The suggestion by SM Goh to encourage permanent residents, especially those from Malaysia, to become citizens did not go down well. Read this article in www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx.
My view
I have always advocated a positive approach - make it attractive for people to be citizens. Over the past decades, the government had made adopted the wrong policy of making it a burden to be a Singapore citizen, especially for males who have to serve national service and be placed at a big disadvantage in the workplace. This key issue has never been resolved. The small measures, such as the $9,000 for current NS men, did not go far enough.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Treating cancer at a late stage
If you know of anybody with late stage cancer, do ask the family to read this article and make the right choice. Go to www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.
Easy Ads portal
A new portal (Easy Ads) will be launched on 1 October 2010. It will provide free advertising for the public for a period of 3 months. A useful feature of this portal is the easy way to search for an advertisement based on location, price range and other factors. This can replace the flyers that are now littering the letterboxes of HDB flats.
This will be of special interest to owners who wish to rent out a room or their apartments to tenants (and to avoid paying the agent fees). Tenants can also use this protal to look for available premises, based on distance to their workplace. Parents can also look for suitable tutors based on location. Owners can look for household repair services.
More details can be seen at www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.
This will be of special interest to owners who wish to rent out a room or their apartments to tenants (and to avoid paying the agent fees). Tenants can also use this protal to look for available premises, based on distance to their workplace. Parents can also look for suitable tutors based on location. Owners can look for household repair services.
More details can be seen at www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Case study - rejected claim under private Shield
It is best for a retiree to be insured under Medishield and be treated in a subsidised ward. This case study shows the risk and the stress of having an expensive hospital bill being rejected under a private Shield plan. Read: www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.
Mio TV
Two thirds of customers give a poor rating to the Mio TV service. Read www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Pre-election rally
There is an interesting pre-election rally to be held on Saturday at Speaker's Corner. Go to www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx to find out more details.
Direct link: http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4110-democrats-to-kick-off-ge-season-with-pre-election-rally
Direct link: http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4110-democrats-to-kick-off-ge-season-with-pre-election-rally
Difficult experience with website of Singapore Airlines
I had a difficult time in making a redemption of my frequent flyer miles at the Singapore Airlines website. This is the first time in 30 years of flying that I try to claim this privilege - as I allowed the redemption miles to expire in the past.
I could not remember my PIN, as the account was created long ago. The previous PIN that I used had since expired and had been changed. I finally managed to find the right PIN to login.
The website was confusing and difficult to use. The webpages behaved in an unexpected manner and keep changing due to some "context". This was developed to be a sophisticated website, but it was a nightmare to me. I finally managed to find a tab called "Online Redemption". It seemed to be what I needed. When I clicked on the tab, I got a blank page. I tried it many times and keep getting a blank page.
I finally decided to call their helpline. There was a long wait to get through to a staff. While waiting, I hear many irrelevant messages and frequent warning that any booking through the call center will incur an administration fee. What a way to treat a customer!
After a long wait, the call was answered by a human voice. I told the staff about the difficulty that I faced in making an online redemption, and in understanding their complicated website. She finally helped me to make the booking of my flight, using my frequent flyer points, and waived the administrative charge. She explained that I got a blank page most probably because the login had expired after a few minutes. How would I, as a customer, know?
If great organisations continue to develop complicated websites with sessions that expire after a short time (for whatever security reasons), they are giving a difficult time for their customers. They must realize that their customers do not visit the website daily to learn about their sophisticated features and complicated behavior.
Tan Kin Lian
PS: The call center staff was helpful, but she had to spend a lot of time giving me warning about the charges that will be incurred and the penalty that will happen, if I were to change the flight. Why spend so much time on these negative matters? It leaves a bad taste with the customer who has to worry about booking of hotels and other matters relating to travel. Why not change the slogan to: a stressful way to fly!
I could not remember my PIN, as the account was created long ago. The previous PIN that I used had since expired and had been changed. I finally managed to find the right PIN to login.
The website was confusing and difficult to use. The webpages behaved in an unexpected manner and keep changing due to some "context". This was developed to be a sophisticated website, but it was a nightmare to me. I finally managed to find a tab called "Online Redemption". It seemed to be what I needed. When I clicked on the tab, I got a blank page. I tried it many times and keep getting a blank page.
I finally decided to call their helpline. There was a long wait to get through to a staff. While waiting, I hear many irrelevant messages and frequent warning that any booking through the call center will incur an administration fee. What a way to treat a customer!
After a long wait, the call was answered by a human voice. I told the staff about the difficulty that I faced in making an online redemption, and in understanding their complicated website. She finally helped me to make the booking of my flight, using my frequent flyer points, and waived the administrative charge. She explained that I got a blank page most probably because the login had expired after a few minutes. How would I, as a customer, know?
If great organisations continue to develop complicated websites with sessions that expire after a short time (for whatever security reasons), they are giving a difficult time for their customers. They must realize that their customers do not visit the website daily to learn about their sophisticated features and complicated behavior.
Tan Kin Lian
PS: The call center staff was helpful, but she had to spend a lot of time giving me warning about the charges that will be incurred and the penalty that will happen, if I were to change the flight. Why spend so much time on these negative matters? It leaves a bad taste with the customer who has to worry about booking of hotels and other matters relating to travel. Why not change the slogan to: a stressful way to fly!
Case study - learning from a talk
This consumer learned how to compute the distribution cost and the effect of deduction from a talk conducted under FISCA. He was shocked to learn that his friend had sold him several policies that gave a poor deal to him.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
Contests in the general election
The National Solidarity Party and the Reform Party have announced their intention to contest in the general election, including the constituencies that they will be fielding their candidates. www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx
Reform Party
http://votingrp.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/rp-wants-to-give-singaporean-option-to-choose/
National Solidary Party
http://www.nsp.sg/national-solidarity-party-plans-field-some-30-candidates-next-ge
Reform Party
http://votingrp.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/rp-wants-to-give-singaporean-option-to-choose/
National Solidary Party
http://www.nsp.sg/national-solidarity-party-plans-field-some-30-candidates-next-ge
Rechargeable torchlight with locator lamp
The rechargeable torchlight has been designed to have a locator lamp that lights up at night and uses low energy. It is easy to look for the torchlight at night. It uses rechargeable battery, to reduce the cost of battery. This is now available at a special discount (for a bundle of 4 torchlights) in i-shop. www.tankinlian.com/ishop.
Compensation for injury
How much should a consumer claim for compensation for a fall caused by unsafe conditions in a supermarket premise? How should the consumer make the claim? Is it necessary to use a lawyer? This FAQ set down some of the principles that are used to determine the compensation. www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.
Shuttle service to Integrated Resorts
What does the public think about the decision by the Casino Regulatory Authority to stop the shuttle service from the HDB heartlands to the resorts? 99 people responded to the survey. The results are available at the Singapore General Election Portal, www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Workfare Income Supplement
Dear Mr. Tan
Can you tell me about the Workfare Income Supplement? How much can I get and what is the criteria?
REPLY
You can find the information in this FAQ. It is applicable to an employee who earn less than $1,700 a month and live in a property with an annual value less than $11,000. The amount of the supplement is calculated on a complicated formula and is subject to a maximum of $1,050 for a person age 35 to a maximum of $2,800 for person at age 60. This is the maximum, so that actual amount paid to you may be much lower. Self-employed people at low incomes are also eligible for the supplement.
Like many schemes in Singapore, you have to read a complicated table and apply many criteria to arrive at an amount - that is really quite small.
Tan Kin Lian
Can you tell me about the Workfare Income Supplement? How much can I get and what is the criteria?
REPLY
You can find the information in this FAQ. It is applicable to an employee who earn less than $1,700 a month and live in a property with an annual value less than $11,000. The amount of the supplement is calculated on a complicated formula and is subject to a maximum of $1,050 for a person age 35 to a maximum of $2,800 for person at age 60. This is the maximum, so that actual amount paid to you may be much lower. Self-employed people at low incomes are also eligible for the supplement.
Tan Kin Lian
Voting at General Election
97 people responded to the survey to indicate how they will vote at the next general election. The results of the survey can be found at www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx.
Risky to invest in gold bars
An investor found that it was risky to invest in a gold bar under this investment scheme and decided to skip the investment. www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Criteria to assess world leaders
If you are interested to find out a “better” criterion in assessing the performance of world leaders, you are invited to read the chapter “Conversation with Guru Harry (Part 2)” in Tommy Wong’s book “Wisdom on How to Live Life”.
The book can be ordered here.
Getting medical treatment
Here are some tips to consumers on whether to buy basic Medishield or a private Shield policy to meet the high cost of medical treatment and why a more expensive Shield plan will usually require the consumer to incur a higher co-payment for the medical bill. Read: www.tankinlian.com/latest/aspx.
A few senior moments
As we grow older, it is time to celebrate the occasion - even though we may lose some of our hearing and memory. Here are some humorous situations to laugh at. Go to www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
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