants made a lot of money by providing their services for an imaginary and over-hyped problem.

I think blockchain could also be a similar situation.

Let me put in a caveat. There will be situations where the blockchain technology make sense, e.g. cyptocurrency. But these situations will be limited. It will not be extensive.

In case some blockchain enthusiasts think that I am talking nonsense, without understanding what blockchain is, I must declare that my knowledge is limited to watching this video. It is enough for me to form an opinion.

Click here.

Let us wait and see.

Tan Kin Lian

WOTC - How do you describe the PAP govt?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

How would you describe the PAP govt?

Here are the responses: (60 Votes)

68 % - No heart
17 % - No ears
8 % - Quite competent.
7 % - No brain

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1036

WOTC - Which minister do you like most? (3)

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd:

Which of the following ministers do you like most?

Here are the responses: (23 Votes)

74 % - Ng Chee Meng
9 % - Desmond Lee 
9 % - Josephine Teo
9 % - Indranee Rajah
0 % - Grace Fu

See the pie chart at: 
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=1035

Focus on win-win solution to resolve the maritime dispute

I thank Gerard Pereira for sharing the article diving the timeline of the dispute regarding the maritime boundary. It explains to me about the brown line (based on the 1979 claim by Malaysia) and why it jutted westward of the red line (agreed between the two countries in 1995).

I now understand the stand taken by the Singapore govt regarding the intrusion of the Malaysia vessels.

I observed that the red line stopped at a certain place before the brown line. I wondered why the 1995 agreement did not extend to include the brown line. If it had been agreed at that time, this dispute could have been avoided.

Was Malaysia acting unfairly in gazetting the boundary in 2018, without consulting Singapore? I withhold my comment.

Both sides have their good reasons for the stance that they have taken in this maritime dispute. It is better for the two govts to meet and resolve the dispute.

Each side has set out their separate pre-condition before the talks can start. I hope that this further "pre-condition" dispute can be resolved. It is not worth generating the bad relations over this side dispute.

When the talks begin, I hope that both sides focus on a win-win relationship, to replace the current lose-lose relations.

What is this win-win relationship?

Singapore likes to have the brown line recognized as the boundary, so that Tuas Port can have the room to develop. Singapore also likes to keep control of the air space, so that Seletar Airport can operate properly as planned.

What does Malaysia want? Let us ask them. Maybe, they want some financial benefit. Maybe the want better access to Pasir Gudang Port through the crooked bridge.

Should Singapore allow Pasir Gudang Port to be developed as a competitor to Tuas Port? I am clear that the answer should be "yes". It is not a good strategy to do well by hampering the effort of the other party. It is better to do well by being more efficient and productive. We can do it.

Maybe the win-win arrangement is to give each party what they really want. Nobody wants a bad and unhappy neighbor. Nobody wants to see both sides suffer.

I send best wishes to both govts in sorting out this issue.

Tan Kin Lian