Security of online accounts

28 July 2012 

Editor, Voices

Today Paper

I refer to the report "Singaporeans putting their online accounts at risk" in Today 

paper.

It quoted a survey by an IT solutions company Assurity Trusted Solutions that many users do 

not adopt security measures, such as changing their passwords at regular intervals.

I wish to give my views about IT security, so that the website administrators and regulators do not go
overboard in addressing this issue:

• Many online accounts, especially those used for social networking,
  do not contain critical information
• It is not practical to ask users to change their passwords at regular intervals, as they have to
  maintain several dozen online accounts 
• For transactions that have financial or legal impact, it is sufficient to use a second factor
  authentication, or to ask the user to enter a second password.

There is still the risk of unauthorized hacking into online accounts that do not have a high level of 

security. It is better to clarify that hacking is a criminal activity, similar to a burglar entering

into a private residence.  Many hackers may not be aware that they could be charged for this crime.

Tan Kin Lian

Singapore Flags at Cactus Crescent

One third of the houses at Cactus Crecent, where I live, are now displaying the Singapore flag for National Day. I wonder if they read my earlier blog (where I said that few houses are displaying the flag) or it is just that National Day is now approaching. 

Consumer Guide to Insurance

The slides have been updated to include more topic. The talk will 
become more interesting. Read the slides now and enrol for the talk.


Did you buy the right life insurance policy? What do you terminate
a bad policy and take a loss now? 
You can find the answer to these questions at the FISCA
educational talk - Consumer Guide to Insurance.


Here are the slides for the talk
http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=666

You can register for this talk here:
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5

Review the CPF minimum sum scheme

27 July 2012 (not published)

Editor, Forum Page
Straits Times

A REVIEW OF THE MINIMUM SUM SCHEME

When the CPF Minimum Sum Scheme was introduced about 25 years ago,  it was kept at a 

modest level. Many members were able to take out a meaningful portion of their CPF savings on 

reaching age 55, sum after setting aside the required sum for the future.

Over the years, the minimum sum had increased significantly. Many members are not able to 

take out any CPF savings on reaching age 55. The lower income members looked forward to getting 

some of the savings for a long awaited vacation or to pay off some debts.

When told that the minimum sum is needed to provide for their future, they argued that

their immediate cash needs are more pressing. After all, it is their own 

money and they should be allowed to decide on their priorities.

I suggest that the strong views of these people be considered. Perhaps they should be allowed

to withdraw up to 30% of their accumulated savings on the recommendation of an approved 

financial planner  who  has gone through a financial needs analysis with the applicant.

Tan Kin Lian

Nostalgia - looking back 20 years

It seems that life was better two decades ago.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/why-i-prefer-the-80s-90s/

Provide better health care

Lucky Tan gave his view on providing better health care for the people. I agree with his philosophy and approach.
http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/2012/03/sdps-healthcare-proposal.html

Investment Performance of GIC

Read my view on the investment performance of GIC (Singapore's wealth fund) in
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Information.aspx?id=5

An excessive sentence

I do not wish to show any disrespect to the court or to the judge or be accused of "scandalizing the court", but I feel compelled to express an honest personal opinion, without any ill intent.

I find the sentence of 12 weeks jail meted out to Mr. Howard Shaw to be excessive (article here). He has given his reason for his mistake (in engaging in sex with an under-aged girl). He should have been given the benefit of the doubt, unless there are strong evidence to the contrary.

I hope that he will be successful in his appeal and the jail sentence should be squashed. I do not wish to condone the wrong doing, but I strongly feel that the punishment must befit the crime and that, under the circumstances, the sentence had been excessive.

I write this blog to express my empathy to Mr. Howard Shaw and his family in their time of distress, and to wish them all the best for the future.

Hobbies for retirees

Hi Kin,

Just writing to say how much I enjoy reading your site. We at Lifeinsurancequotes.org recently published an article, “8 Perfect Hobbies for Retirees”, that we think is tailor-made for your readers. Here’s the link: (http://www.lifeinsurancequotes.org/8-perfect-hobbies-for-retirees/)

If you agree, it’s our hope that you’d be willing to pass it to your readers. Whatever you do, keep up the great work! We’re big fans.

Mediacorp ME Club

Well done to Mediacorp for this creative idea of setting up a club, called the ME Club. It is excellent execution and to give a reward for their loyal fans. Wish them all the best!
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120730-0000022/Reward-for-loyalty--A-date-with-celebrity

Leadership must be a conversation

I like this article in Today paper.
http://www.todayonline.com/CommentaryandAnalysis/Commentary/EDC120730-0000003/Leadership-must-be-a-conversation

I hope that our leaders are reading it. In case they forget, the conversation must be with the ordinary people and not with just one man.

Invest in gold

Should you invest a certain portion of your portfolio in gold? My view is "yes". Read my comments in http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Information.aspx?id=5

Posting in FISCA.sg
I agree with the recommendation of this analyst to invest 10% to 30% in gold, as a hedge against the possible turmoil in the financial market. As the price of gold is 15% below its recent peak (US$1,900), it is quite a safe entry point

Review the COE bidding system

28 July 2012 

Editor, Voices
Today Paper

I agree with the decision of the Land Transport Authoirty (LTA)
to take taxis off the bidding system for the Certificate of Entitlement (COE).

This bidding system which was introduced to control the growth of the 

vehicle population has also produced erratic and undesirable results.It has 

also given opportunity for speculators, mainly car dealers, to profit at 

the expense of consumers.

Several attempts were made over the years to tweak the system to

address the undesirable outcomes. It is time to look into the underlying flaws 

of the system and to look for a better alternative.

I suggest the following approach:

• The COE prices should be fixed by the LTA taking into
  account the supply and demand
• If the demand for the COE exceed the supply, the COEs will be
  allotted by ballot.
• To prevent speculation, any transfer of COE within one year
  should be subject to payment of a fee

Let us have responsible people make the judgement on the appropriate COE 

price, rather than leave this matter to the vagrancy of the market and

speculators.

Tan Kin Lian

UPDATE
Read this view by Chua Chin Leng
http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2012/07/when-tolerance-becomes-unbearable.html

Please in my backyard (PIMBY)

How to get the community to accept public facilities in their backyard. Use better communication!
http://www.todayonline.com/CommentaryandAnalysis/Commentary/EDC120730-0000005/Goodbye-NIMBY,-hello-PIMBY

MyRetirement Policy

Dear Sir,

I wish to seek your advice on the MyRetirement policy by Aviva being sold in DBS. My wife and i are actively searching for places to grow our nest egg in order to retire comfortably. We were enticed into the DBS branch at IMM and it seem a deal too good to be true.

It is a "8-pay" endowment policy whereby, we will have to pay monthly or annually a premium for a total of 8 years. After which, we will not have to pay any more and it is this period when we dont pay till our retirement age, 50, 55, 60, 65. It seems the later we claim back our policy, the lessen a premium we pay. 

Our policy was like, we pay monthly 833 for 8 years and we will get a payout of 1,000 monthly for 10years from 50-60, 55-65. there is also a lump sum payout after that.

Can you help to advise if the policy is worth considering? If all these savings and endowments are not useful, can you help to point us to the right investment direction? Many thanks !

REPLY

You can use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate how much your money will earn for you if you are able to earn a yield of 4% on your investments. You can credit your yearly savings with interest at 4% and draw out the payout yearly based on the illustration giveny by Aviva. If there is still remaining money after the last payout, it means that you can get a better outcome by investing on your own to earn 4%. 

To learn about a better way to invest the money, you can attend the talks given by FISCA, http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5

How to buy TKL books

Hi Mr Tan 

I am a business student from NTU and I am highly interested in purchasing some of the books written by Mr Tan. Unfortunately, the additional $3 handling fee is quite a turn-off. May I know if there would be any opportunities to buy the book directly from a bookshop or from the store? Thank you.

REPLY

You can come and buy them from my office and save on the handling fee.

My office address and direction can be found at www.tankinlian.com/contact.aspx

Loss on life insurance policy

26 July 2012 

Editor, Forum Page
Straits Times

Mr. Neo Chern Siang (ST 24 July) said that policyholders who wish to discontinue their life insurance policies have the option to take a policy loan or to convert to a paid-up policy, instead of surrendering their policy.

These other options generally do not help a policyholder who is financially stressed. The policy loan carries a high interest rate, and can eat away the cash value quite quickly. The paid-up policy generally gives a poor yield on the cash value.

The root of the problem is that a life insurance policy is an unsuitable tool for financial planning in an era where jobs and financial needs are uncertain. If the policyholder cannot pay the regular premium, the policy has to be surrendered at a big financial loss to the consumer.

This financial loss is caused by the high distribution cost that is taken away from the premiums paid by the consumer. This distribution cost can amount to almost two years of the premiums!

Financial advisers and insurance agents are doing a disservice to the young people by asking them to commit to the inflexible saving plan in the form of a life insurance policy that has a large front-end charge to pay for the high cost of distribution. Like Mr. Neo, many of them have to face the hard decision of taking a loss on their hard earned savings.

Even if the policyholders continued the regular savings to the maturity of their policies, they get a poor return on their savings, due to the high charges that were usually not explained to them upfront. When they found out about these charges at a later date, there were already locked into the policy.

A better choice is for the consumer to buy a term insurance policy to provide the protection against premature death and to invest their savings in other forms that can give a higher return that provided by the traditional or unit linked policy.

I hope that the Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR review) set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore will look into this issue of the losses on terminated life insurance policies and find effective ways to address it.

Mr. Tan Kin Lian
President
Financial Services Consumer Association

Test on Financial Planning and Insurance

Test your knowledge of financial planning and insurance. See if you know the correct answer to these 10 questions.
http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=667

Autumn Leaves in French

Sung by Yves Montard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa9VCVWOjjY

Sung by Edith Piaf (English and French)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj9QTpzIcGU

Sung by Petula Clark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbBxYa4PzVE

Lyrics

C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Nous vivions tous, les deux ensemble
Toi que m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants désunis

Translation (Google Translate)

It's a song that we like
You loved me and you I loved you
We all lived, the two together
That you loved me me who loved you
But life separates those who love
Softly without a sound
And the sea erases on the sand the footsteps of separated lovers

Empty seats at Olympic Games

The organizing committee of the London Olympic Games is embarrassed about the empty seats, as the public seats had been sold out early. They suspect that these are seats allocated to sponsors that did not take up the tickets.
http://www.todayonline.com/Sports/EDC120729-0000021/London-organisers-investigating-empty-seats

This situation is experienced by many organizers of big events. By giving out the batches of tickets to sponsors, there is a high risk that the tickets could be lost or distributed. A better way is to distribute the vouchers to the sponsors, who pass the vouchers electronically to their guests. The guests can use the vouchers to claim the physical tickets.

The chance of the ticket being lost is reduced. If the holder reports a ticket to be lost, a replacement can be given for a fee.

Quality of Life and Fertility

AWARE said that improving fertility requires the quality of life to be improved. I agree with this view.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/aware-improving-fertility-requires-re-examining-all-policies-that-affect-quality-of-life-in-singapore/

Forex trading

You can learn forex trading without paying a hefty fee.
http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=594

Team Singapore at the London Olympics

Best wishes to Team Singapore.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/a-revised-team-singapore-a-positive-new-beginning/

London's approach towards welcoming foreigners

London adopted a different approach towards welcoming foreigners that appeared to work well. Singapore can learn from their approach.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/immigration-a-different-approach/

NUS Law Professor and his political views

Prof Tey Tsun Hang, who is charged with corruption involving grading a law student, has written several articles critical of the political system in Singapore. They are described here:
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/pp-v-tey-tsun-hang-agc-denies-link-to-professors-politically-charged-academic-publications/
However, the Attorney General Chambers have denied any links between these publications and the charge that is now being levied on Prof Tey.

Singapore Flag

This is the Singapore Flag displayed at my gate. I walked around the estate this morning, and found the flag being displayed in less than 1 house in 10. 
It seemed that many Singaporeans are too busy and do not share in the National Day festivity any more.

Provide bus arrival time and sequential stop number

24 July 2012 

Editor, Voices

Today Paper

The Land Transport Authority is carrying out a survey to find out the 

interest of the commuters on information that indicate the loading of a 

particular bus, i.e. if seats are available.

Apparently, this an be obtained using the data that is now being collected

for the computation of bus fares.

It is more urgent to tell the commuters about the expected time of arrival 

of the next bus for a specific service. This will allow the commuter to make

better use of the time while waiting for the bus to arrive.

While this information is now available for SBS buses, it is not being 

provided for SMRT buses. LTA can use its data to provide a comprehensive

service.

LTA should also ask the bus operators to display the sequential stop 

number for each service. This will help the commuters to identify the

stop to alight from the bus, even if they are not familiar with the places along

the route.

Tan Kin Lian

Make better use of buses

24 July 2012 

Editor, Forum Page

Straits Times

Many commuters take the MRT because they are familiar with the routes and the 

stops. They may not realize that there is a bus route that could be more suitable for their

commuting.

As the trains are now over-crowded and it is difficult to increase the capacity, the Land

Transport Authority should look into encouraging more people to take the bus, if this is

a more convenient mode of travel. 

Here are some steps that can be taken:

• Educate the public on how to use the bus, especially to find a convenient way
  to reach the destination on a direct route or with one convenient change of bus
• Get the bus operators to display the sequential stop number and allow the
  commuters to know when to alight from the bus
• Display the expected arrival time of the next bus, so that commuters can know the
  waiting time.

The bus arrival time is now available on mobile apps for SBS services, but is not

available for SMRT services. It should be possible for the information to be provided

by LTA using the data that is now collected for the calculation of the fares.

I hope that the Land Transport Authority can take early steps to improve the usage of

buses, to relieve the over demand on the trains.

Tan Kin Lian

Anger against open door policy

 

Rising public quarrels between Singaporeans and foreign immigrants

show that the government’s policy of mass importing of foreigners

to boost the economy and correct a declining birthrate

is going badly.

 

 

A worried Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

recently warned his people of the danger of social friction

between new citizens and locals.

 

Lee, however,

shows no sign of wanting to make any dramatic change.

 

Over the weekend he presented citizenship certificates

to 350 foreigners in two batches within a week.

 

Few Singaporeans believe the republic is in any danger of becoming xenophobic.

 

They agree that the country needs immigrants for long-term survival,

but only if their quality and numbers are controlled –

not taking in large numbers of workers with dubious quality

as has been happening here.

 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/7/28/focus/11741124&sec=focus

 

Taxis taken off COE bidding system

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120728-0000003/COEs--Taxis-no-longer-under-Cat-A

Opening of the London Olympic Games, 2012

The Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is starting soon. I was not aware about it until I heard it on CNBC. It seemed to be not well covered in our newspapers.

Watch this Youtube video.

The opening ceremony has been described as "eccentric and exuberant".
http://www.cnbc.com//id/48362850

Protect online accounts

Read this report
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120726-0000103/Many-Sporeans-dont-protect-online-accounts--survey

I am against the practice of changing password regularly for non-critical online accounts. As each consumer has to maintain many accounts, it is impractical to keep changing these accounts at regular intervals.

It is better to pass a law to make it clear that anyone who hacks into another person's account is considered as committing theft. I shall write more about this concept later.

UPDATE
Here are my views.

We lock our house, but do not change the lock every three months. Anyone who comes into the house without any valid reason is considered to be trespassing, and can be suspected to have an intent to steal and can be reported to the police.

We should adopt the same approach to a person who signs into another person's account without permission. It is similar to entering the house with an intent to steal.

Impressions of Phnom Penh

I like Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is a city of 1.5 million people. English is a commonly used language.

There are a few tall buildings,  but most of the buildings are less than six stories high. This makes the city look more charming.

The climate is quite pleasant. It is not as hot and humid as in Singapore. The temperature appears to be cooler. Perhaps it is further from the equator.

Most people use a motor cycle, which is a more sensible type of transport compared to cars. I do not see many buses. I hope that this will become the next form of transport. They should avoid the mistake of most cities in allowing too many cars on the road.

Although the income level is low, compared to Singapore, the people are able to get by, due to the lower cost of living. However, imported products are expensive. So, they have to live with fewer choices.

Discontinuing a life insurance policy

Straits Times, 24 July 2012 


Surrendering insurance policies not the only option

WHILE insurance policies are aimed at helping consumers meet their long-term financial needs, individual circumstances may change and they may have to discontinue their policies.

Policyholders may believe that the only way forward is to surrender the policy and accept the cash value.

I surrendered one policy each with HSBC Insurance and Manulife this year because the customer service officers did not tell me about the other options, such as obtaining a loan via the policy, converting the policy to a paid-up policy, and selling to the resale market. It is important to stress the long-term benefits of policies, and that surrendering one should be the last resort.

Neo Chern Siang

New ticket for train rides

I am puzzled at this announcement
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120726-0000027/A-better-standard-ticket

Will it replace the existing fare card? Is the user required to change the fare card after every six rides? What about passengers with concession cards, such as seniors or students?  

Hefty charge on late payment

I was offered a easy credit card from Standard Chartered Bank. It allows the borrower to draw out a cash line, with a first layer of $3,000 free of interest. Interest is charged at slightly lower than 18% on the excess over this layer. The marketeer told me that I could take out only $3,000 and pay no interest.

If the borrower makes any payment late, there is a service charge of $80 for the late payment. I find this fee to be exorbitant.

I object to this type of business practice, which aims to make money on people who may overlook to pay on time, due to travel or a busy schedule.This is like laying a trap on a careless or unsuspecting customer.

 I feel strongly that the Monetary Authority of Singapore does disallow this type of deplorable practice.

Integration woes

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2012/07/from-courtesy-campaign-to-integration_25.html

Sensible business practice

I am now staying at Hotel Cambodiana in Phnom Penh. It is an old but grand hotel. I commend them on their sensible business practice.

I purchased a voucher to use the internet for 3 hours for US7. They allow the time to be accumulated and used over several days, so long as the connect time is within the specified duration.

Their user ID and password are all numeric, which makes it easy to enter on a mobile device (unlike the typical ID and password which require numbers, small letters and Capital letters). At least in Cambodia, the people do think and come out with sensible practices. 


I hope that our people in Singapore can learn about these good practices and not focus on making life diffficult for customers and imposing excessive charges.

What heart insurance covers

IT is very interesting to note that under the 36 critical illnesses list

where the heart insurance coverage is concerned,

insurance companies only cover

heart attacks and damage to the heart,

including open heart or bypass surgery.

Blockages in heart vessels are not considered critical

although these may lead to heart attacks and also death.

They do not consider angioplasty for payment

although it is done to prevent further damage.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/7/24/focus/11715334&sec=focus

Clear and relevant statements.

Lawyers are trained to write letters that are clear and contain relevant points. Here is an example of a well written letter. It is useful for consumers to write their statements in a manner in a similar manner, for example, if they have been misled into making a wrong investment or has not been given the service that has been promised. http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/toc-news-letter-of-demand-to-law-society-singapore-and-mr-wong-siew-hong/

Super rich evade tax

The super rich are able to evade tax with the assistance of the super banks. http://www.cnbc.com//id/48285856

Wages and inflation

This article gives useful information about wages and inflation rates in Singapore in recent years. The target for an investor is to earn 2% higher than inflation. So, they investor (or consumers) have to learn how to achieve it. Join FISCA as a member. 
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Information.aspx?id=5

Cronyism

The practice of cronyism in the West is worse than in Asia, according to this article. It is a hypocrisy that those who preach governance are guilty of the malpractice. Wonder if this also applies to Singapore?

Tax havens

The tax havens have drawn away an estimated 40 trillion in assets that escape taxation. This is the main course of government budget deficits that have played the global economy. It also led to the wide income gap. http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC120723-0000020/S$40-trillion-in-hidden-assets

Get a feel of the ground

The author of this article said that the problems faced in Singapore are due to a lack of understanding of the situation at the ground and the hardships faced by the people.  

How to read a benefit illustration

I have often been asked - "is XYZ a good insurance policy?"

It is not possible to answer this type of question. The correct approach is to get a benefit illustration for the policy, provided by an insurance agent. This article explains what to look out for, and how to determined if the policy is a good policy.

Here are the tips on how to evaluate a life insurance policy:

a) If you are buying it as an investment, make sure that the yield is at least 4% per annum. The article explains how you can calculate the yield.

b) If you are buying it for protection, make sure that the monthly premium is not more than $1 to cover $10,000. For example, if you wish to cover $300,000, do not pay more than $30 a month. You can get this cover from a term insurance policy.

Queue at Singapore Airport

This is the queue at Singapore Airport when I returned from Paris.

Guess what were the passengers doing at the counter? They were writing the useless immigration card.

I do not have to write any immigration card when I entered Paris. The European authority decided that they only need to scan the passport and the immigration card is useless.

Our Singapore Immigration authority did not have to decide anything. They just wait for instructions to come down from the Minister. As the Minister is too busy with other pressing issues over the past decades, no decision was taken to remove the useless card.

Queue at Paris Airport

This is the queue at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to leave France. The number of travellers overwhelm the  officers checking the passport due to the holiday season.

The actual time taken to process the passport was quite fast, as they do not only need to put a stamp. There was no need to check the computer system.

I wonder why they did not have more officers to handle the crowd? It must be a bureaucratic lethargy.  

Duration of National Service

Is our National Service too long? Here are the duration in other countries.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=306582629370712&set=a.143838798978430.24501.139514912744152&type=1

Family Life

At the request of a young person, I am re-starting Family Life. A new game will be created at 10 pm every night. The game will run for 80 minutes. Here is the link: http://projects.easyapps.sg/fl/

High property prices

This article talks about the impact of high property prices on the future generation, and why it is not sustainable.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=665&PK=0a6a457322dc10309736ac1a7c2235a2

High fees charged by credit cards

Hi Mr Tan,
thought you might be keen on posting this on your blog

http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/article/197457/Credit-card-settlement-may-benefit-mobile-alternative-payment-methods?utm_source=NetWorld%20Alliance&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EMNAMPT07182012

In short, the above article indicates that the card companies have
finally bowed to regulators and consumers.

However, in asia (and of course Singapore).....


a) the fees charged by card companies in asia are way too high, making
crazy profits on this
b) the bank rates they charge, in collusion with the banks, for any
overseas transactions, are equally crazy.

Somehow, i don't see MAS taking a more pro-active stance on things.

Talk on Financial Planning

I have uploaded the slides for a 1 hour talk on financial planning given to a company. It was attended by 120 staff members who found the talk to be relevant, interesting and useful. They bought all of the books that I brought to the talk http://tankinlian.com/Ask.aspx

Korean movie - Architect 101

Cast of Architect 101 - Lorean movie

I watched this Korean movie - Architect 101 - on the journey to Paris. It was in Korean, but had English sub-titles.

The story line was quite meaningful and touching. It showed the depth of the talent in Korea. I learned how the Korean professor taught the class in architecture, and found his approach to be interesting.

The two Korean actresses were stunning. I did some research and found their names to be Han Ga In and Bae Suzy. There are extremely popular in Korea, based on the comments in Youtube. The young actor was also quite good looking.

This is the first time that I had watched a full movie in Korean. I now know why it is so popular.

Some lessons from corporate canteens

I had lunch a few occasions in the canteen of the SIA Training Center and the Defense Science Organization. The prices were half of those charged in the privatized canteens. I was told that the stall holders had to pay a rental, but it was a modest rent and not the highest that the market could bear. Due to competition from a few stall holders, the prices had to be kept low, to cover the cost of rental, the ingredients and the labor. The stall holders could make a living, and the prices were kept low.

This was the business model adopted in the market and food courts that were leased out by the HDB and the Ministry of Environment two decades ago. It was a good model. It did not follow the maxim of tendering to get the highest market price, i.e. to maximize the returns. The controlled rentals still reflect the cost of cost of building these facilities. It was a good model to keep prices affordable over the long term, and to keep the cost of living low.

To prevent abuse by the stall-holders, the landlords forbid the sub-letting of the stalls. Exceptions can be made for older stall holders who wish to pass the business to their children. This can be managed, and is not a serious challenge.

Unfortunately, the Government decided to privatize and sell the stalls to the private sector. This has produced results that turned out for the worse. It is time to change and go back to the old model.

The recent move by the Government to build new markets and food courts that are operated by social enterprises is a step in the right direction. I wish the Government well in this experiment and hope that they have the wisdom and experience to deal with the challenges.

Best International Airlines

Ranking
1. Qatar
2. Asiana
3. Singapore

http://www.cnbc.com//id/48192660?slide=11

Crafting a bogus narrative

Read this article by Lucky Tan.  He said that the government leaders now make it the responsibility of the citizens to integrate the newcomers.

Complexity in politics

Prime Minister Lee said that graduates have to learn about the "complexity". It seemed that complexity science is now the rage of government and public policy. Link. Is this the reason why many of our government schemes are so convoluted?

Is there a simpler way? Rather than be complex, can we be simple, honest and positive? If we look at the teachings of major religions, we are told to lead our lives in an honest, helpful and compassionate way. They do not teach about the need to be complex.

Join FISCA to learn about financial planning

Hi Mr Tan, 

Need the following advice on unit trust: 

1 Is unit trust a safe investment? 

2 Any recommendation for any particular unit trust?

3 How long should I hold? Is now a good time to buy them?

4 I have 50k to invest but not sure what to invest? any suggestion (not a big risk taker) 

REPLY 

My recommendation is to invest in the ETF, instead of a unit trust (due to difficulty of choosing which unit trust). Join FISCA (www.fisca.sg) and attend the educational talks.

Click "Register" to be a member 

Click "Event" to see the talks available. 

Attend the free talks on Financial Planning and Investments". 

An honest statement

America is not the greatest country in the world any more ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16K6m3Ua2nw&feature=player_embedded

Ask Mr. Tan

Here are a list of useful articles for consumers. Ask Mr. Tan.
To view any article, you have to provide your email address once, and later, you can see other articles without registration (as your email address is remembered in the cookie).
I hope that you find these articles to be useful.

Formula One Grand Prix

Will this be the last year for the Formula One Grand Prix? Was it a bad decision from day one? Read this opinion.

When the Formula One was announced five years ago, I had the trust that our Government leaders were savvy in negotiating a good deal for Singapore. Now, I have second thoughts. It seems that our leaders had a certain mindset, and could make bad decisions using that frame of mind.

Lessons from the purchase of the Brompton Bike

Read Lucky Tan's views here.

My own view is that the Government's purchasing procedure should be updated to apply the following principles:

• Common sense
• Accountability
• Trust

We can still have purchases through GEBiz, but it should be made easy for potential suppliers to be alerted and to submit a quote. There is no need to pre-register for approval to use GEBiz. By all means, ask the supplier to register the essential particulars after their quote has been accepted. 

The selection should be based partly on common sense (i.e. judgement) and accountability. We have to learn to trust people to make judgement, after paying them top salaries.

Some suppliers have told me that it is frustrating to go through a lot of hassle to register in GEBiz, to submit many quotations and not get any business. They gave up.

Make better use of display panel in bus

23 June 2012

Editor, Voices

Today Paper

In most buses, there is a display panel to show that the bus is stopping or is about to move off.

This panel can be used to show the sequence number and location of the next bus stop. All the stops should be numbered sequentially for each bus service. 

When a passenger wants to know which bus stop to disembark, the bus driver can give the sequence number of the bus stop. The passenger will be able to count the stops to the destination.

I have missed my bus stop on a few occasions when taking the bus at night. If there is such a display, it would have avoided the mishap.

This simple service will be useful for visitors to Singapore or to people who are not familiar with a particular bus service. It is easy for the bus driver to tell them the sequence number of the bus stop to disembark. This will improve the communication and quality of service. 

It may even encourage more people to take the bus and help to take away some of the load from our over-crowded trains.

Tan Kin Lian

FISCA Talk - Consumer Guide to Insurance, 25 Aug 2012

Many consumers are approached by insurance agents and are offered a wide variety of insurance policies. The consumer is confused and wants to know what they need to buy and what are unnecessary. They also want to know which policy offers good value.
The speaker will explain the common life and general insurance policies that are available in the market. He will also cover the insurance schemes that are offered by the Government through their appointed insurers
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/Event.aspx?id=5

Government procurement guidelines

The Government procurement guidelines can lead to bizarre results, such as the purchase of foldable bikes at many times of the normal cost. Article.

It is better to have guidelines that allows discretion, common sense and responsible decision, rather than to follow rules blindly.

Zurich Vista Plan

Dear Mr. Tan,

As an expat in Singapore I signed up for Zurich's Vista Plan. Life in Singapore was good and I am very grateful for the hospitality and opportunity provided by the Singaporean Government. (My 2 kids are called Lee and Kuan, my wife's last name is Yu. That wasn't done on purpose, but in a way it does reflect our respect for the Minister Mentor.)

 

While liberal financial regulations have made Singapore what it is today, the top city to do business in, I feel that regulations aren't protecting end consumers as they should. MAS has brought some considerable improvement in this area, but does it go far enough?

 

As an example, I would like to call on all customers who regretfully have purchased a Zurich Vista investment plan.

 

I say regretfully, because for me it hasn't worked out. After several years of contribution, this is the score:

- on contributions of about us$ 200,000, Zurich has charged me us$20,000.-

- my gain has been around 4-5% per annum (which is good for Singapore, but standard in Australia)

- that gain is mostly due to the bonus which I was given at the beginning for signing up, this bonus effect will decline over the years

 

My main regret, besides the high cost, is regarding the terms and conditions that come into play when life changes and contributions to Zurich have to be paused.

Once I stopped making regular contributions, I found out that some of the charges simply continue and that stopping alltogether is costly, due to a steep surrender penalty. I am establishing if I have been mislead or ill-informed, or, whether it has been my own fault to buy into this product. 

My individual opinion - other people may have their own -  is that I bought 'flexibility', and that the fixed fee structure and high surrender penalties haven't been made clear enough. As a part of that process, if there are more customer like me, I am calling on them to see if we can take collective action:

 

Erik van Vulpen

Evanvulpen@yahoo.com

Australia

 

Future for F1 in Singapore

Singapore has spent many hundred millions to bring F1 to Singapore. If it is not continued, the money spend would go down the drain. This would be a bad outcome for Singapore, and for our tourism. Article.

On the other hand, I do not want to see the F1 Grand Priz continued on terms that are not satisfactory to Singapore, and to be a continued drain on our funds and to bring inconvenience to the public.

We have to ask this question - did we make the right decision in the first place? Did we have the right people  to manage this mega-project? What mistake did we make, and could it have been foreseen in the first place? is there something wrong with our system?

Acquiring property for a public purpose

Here is an interesting article about the right of a Government to acquire property for a public purpose. This concept is called "eminent domain" in USA. Article. I find this article to be interesting, as we have a law that gives the Government the right to acquire property and that law has been used for many decades.

Future of Singapore and for the people

Here is an article from a young person. It is pessimistic. He said, "nothing is going to change" in spite of the unhappiness expressed by many people. Article

US lawmakers protested when they learned that the uniforms for their Olympic teams were made in China, and not in America. This journalist ask the lawmakers - "did you buy your own cloths that are made in America?" This article is intended to expose the hypocrisy of the lawmakers.  Article.

Parliament members should be full time

It is time for Singapore to move to a Parliament with members who work full time in this job, and do not have any other full time work. We cannot have part timers to be MPs.

My reasons are:

• Laws have to be debated actively. There are merits and risks that have to be considered. Parliament should not be a rubber stamp.
• The Parliament should act as a "check and balance" on the Government of the day. It should be a deterrent against corruption and abuse of power.
• The allowance paid to a MP, at $15,000 a month, is sufficient to be a full time pay. 

If we make it as a full time job, we will attract the right people whose interest is to serve the people and not to enhance their business in the profession or the private sector. 

Read this blog:
http://tankinlian.blogspot.sg/2012/07/are-our-mps-taking-job-seriously.html

Questionable investments

This is a talk given to FISCA members and non-members at the dinner talk on 12 July 2012. http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=663. The dinner allows the participants to talk about the investment climate and get to know other members. Go to www.fisca.sg to see the photos and learn more about this event and future events.

Need for OneInbox

7 July 2012 

Editor, Voices

Today Paper

I refer to the letter from Tang Fook Meng on the OneInbox email service.

Like Mr. Tang, I am happy to receive e-mails from government agencies sent to my 

regular e-mail account.

However, I wish to express support for the OneInbox service for the following reasons:

• It is better to receive e-mails in OneInbox rather than signing in to the websites of individual government agencies, such as the Central Provident Fund, the Ministry of Manpower or the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Agency or receiving the letters by physical post.
• The government agency may need to have a audit trail that the message has been received and read, which is possible through OneInbox or their individual website
• It is better to receive the important mail in OneInbox, rather than to have them mixed up with all types of e-mails that are received in the regular email account

I hope that OneInbox can be developed as a means of authenticating the identity of the recipient. This can replace the current system of sending personal identification number (PIN) or temporary passwords to the physical address.

Tan Kin Lian

Are our MPs taking the job seriously?

Dear Mr. Tan,

I was shocked to read the following on the papers recently:

 

"The Land Transport Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill was not passed yesterday as fewer than a quarter of members were present in the House at the end of the debate. Mr Lui is expected to address the LTA's role in last December's train disruptions in Parliament today." Today 10 July 2012

 

How can there be fewer than 25% of the MPs be present in our Parliament at the end of a debate? A Parliament is in session and so many of them were absent or left midway? Less than 25% means 3 out of 4 MPs are absent. How effective is such a debate? And the session is an important one as it is with regard to the SMRT breakdown last year. Is it not ironic that so much time, effort and money were spent in a COI and yet when the issues were discussed and debated in Parliament less than 1 in 4 of our MPs were not even there!.

 

Do you find it healthy or even disturbing that there are so many MPs who were not present in Parliament? How can our MPs be expected to do their job when they are not even present in Parliament. There are so many of them who choose to attend to other supposedly more important matters. It is pretty sad. Regardless of what is been discussed in Parliament I think they are definitely important issues.

 

Pledge to the IMF

7 July 2012 

Editor,

Forum Page

Straits Times

Article 144 of the constitution of Singapore states, "No guarantee or loan shall be given or raised by the Government except under the authority of any resolution of Parliament with which the President concurs".

The meaning of this article seems to be quite clear to me. In my view, the pledge of US $4 billion to the International Monetary Fund constitutes a guarantee that is covered by this article. If the pledge is called by the IMF, the Government will have to grant a loan which is also clearly covered under this article.

I am. therefore, amazed by the arguments put forward by the Monetary Authority of Singapore that the pledge given to the IMF, as it now stands, did not breach the Constitution. If the position of MAS is correct, it is better for the Constitution to be re-written to reflect the position taken by MAS.

The Constitution is perhaps the most important legal document in the land. The citizens should be assured that they can trust the Constitution to mean what it says, and that the wordings are not interpreted in a manner that defy logic or common sense.

I do not understand why the pledge of this large amount is not submitted for approval by required under the Constitution. Even if there is an urgency for the pledge to be given, it can be given on a provisional basis, and be subject to obtaining the required approvals. I believe that most countries would follow such a process on a matter of great importance. This would reflect a high standard of governance, which is what the Government aims to promote in the corporate world.

Rather than justify an action that is already done, I suggest that the MAS should submit the pledge to Parliament for rectification by Parliament and the President. It is all right to make a mistake and to learn from it.

Tan Kin Lian

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Invest in US tenanted property

Mr Tan,

Can I ask about your opinion of another type of property investment by another company?  Company Z claimed to have great connection  - as such able to get US banks to provide 50% loans to tenanted properties yielding about 14% or more. These are real properties costing average about US$35-40K. I couldn't find any fault with this. Can you?

REPLY
This could be a genuine opportunity, but could be a scam. So you have to do  your due diligence. Maybe, it is better to get a group of potential investors to study the investment together.