Friday, November 03, 2017

Simulate election in America


This website simulates the voting for the President of the United States and the governors, senators and representatives of four states in America.

Who will be elected as POTUS and the governors? How many seats will the Democrats, Republicans and Independents win in the Senate and House?

You can tract the results (updated every 10 minutes) here.
http://tklcloud.com/election/result.aspx

Make a guess what the final results will be when the votes close at 6 pm tonight. See if you have guessed correctly.

Note - a new simulation will be carried out each day. See if you can predict better as the days go by.

Sorry, wrong number



I searched Google for Flora Vista Shops.

It directed me to http://www.newlaunchportal.com.sg/flora-vista/#register

It showed the developer hotline: 61009876.

I called that number and a man with a happy voice answered.

TKL - Are you the developer for Flora Vista.
Voice - sorry, wrong number.
TKL - I saw this number in the portal.
Voice - sorry, it is the wrong number.

What is happening to Singapore? Is this the way business is being done?

The prices are very high. The rentals are very high. And the customer service is really very bad.

http://www.newlaunchportal.com.sg/flora-vista/#register

E-voting system

I created this website to show how an electronic voting system can work in a country.

I used America as an example. However, the same concept can be used in other countries, including Singapore.

The paper based voting system is inefficient and is liable to fraud.

An e-voting system is also liable to fraud but the fraud can be controlled and monitored.

The approach that I use is to have the votes stored in three separate servers under the control of three independent groups of officials and external auditor.

It would be difficult for any developer or hacker to access all the three servers and manipulate the votes.

There is a process to monitor the votes in all three servers throughout the election day and to report votes that do not match. This allows the officials to be alerted to any potential manipulation.

The home page contains all the links to explain the e-voting process and the control measures.

Which country will be the first to adopt this e-voting process?

Click here.

Taxing poor people

There are two effective ways for a government to collect tax from poor people.

1) GST
2) High rental

The Singapore government is excellent at managing these two ways.

But I have a question. Why does this government want to collect so much tax from poor people? Can't they collect the tax from the rich and the high income people?

Oh! They have high income, and don't want to pay too much tax, right? Maybe, they are looking after themselves?

A new business model

usually pay $10 for a haircut. Recently, a new salon opened. It offered hair cut for $5 (promotion). I went in.

The barber had 10 years of experience in a salon. He was quite friendly and chatty.

After a while, he told me that my hair was oily. What cream do I use? I told him that I have not used cream, gel or oil for a long time.

He asked if I like a scan of my scalp. He then proceeded to scan my scalp and showed me the result on a screen. He pointed out the area where my scalp was covered by dead cells and where the pores were blocked.

I needed a scalp treatment. I was not sure if the screen showed my scalp or it was some pre-recorded images. No, thank you.

I will not visit that salon any more. This is a new business model, right?


An important skill

I spoke to a poly student (girl).

TKL - Do you know how to cook?
Girl - No. I never learn it at home.
TKL - It is an important skill. You should learn it from your mother.
Girl - My mother does not know how to cook.
TKL - Who cooks at home?
Girl - My grandmother.
TKL - You should earn this skill from your grandmother. When you study overseas, you need to cook on your own.
Girl - OK.

An excellent process

I visited a shirt distributor located on the same floor as my office in Midview City. The name is Ark Industries. I wanted to buy 10 polo shirts.

The sales manager showed me samples. I selected a suitable type and color.

She does not require me to make any payment or sign a sales order. She would send me a quote and I could accept it by email.

I find this process to be wonderful. This is an excellent company with an excellent process.

Most companies would require me to print out the quotation, sign on it, add a company stamp, and fax it to them.

This company just ask me to accept the quotation by replying to the email. Their quotation contain the full drescription of the product and the terms of the sale. They are well protected by contract.

When I collected the goods, I would pay cash to them. That is all.

Most companies in Singaore have complicated and troublesome process. They make life difficult for their customers. Their troublesome process is unnecessary.

Ark Industries is an exception. They are outstanding.




Staff allowed to confess lapses in SMRT

Was it a good approach for SMRT to allow its staff to confess any past wrong doings?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Online queue for iPhone X

Should Apple arrange an online queuing system for its customers to buy the new iPhone X?

Give your vote in www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

A powerful leader in China

Xi Jinping is now the most powerful leader of China. I asked the question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Is this good for the world?

The views of the people voting in this website is overwhelming positive. 53% said that he is a progressive leader and will be good for China and the world. 19% said that he would be good for China but not the world.

28% had a negative view.

You can see the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=337

PM Lee's visit to America

PM Lee appeared to have a successful visit to America. He made good contacts with President Trump, political leaders and business leaders.

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crwod - Was PM Lee's visit to USA successful so far?

The answer is largely negative. Only 2% said that he made a good impression with the leaders in America. 0% said that he made an impression with President Trump.

You can view the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=336




Purchase of planes for $19 billion

When PM Lee visited President Trump in Washington, he observed the signing of the purchase of $19 billion of plans for Singapore Airlines. Was the purchase necessary and commercially sensible, considering the challenges facing the airline industry? Was it politically motivated to allow PM Lee to get the recognition from President Trump.

What does the Crowd think? Only 9% think that it was necessary. The other 91% had a negative view about it.

You can see their votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=335

Thursday, November 02, 2017

Multiple payment systems

Many companies are now launching their cashless payments. Is it a good idea?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Prompt reply from Malaysian entity

I sent an email to MPH Publishing in Malaysia to ask where to order the book Malay for Everyone.

They replied the following day.

Quote:
Hi Mr Tan,
For your convenience, you could also order online to be delivered to you: http://www.mphonline.com/books/nsearchdetails.aspx?&pcode=9789679783223

Alternatively, if you are looking to buy in bulk, please contact: customerservice@mph.com.my
Unquote:

I replied to thank MPH Publishing for their prompt reply and excellent customer service.
I am used to get no reponse or a delayed response from businesses and government agencies in Singapore.
It is refreshing when someone (in this case a Malaysian entity) reply promptly.
Wake up Singapore.

Dishonest property agent

The owner of a semi-detached house was in financial difficulty. She needed to sell the property. She approached a neighbor who was a property agent.

The property agent told her that the market was bad. The best price offered was for $2.8 million. The owner accepted the offer and signed the option.

Later, the owner found that the last transacted price for a similar property was $3.2 million. She heard a rumor that the buyer of the property was a relative of the agent and had agreed to pay the agent half of the difference between the actual price and last transacted price.

What can the owner do now?

Here are my tips.
http://www.fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=532




Wednesday, November 01, 2017

Check medical history at time of application

An insurance company manager told me. In Japan, an insurance company checks the medical history of a person before accepting him or her for health insurance. The insurance company is not allowed to reject a medical claim of that person due to non-disclosure of past medical history.

They know that the insured person may not be familiar with the need to declare the past medical history or may not remember about it.

I was told by an ex-Singaporean, who migrated to USA, that the insurance company will send a doctor to examine a policyholder before accepting him or her for health insurance. I am not sure if they do it only for older applicants.

We need to follow the practice adopted in Japan and America.

The insurance company in Singapore should not be allowed to reject a claim on the grounds of alleged non-disclosure of the past medical history.

Medical charges in Japan

In Japan, the Ministry of Health negotiates the fees with hospitals and doctors for various types of treatment every year. The negotiated fees apply throughout the country. The hospitals are, by law, operated as non-profit entities.

This is an excellent system to control medical cost and still provide good quality.

We have to follow the practice of Japan.

Analyse your data

I get angry when I see this sign in the bus. Why?

I saw this sign for the past two years. The Land Transport Authority is aware of the need to analyse the data to adjust the buses on each service to meet demand.

I also suspect that they are NOT analysing the data. It is obvious to me that some services have more buses than needed and some have less buses than needed. This explains why some buses are relatively empty while others are packed.

By putting up this sign on all buses, is the LTA pushing the blame to commuters? There is a hidden message, "Because some of you do not tap out, we are not able to analyze the data accurately".

This is nonsense. The percentage of commuters who do not tap out is small (maybe less than 10%? They are well distributed over all the services.

Common sense tells me that you can analyse the data and still get quite reliable results for scheduling purpose.

The LTA does not need to pay $400,000 in consulting fees to me (well the government paid this sum for the design of the bin center, right?). I will be happy to help them for FREE, as part of improving the public transport service.

Is LTA interested?


High rentals

How can the government help the retail and F&B sector to cope with high rentals?
Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Starting time for schools

Should our schools start at a later hour? Give your views in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Foreign talents

Not all foreigners are "foreign talents" or "FT". This word has been wrong used or can I say abused.

Many are just foreign workers. The news article describes them correctly.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/6-foreign-workers-taken-to-hospital-after-chain-collision-involving-2-tipper-trucks-and

We should not use the term FT to refer to people with employment pass. Many of them are just degree holders from their home countries and the employers obtain an E Pass for them to avoid paying the levy. In some cases, the salary paid to them were inflated to avoid the levy.

We have many graduates of better quality than the E Pass holders but we do not refer to them as "LT" or local talents, right?

I do not like the term "foreign talents" which was created by our former prime minister to justify the large scale import of foreigners into our population. They are not "talents".

Tan Kin Lian

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Be prepared for higher premiums under Integrated Plans

I encourage the older people to opt for Medishield Life, rather than an Integrated Plan.

Here are my reasons.

When they go for treatment in a private hospital, they charges are about three times of the average charge in a public hospital. For complicated cases, the charges can be much higher.

The private hospitals are operated for profit. When they see that the patient is insured, they are likely to increase the charges to the amount that is covered by insurance.

Remember. You are not the only person that is covered by private insurance. Other people are also covered by private insurance.

If they go to private hospital and pay a large medical bill, who really pays the bill? Sure, it is the insurance company. But the insurance company does not run a charity, right?

The insurance company is run for profit. If they pay a large bill, they will hike their premium to cover the past losses and to prepare for future claims.

So, the premium for Integrated Plan is likely to increase by a lot. And the increase is to cover the expensive bills. If you do not incur them, you will still have to pay for the expensive bills incurred by other insured persons.

The only way to keep medical cost at a reasonable level is for the government to control the charges. But our government is not doing this. They prefer to leave the charges to the "free market".

The free market is likely to mean that the medical bills will keep increasing, without control.

You will find your premiums for the Integrated Plans incease sharply. Even if you do not go to hospital, you are paying for the medical bills of other patients. It can be very costly for older people.

If you wish to keep the cost at an affordable level, you can downgrade to Medishield Life.

However, if you find that the premium is still affordable, you can continue to be insured under the Integrated Plan. But remember to expect the premium to keep incrteasing at a high rate.

Tan Kin Lian

Limited stop bus service

Do you like the bus services to stop every 2 km and for the intermediate stops to be served by a feeder bus?

Give your views in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Floating Platform

Do you like the Marina Bay floating platform to be used for future National Day Parade?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Performance scores of government leaders

President Halimah has improved her rating. She is now slightly more popular than PM Lee.
Surprise! I thought PM Lee did well in his visit to America. Maybe, he will get a higher score over the next two weeks.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/ChartJS.aspx…


Minister Chan Chun Sing is performing poorly. His score dropped quite sharply the past two weeks.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/ChartJS.aspx…

Ministers Grace Fu and Josephine Teo continued to get lower scores.
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/ChartJS.aspx

Downtown Line 3

Downtown Line 3 opened with two minor delays.

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Would you consider the opening of Downtown Line 3 to be a success?

70% of the people who voted have a negative view of the delays. They find it to be not acceptable.

Read the detailed breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=334

Fake news

The government is quite agitated about fake news. They want to pass a law to deal with this problem.

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - What can be done about fake news?

The answer is somewhat surprising, and is quite different from the approach of the government. Basically, the common sense of the ordinary people says - What is the problem?

Read the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=333

Peace of mind becomes a nightmare

If you need medical attention, you want the best that you can afford, right?

You want to go to a private hospital so that you do not have to wait in the queue. You can also choose the doctor to treat you. The doctor must be a person who is competent and who you can trust.

It can be a matter of life and death, and you want to get the best for yourself or your family.

The trouble is that it can be quite expensive to be treated in a private hospital. The bill can be three times of a similar treatment in a public hospital. For more complicated cases, it can be much more than three times.

What is the solution to afford the expensive treatment. Of course, buy an integrated plan to cover treatment in a private hospital. Also, buy a rider so that you do not have to pay anything. The insurance company take care of all the medical bills.

The integrated plan is wonderful, isn't it? Sure, the premium is expensive, but it is better to have "peace of mind", right?

The peace of mind can be a nightmare. Let me share the story of Mrs X.

Mrs X was an elderly lady. She was not educated and does not know about insurance and integrated plan. She was covered under basic Medishield for years.

An insurance agent advised her to upgrade to an integrated plan that provides coverage in a private hospital. The agent told her that she does not have to pay any money for the upgrading. That is only partly true, because the higher premium comes out of the Medisave savings.

A year later, Mrs. X found that she had colon cancer. She went to a public hospital for treatment. She was advised to go to a private hospital as it was covered under the integrated plan. Her family checked with the insurance company and was told that the integrated plan would cover the cost of the treatment fully.

Mrs. X incurred a bill of $300,000 for the treatment. It turned out to be quite a complicated case. Her daughter submitted the bill to the insurance company on her behalf.

The daughter was shocked to learn that the insurance company rejected the claim on the grounds that Mrs. X did not disclose that she had diabetes when she upgraded to the integrated plan. Mrs. X said that she had relied on the insurance agent to handle the upgrading. Being not well educated, she was not familiar with the requirements of the insurance company.

I advised the daughter on how to write the appeal to the insurance company. I lost touch with her as she did not come back to me. I hope that her appeal was successful.

I have come across other cases of rejected claims due to alleged non-disclosure when the consumers upgraded to an integrated plan. The consumers had relied on the insurance agent to handle the upgrading.

Many people think that an integrated plan is a god send to meet the high cost of private medical treatment. They may not realize that it could turn out to be a financial disaster, when their expensive medical bill is rejected by the insurance company and they have to foot it on their own.

Tan Kin Lian

Monday, October 30, 2017

The flooded tunnel

Many people looked at the flooded tunnel on 7 Oct 2017 as another breakdown of the MRT system.

I see a more worrisome picture. It shows the rot that underlies Lee HL's governing of Singapore. They include the culture of avoiding responsibility, finding excuses, not taking charge, and other bad habits. I considered it to be a serious disease.

Read this article
http://www.tankinlian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=1420




Failed to adderss the main issue

My letter in the Straits Times was published on 10 October.
http://www.fisca.sg/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=521

The Life Insurance Assocation took 20 days to give this reply. The reply did not address the main point contained in my earler letter. This is dishonest.

REPLY
The Life Insurance Association Singapore thanks Mr Tan Kin Lian (Unfair to reject claims due to past medical conditions; Oct 10) and Ms Shelby Doshi (Don't penalise customer for insurance agent's failing; Forum Online, Oct 12) for their feedback on health insurance claims.

Customers need to take personal responsibility and disclose any existing medical conditions and their health status, as insurers are not in a position to have such knowledge.

An insurance policy is a legally binding contract based on utmost good faith on the part of the applicant.

Insurers will not unreasonably reject a claim or treat a policy as if it had never been issued unless the applicant did not provide "material" information.

Section 25(5) of the Insurance Act states that "no Singapore insurer shall use, in the course of carrying on insurance business in Singapore, a form of proposal which does not have prominently displayed therein a warning that if a proposer does not fully and faithfully give the facts as he knows them or ought to know them, he may receive nothing from the policy".

Supposing claims made by policyholders who had chosen not to disclose their medical condition or health status in their applications are paid, it means that the other policyholders end up paying higher premiums in the future.

Insurers assess applications before granting cover.

If nothing is disclosed, there is no basis for the insurer to carry out further checks.

The application will be underwritten based on the declarations (including "nothing to declare") made in the form.

Applicants with declared medical conditions will be told of what is not claimable (that is, excluded) under their policy.

Insurers owe a duty to all policyholders to ensure fairness and equity.

Hence, insurers check for material non-disclosure before paying claims.

Pre-existing conditions are covered by the MediShield Life component of Integrated Shield Plans but are not covered by the private insurance component of Integrated Shield Plans.

If the policyholder says he was not aware of his medical condition existing at the time of application or the need to declare it in the application, the exclusion clause kicks in if his medical records show that he already had signs or symptoms, or had received advice, diagnosis or treatment before commencement of the insurance.

If the applicant fully and faithfully declared his medical history, a claim for the disclosed condition will not be rejected.

If exclusions were imposed on the medical condition declared, then the claim cannot be paid.

For upgraded plans, the insurer will apply any new underwriting terms to the upgraded benefit limits.

Where the non-disclosed medical condition arose after the original plan had commenced, claims will be based on the original plan.

Pauline Lim (Ms)
Executive Director
Life Insurance Association Singapore

Hike in private shield premiums

The Business Times reported the large losses incurred by the six insurers of the Integrated Plans during the past two years. Here is a table showing the results.

While the results for the past two years were bad, the results for a longer period of 10 years was actually quite good. Most of these insurers made a healthy profit over this longer period.

Consumers can expect the premiums for the Integrated Plans to be hiked by double digit figures over the next two years. They should be prepared for further hikes in the future, as the insurers struggle to manage the escalating cost of medical bills.

What can consumers do? I suggest that they should downgrade to the basic plan, i.e. Medishield Life.

I have done so, for the past few years. I do not want to give tens of millions of profit to the insurers during the good years and to suffer double digit hikes in premium during the bad years.

I will be covered under Medishield Life for the catastrophic illnesses. If I have to go for private treatment, I will pay the higher charges from my savings.

Maybe, more consumers can consider the option that I have taken.






A full time career in SAF

I met a young man who would soon be called up for full time national service.

His family is in financial difficulty. He now helps his mother to operate a stall, but when he is called up, his mother will find it difficult to employ an assistant for the stall.

I suggested to the young man that he should sign up as a full time soldier and earn a normal salary.

He holds a N certificate and wondered if this would affect his chance of getting a good vocation in the SAF.

My view is that the SAF needs people who are willing to be soldiers out in the field, including commandoes. Many Singaporeans do not want this kind of work. If he is willing to do it, he would get a good chance of being selected.

The SAF also provides good training for their full time soldiers. He can improve his education and skills through these training courses. He would have a good opportunity to advance in the SAF career.

He asked if it is possible for a full time solder to earn enough to raise a family. I believe so. I have seen many full time solders, who were below the officer ranks, and were able to raise a family.

Do you agree with my view on this matter? I do not really know the work conditions in the SAF for ordinary soldiers, but I think it should be quite good. Right?

For the good of the country

Rachel Ash said:

Mr. Tan. I am curious when or where is the threshold is before the general population realized there is something not quite right in the running of many of these government linked companies? Will it be too late then?

The general population does not appear to have a consistent yardstick when they assess the performance of the ruling party and opposition parties. They appear more forgiving to the ruling party but yet held the opposition parties to a much higher standard.

Used to be the issues often arise from policies but today it seems issues include the ruling party (as observed from comments from social media) - party agendas, play with words, double standards, in-fighting, riding with arrogance on the coat-tails of founding fathers, many new leaders were not elected as such by the people but too often riding on the coat tails of their senior members.

Then these same are parachuted to senior post in the cabinets, earning full salaries while on the job training.

We shouldn't look so far as the MRT but instead we should look at the source of the problem and where the culture is infecting slowly but surely throughout the island.

We really need a fresh direction be with the ruling party or a new two or three parties government. PM said he is likely to step down in about 2 years time and the successor will come from cabinet but are there any members in the parliament who is able to command the respect of the majority of our people.

For the good of country, we need to look pass ego, one-up showmanship, personal/party agenda, non-transparency, non-accountability, divisive policies and etc.

Regardless of race, language or religion we are still one people and that is they way we were brought up and let it be so till the end of times.

TKL'S VIEWS:
I agree with the views expressed by Rachel Ash.

Food security

Will Singapore face a challenge of food security in the future?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Independent news websites

A few independent news websites started during the past years. They had to close down due to "lack of funding". The latest casualty is "The Middle Ground". An earlier casualty was "Inconvenient Questions".

These professinally run news websites had to incur high cost in employing journalists, editors and photographers. They were not able to get readers to subscribe and pay for their news. They did not get enough online advertisements to support their operations.

So, they closed down.

It is easy for individuals and volunteers to give their opinions in blogs and Facebook profiles. Usually, these are opinions and are different from journalism. Journalism are based on interviews with people who are directly affected by an event.

With the closing down of the independent news websites, we are now left with the maintream media for these news. This is not healthy. We need an independent source of news which is not controlled by the establishment or their advertisers.

How can we help the independent news websites to be sustainable?

PM Lee's visit to America

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Will PM Lee make a big blunder in his visit to America? This was raised before the visit.

52% of the people voting in the website said that he has learnt his lesson and will avoid saying things that offend other people. 42% expect him to say something that will offend China.

The visit has passed. So far, it has been successful. He had received nice words from President Trump and no negative reaction from China.

Here are the detailed breakdown of the votes:
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=332

Online version of Today paper

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Do you like the online version of Today paper?

69% of the people who voted said that they will not get sufficient advertising revenue to cover their cost and that it is a waste of resource to run this website to duplicate the Straits Times.

This is discouraging.

Here is a breakdown of the votes:
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=331

Downtown Line 3

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Is the successful start of Downtown Line 3 a good sign for the future of our MRT?

73% of the people voting said - it is too early to tell. This is not encouraging. It shows a low level of confidence in our train system.

See the berakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=330

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Grassroots Club

The health center in the Grassroots Club has been under renovation for the past six months.

I called the Club to ask when will the health center be ready for use. The staff replied, "We do not know when. We will inform members when it is ready. It is likely to be in November".

I asked, "We are now at the end of October. Do you mean that you still do not know when is the likely handover date? "

It is easy for people to say "We don't know". In that way, they cannot make a mistake. But it is not helpful. A more helpful answer is "The contractor is likely to hand over the facilities by (date). We expect it to be ready for use by (date)".

Sure, Singapore can continue the typical approach - "We don't know" and "We don't want to take any responsibility". When will be change our approach?


The Middle Ground

When are your views about the closing down of the independent new website that is run professionally, i.e. The Middle Ground.

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg




CET for adult workers

The government wants to expand the Continuing Educational Training (CET) for adult workers.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/funding-universities-masters-programmes-be-reviewed-moe-invests-more-short-training

My view is that it will have a limited impact. Why?

They have already put in much effort in the current SkillsFuture program. It did not seem to produce much results.

Sure, many people have attended the SkillsFuture courses and found them to be useful. But it did not help them to get the jobs that they like to have. They really want to continue to be gainfully employed.

It may be a good way to pass the time and even to acquire some useful skills. But the real goal must be to gain employment, right?

Is there a way for the government to achieve a better outcome? In my view, there is a better way. They have to adopt a different approach.

What is this different approach? They can learn from Germany. Germany has an apprenticeship system for young workers. It worked extremely well and make Germany into a successful industrial nation with workers possessing strong technical skills.

How can the German apprenticeship system apply to the CET prograqm that the government is trying to develop?

If Mr. Ong Ye Kung wants to know my answer, he can ask his scholar to contact me. I will share my views on how to make the CET succesful. I will show how the German apprenticeship system can be applied here.

If not, let the minister waste another few years and achieve no result.

A narrow perspective

Do Singaporeans have a narrow perspective on issues affecting their future?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Funding for Masters' program

Should the government reduce funding for Masters program and use the money for short term courses?

Give your vote in
www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg

Dispute in the Lee family

PM Lee has an unresolved dispute with his younger brother and sister over the wishes of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, as stated in his will.

I asked the question - what is the best way for the siblings to resolve this dispute.

52% of the people who voted said that PM Lee, as the elder brother, has to reach out to his younger siblings to resolve the dispute.

The other people chose other options.

See a detailed breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=329

Buying a product from a friend

Somebody asked me to pose this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - When you buy something from a friend, do you expect to get a special discount

64% of the people who replied said that it is okay to be treated as an average customer. They do not expect any special discount from a friend.

See the detailed breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=328




A national identity system for America

America does not have a national identity card. They claim that it is to protect privacy of their citizens. But they overlook the obvious disadvantages and problems that it posed.

They need to have a separate system to register their voters. These voter have to bring documents to prove their identity. Some of these documents are not available or could be faked.

They need to register their citizens when they apply for a passport to travel anyway.

Without a national identity system, they have to rely on the Social Security number that is given to each resident. However, there is no photo or fingerprint tied in to the SS number. How can a person prove ownership of the SS number?

The lack of a reliable national identity system is the cause of many online fraud involving the use of a social security number.

It is not difficult to implement a national identity system, using their social security number. When a person applies for a bank account or a driver licence, they have to provide documents to prove their identity and link it to their social security number. They can provide a photo or a fingerprint at that time.

This can be registered in a government website. It can be used as a national identity system. They could be some fraudulent practices involved in this system (as no system is fool proof). As each fraudulent of the social security number , the record can be verified and corrected.

More importantly, for the cases that are accepted (which is likely to be more than 99%), the convenience of a verified identity is overwhelming. It outweighs the rise of "invasion of privacy".





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