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Tan Kin Lian
Time for the government to re-look “no-welfare state” policy
May. 25 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist For many decades, the Singapore Government has adopted a policy of a “no welfare state”. They have extolled on the population the risk of a welfare mentality – people get lazy and expect a good life without putting in the...
Will S’poreans speak up for others?
Apr. 15 | Tan Kin Lian I received two e-mails from a visitor to my blog, www.tankinlian.blogspot.com. First e-mail Hi Mr Tan I have been following with interest your blog on and off especially during the period of “minibonds”. I respect your sense...
Respect other people’s views – Tan Kin Lian
Feb. 20 | Tan Kin Lian Minister for Health Khaw Boon Wan suggested that some people can consider sending their elderly parents to a nursing home in Johor Bahru, where the cost is less than half of the cost in Singapore. This created a big uproar. It attracted more...
What some Singaporeans think about Democracy
Feb. 3 | By Tan Kin Lian / Columnist A RETIRED school teacher, Mr. Ho Cheow Seng, sent me his views about democracy. I posted the article in my website (viewable here) and invited my visitors to participate in a survey. 50 people responded. The age distribution...
Life in Singapore
Jan. 22 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist How do Singaporeans feel about life in Singapore. I carried out a survey in my blog. 115 people replied. A breakdown by age and annual income is: Below 30 20% 31 to 50 52% Above 50 28% Below $50k 51% Above...
Keeping seniors at work
Jan. 9 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke at the Reinventing Retirement Asia Conference organised by the Council of The Third Age. He urged “no let up in keeping seniors at work”. He said that outmoded social attitudes and systems...
Helping Singaporeans cope with the recession
Dec. 26 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Introduction Singapore’s economy is in recession. It will get worse and may take one or two years to recover. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has advised people to continue spending, to keep the economy growing and avoid the...
Stop cheating
Dec. 10 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist In recent years, it seems that cheating is allowed. You only need to say “caveat emptor” or “registered” with the XYZ authority. What is cheating? According to Wikipedia, “Cheating is an act of lying, deception, fraud,...
100,000 signatures so more people will step forward
Nov. 27 | Note: Mr Tan will be at Speakers’ Corner this Saturday, 5pm to 7pm. Tan Kin Lian / Columnist I have received many questions on my request to collect 100,000 signatures of support to contest in the next general election or presidential election....
Coping with increase in motor insurance premiums
Nov. 13 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist The Straits Times reported on 13 November 2008, “Hard knocks for motor insurers which reported that insurance companies are suffering losses, worst in seven years due to rising claims.” A reader wrote to The Online Citizen...
Tan Kin Lian writes to the PM
Nov. 12 | The following is a letter sent to the Prime Minister by Mr Tan Kin Lian on Nov 10, 2008. 10 November 2008 Mr. Lee Hsien Loong Prime Minister Republic of Singapore Dear Prime Minister, I appeal to you to look into the plight and financial losses suffered...
Should the Government guarantee bank deposits?
Oct. 29 | TOC EXCLUSIVE: Is Agnes Lin a spoilt brat or a Straits Times victim? TOC speaks to Ms Lin and ST reporter Nur Dianah Suhaimi. Coming next on TOC. Read the controversial Straits Times report here. Tan Kin Lian / Columnist The Singapore Government has guaranteed...
损失血汗钱
Oct. 23 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist (Chinese translation by Teng Jing Wei) For the benefit of our Chinese-speaking readers, we have translated Tan Kin Lian’s earlier article titled “Loss of hard-earned money”. 10月20日的国会，提出好些和雷曼兄弟有关的结构性产品的亏损的问题。财政次长林勋强的答复如下：...
Loss of hard earned savings
Oct. 21 | Tan Kin Lian responds to Minister Lim Hng Kiang’s remarks in Parliament Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Several questions were asked in Parliament on 20 October 2008 about the failure of the structured products linked to Lehman Brothers. In his reply, the...
Even Cupid has to adapt
Oct. 15 | CONGRATULATIONS! Everyone here at The Online Citizen would like to congratulate Gerald and Elena Giam on the birth of their beautiful baby girl. Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Alice’s boyfriend ended their relationship after three years. Alice was devastated....
Protecting the small investors
Sep. 22 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. Together with the problems faced by Merill Lynch and AIG, this event caused a sharp drop and turmoil in the global stock markets. Many conservative investors in Singapore...
A child is a child
Sep. 19 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist I find the incentives implemented during the past years to encourage procreation (i.e. Singaporeans to have more children) to be unnecessarily complicated and discriminatory. Each time that the Government implemented a new package...
PTW: From third world to first
Sep. 10 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist A few years ago, the Land Transport Authority set a goal to have a world class transport system in Singapore. During the past two years, this slogan has been quietly set aside. The transport system has been severely strained...
Beware of scams
Sep. 4 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Someone sent me a link to an article in an English newspaper about scams recently. I looked through the article and found that some of these scams are common in Singapore. They include the following: Phony jobs This is usually...
One country, two systems
Aug. 27 | Note: Look out for TOC’s first media release at 3pm today, Wednesday, August 27. Tan Kin Lian / Columnist The concept of “One Country, Two Systems” was created by Deng Xiaoping to accommodate the absorption of capitalist Hong Kong into communist...
Poor return on life insurance policies
Aug. 20 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist QUOTE Dear Mr. Tan, May I ask if the non-guaranteed reversionary bonuses are determined by individual insurance company? Are these bonuses declarations subject to MAS regulatory control or are they depend on the mood of the insurance...
We, the citizens
Aug. 10 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Our national flag contains five stars, representing the values of democracy, peace, progress, equality and justice. These national values have been creatively arranged into our national pledge, which is taught to every student...
Important to build a gracious society
Jul. 2 | Tan Kin Lian We may have to re-think some of the policies that have shaped Singapore successfully in past years, but have become disadvantageous today. Liu I-Chun wrote a letter that was published in the Today paper recently. It was titled, “I will...
Giving equal access to social benefits
Jun. 4 | Tan Kin Lian A Government needs to collect sufficient tax to pay the expenses of running the country and to provide the social benefits to its citizens. The tax should be collected fairly from the citizens. Those with higher incomes should pay more tax....
A compassionate “fine” system
May. 28 | Tan Kin Lian Someone once said that Singapore is a “fine” city. We have a fine for littering, a fine for jay-walking, a fine for late payment of taxes, a fine for traffic offences and a fine for paying a fine late. It is all right to have fines to...
Link pay of leaders to happiness index
May. 21 | Out Of The Box is TOC’s new column by Kin Lian. Tan Kin Lian A few days ago, someone asked me this question, “Do you think our leaders’ performance is commensurate with their pay?” I suspect that he wanted me to comment if our leaders...
The truth about life insurance
May. 7 | Tan Kin Lian Many people buy life insurance to provide financial security to their family. If premature death occurs, the policy provides a cash sum to take care of the future financial needs of the family. Insurance agents are drilled into thinking that...
Former CEO of NTUC Income calls for “collective protest”
May. 5 | Former Chief Executive of NTUC Income, Mr Tan Kin Lian, is calling for a “collective protest” against Income’s “bonus cut”. In his blog posting, Tan says that he “will be asking a lawyer to organise policyholders who wish to submit a...
