Population of Istanbul

I asked the guide who met me at the airport - what is the population of Istanbul? She said 20 to 25 million! This was a surprise to me, because I thought that it was 2 million. I asked the hotel bell-boy and he said 17 million. It could be more.

I checked Wikipedia and found that it was 13.4 million. Link. I think that the bell-boy is right as most cities usually have more people that officially reported. So, it is 2 1/2 times the population of Singapore! And the downtown looks charming as most buildings are not very high.

Istanbul has water on most sides. It lies between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, which joins the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The Bhosphorus Straits cuts through Istanbul, separating the European side from the Asian side.

Here is a charming picture of Istanbul.

Disappointing Turkish Airlines

My travel agent booked me on Turkish Airlines to Istanbul because Singapore Airlines did not have flights on my days of travel.

On boarding the plane, I saw the chef dressed in white. It reminded me about the advertisement on television about how good the cuisine was. The food that actually came was disappointing, i.e. not better than most other airlines. Maybe the advertised cuisine was for the first class passengers - and I was travelling on economy!

At the airport, most passengers, including business class, had to wait nearly one hour for the bags to arrive on the carousal. One business class passenger asked for the station manager and complained - "I paid more for business class as I wanted my bag to arrive in 5 minutes. I have waited for 40 minutes already". Sorry, he had to wait another 20 minutes for his bags.

He was quite angry that the crew and the passengers on group travel had their bags much earlier. So, it seemed that Turkish Airlines is still sorting out on their service processes!

No need for immigtation cards at Istanbul Airport

I am now in Istanbul. This is my first visit to Turkey.

At the airport, I did not have to fill in any immigration, custom or tourist card. It was easy to clear through the passport control.

This is the fourth time that I had this pleasant experience of "no cards". My first was in Dubai, followed by Europe, Malaysia and now Turkey.

I hope that Singapore will catch up and do away with the unnecessary cards. Can someone pass this message to ICA or the Tourism Board?

Hope for a new beginning

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said

he respected the choice of the Hougang voters

and asked all Singaporeans to work together as one people

to achieve what is best for Singapore.

I urge Mr Lee to take the first step

and get the People's Association to appoint the elected MP

as the adviser to the grassroots organisations.

This would be a clear demonstration of the sincerity of his statement

and would signal to the people of Singapore that there is truly a new beginning.

Tan Kin Lian

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_804579.html

Praise for Mr. Desmond Choo

27 May 2012

Editor, Forum Page
Straits Times

While many people would have congratulated Mr. Png Eng Huat for his
convincing and resounding victory in the Hougang by-election, I wish to congratulate
the defeated candidate, Mr. Desmond Choo, for his admirable character and
performance during the campaign.

He had:

1. Made a commendable effort and "worn his socks out" in reaching out to the voters, young and old
2. Refrained from engaging in any personal attack on his opponent
3. Pledged to continue to serve Hougang residents,even if defeated
4. Agreed to cooperate with the elected Member of Parliament for the good of Hougang residents.

Prime Minister Lee said that he respected the choice of the
voters of Hougang and asked all Singaporeans to work together as one
people to achieve what is best for Singapore.

I urge the PM Lee to take the first step and get the People's Association to
appoint the elected MP as the adviser to the grassroots organizations. This would a
clear demonstration of the sincerity of his statement and would signal to the
people of Singapore that there is truly a new beginning to bring unity and reconciliation
to a people long divided by negative politics.

Tan Kin Lian

Published in St Times Online
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_804579.html

Student should not buy life insurance too early

I have often advised students to avoid buying a life insurance policy, until after they get married. This is to avoid tying up their savings to get a poor return. The policy take away too much of their accumulated premium. Here is a typical example showing that too much is taken away.
http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=655

Moving towards a democratic society

Contribution from Richard Koh

At the WP's post by-election press conference, the WP Chief surprisingly assailed the mainstream media for being bias during the by-election to help the ruling party to smear the character of the WP's candidate, Mr Png Eng Huat.  The Chief Editor of ZB (Lianhe Zaobao), on 28 May 2012, denied and accused the WP Chief for being irresponsible to make the mainstream media as a target for shooting.  The WP Chief has responded to the accusation today.  

On 23 May 2012, whilst the ST clearly gave the headline that "WP faces allegations of dishonesty" at the crucial time in relation to the Png's NMP event,  Mr Teo Chee Hian, DPM, however clarified that he was questioning only, instead of allegation.  

Upon the tussle between WP and ZB,  let's put aside whatever the arguments they have, and see the following pictures that were snapped by bloggers at Hougang for the by-election rallies held bWP.  Can Singaporeans see this type of true pictures in the mainstream media during the Hougang by-election?  

May 27 2012 (from Diary of Singaporean Mind)          

May 21, 2012 (from Sgpolitics.net)  

The above pictures are better than thousand words.  The mainstream media must be neutral and unbiased in reporting news about all political parties involved in the election.  All parties should be put on equal footing for competition.  This is one of the main feature of a democratic society.  

To move our democracy a step forward, the WP should challenge ZB for conducting an independent public survey to seek the opinion from the public whether the mainstream media have faithfully performed their duties on this matter.  The contents of the survey must be agreed upon between the both parties involved and the result of the survey be made public.  Has ZB the guts and courages to accept this challenge if it is raised by the WP ?

Richard Koh

Questionable funds

I have been puzzled at why many consumers seemed to be making large losses on their investment-linked policies. The underlying funds appear to be performing much worse than the markets. Here are the possible reasons that consumers should be aware of.
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Staff1/Frame.aspx?FID=589&id=5

No one in charge

There is no one in charge. Our leaders are failing us.
http://www.todayonline.com/CommentaryandAnalysis/Commentary/EDC120529-0000009/When-no-ones-in-charge

Although this article refers to the US situation, in my view, it also applies to Singapore.

Land banking

Someone asked me to share this blog about an investment in land banking that has gone sour. There is a video about the investors in Malaysia that have gathered to lodge a complaint with the authorities. It seemed that most of the investors are from Singapore. I hope that consumers will study the materials and watch the videos here and avoid similar investments in the future. http://edgeworthscam.com/

Uncommon set-top box

It is rather sad that our three telcos cannot find a common set-top box for the convenience of consumers.
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120528-0000098/No-common-featured-set-up-box-in-the-works,-for-now

Facebook Illusion

This article explains the collapse of Facebook shares and the illusion about the potentials of the digital economy.

It also mentioned, in passing, that the belief in appreciation in housing prices in the US was also an illusion that had must be a lesson for property investors in Singapore.
. 

Do you hear the people sing

I dedicate this song to the brave hearts in Hougang. who knows what is right and what is just.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYizXBQ5EQA

Convincing win in Hougang By-election

I congratulate Png Eng Huat for his convincing win in the Hougang by-election. He had worked hard and served the people of Hougang for more than five years. I also congratulate the voters of Hougang for their courage in voting for what is right, for what is fair and for democracy in Singapore.

I hope that this convincing win will give a strong message to the PAP Government that they have to change their policies, and tackle the root of the problems. Tweaking the old policies is not enough. Article.


They also have to respect the voters, not only in Hougang but all over Singapore. Article.

Read my past blog on this matter here:
http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/search?q=hougang

FISCA - Financial Services Consumer Association

FISCA was set up to educate consumers about financial planning and investments. It is very important for young people to join FISCA and learn about these important matters, before they put their savings into the bad investment products that give them a poor return. After joining FISCA for a membership fee of only $36, they can attend two talks for free (value at $60) and enjoy discounts on other talks. More importantly, they can save   a lot of money (could be more than $100,000) by avoiding bad investments.

More information about FISCA can be found here: www.fisca.sg. They can join FISCA by clicking on "Register". The talks organized by FISCA are shown under "Events". They can read articles posted in the website under "Information". Special research are available only to members (after login).

Do you know that you can earn a dividend yield of more than 5% on several blue chip stocks and REITS? They are posted in the FISCA website (for members only). These investments beat the 0.25% interest paid on fixed deposits. You do not have to worry if the share price comes down for these stocks, as you can keep them and continue to receive the dividends. The share price will eventually recover. 

Mis-reporting on a charity event

Dear Mr. Tan
Below is interesting article u might want to post in your blog,
Police Report No. A/20120523/2006 | **快乐天使**Happy Angel** - http://happyangelclub.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/police-report-no-a201205232006-2/

Fair value of a stock

Investors who wish to buy stocks at IPO should take a lesson from the recent IPO of Facebook. If the stock is over-priced, it is likely to fall, and to fall badly. Read my article in FISCA website, www.fisca.sg (available only to members).

FISCA AGM, 26 May 2012

About 20 members attended the Annual General Meeting. Before the meeting, Wilfred Ling gave a talk on the Consumer Knowledge Assessment that is required by consumers to invest in Special Investment Products.

There was an active discussion on how to expand the activities of FISCA, recruit more members and encourage more members to attend the educational talks.

Air bags in cars

There is a call for air bags to be made a standard feature in all cars. I wonder if we are chasing the wrong solution? Article.

I have driven a car for many years and have not seen any incident where the air bag has been triggered. Recently, I was involved in a moderate collision and the air bag did not activate. When my car was repaired, I was told that the air bags had been replaced at a great cost. I am puzzled why the air bags did not activate at the time of the accident.

If you have seen an air bag being activated in Singapore and had saved lives and injury, please share your story here.

Illegal fund raising

In China, the punishment for illegal fund-raising is severe. A tycoon raised money promising a high rate of return and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Article.

We have several similar incidents in Singapore, where high returns are being promoted. It may be possible that the promoters are operating a ponzi scheme, where the investments of the latter investors are being used to pay the high return promised to earlier investors. All ponzi schemes will fail, and will cause big financial losses to the unsuspecting investors.

It appears that no government agency is investigating some of these operations, in spite of complaints being made. The complainant is usually asked to report to another agency, which in turns points to another agency. This type of behavior appears to be quite common in Singapore.

I am writing this blog, so that the Government will be aware about the danger of allowing these possible ponzi schemes from growing too big. At least, they should make an investigation, so that the perpetuaters know that they are possibly breaking the law.