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“This thing will never die until it is settled”
Nov. 30 | Editor’s note: The title of this report has been changed for accuracy. Davin Choo / Tng Wen Quan Mr Tan Kin Lian spoke at Speaker’s Corner today for the sixth time on investments gone awry. While his speech mainly consisted of two portions –...
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...
Xtra-insights: Talk the talk or walk the walk?
Oct. 30 | Rachel Chung / Columnist In order to make a difference in the climate of socio-political awareness, we do have to question ourselves too – are we opposing for the sake of opposing? Recently, two incidents made me think about how much our average...
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...
“How much does the Government care?”
Oct. 16 | Xtra-insights is a new TOC column by Rachel Chung which will feature fortnightly on Thursday. In this debut article, Rachel writes about her recent participation in a dialogue session with the NTUC Chief, Minister Lim Swee Say. Rachel Chung / Columnist I...
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...
For a sustainable Singapore
Aug. 14 | Tan Kin Lian / Senior Writer I wish to contribute my suggestions towards the development of a “Sustainable Singapore, Lively and Liveable City”. I believe that the quality of life for Singaporeans can be improved by reducing the need for commuting,...
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...
Business ethics – honesty while making profits
Aug. 6 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist In the absence of adequate regulation, we have to cultivate a strong sense of business ethics. In Ancient China, there was a hierarchic social class structure developed by scholars as far back as 1000 years BC. In descending order,...
A charitable cause
Jul. 23 | Tan Kin Lian / Senior Writer During the past two years, several high profile charities in Singapore have come under the spotlight. They were involved in financial and administrative irregularities. These notable cases are the National Kidney Foundation,...
An express alternative
Jul. 17 | Tan Kin Lian / Senior Writer The Ministry of Transport is introducing a new fare system for public transport that is based on distance rather than the number of transfers. This will reduce one obstacle in the use of public transport, namely the high...
Human organs for sale
Jul. 9 | Tan Kin Lian While the economic prospects remain dim for the poor people in this economic system, society should allow and help them to have a good price for their remaining few “personal assets”. A Singapore tycoon suffering from kidney failure...
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...
Give adequate wages to low income workers
Jun. 25 | Tan Kin Lian For many years, the Government has advocated a pro-business environment in Singapore. This is aimed at attracting foreign investors to set up businesses here and create more jobs for Singaporeans. This strategy has been successful. Singapore...
Suggestions are not welcomed
Jun. 18 | Tan Kin Lian During the past years, I have submitted many suggestions to Government agencies and commercial organisations in making simple improvements that cost little to implement and can add a lot of value to the public and customers. However, I get...
Public facilities need to be improved
Jun. 11 | Tan Kin Lian Singapore has an excellent living environment. We have trees, parks, clean roads, good drainage and fresh air. But we seem to lack certain public facilities, such as maps, signages and public toilets. I wonder – why are these essential...
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...
Medishield – Why burden the elderly further?
May. 26 | Uniquely Singapore Leong Sze Hian In the Channel NewsAsia report, “MediShield premiums to go up from December 1”, and the Ministry of Health’s press release on 27 April, the government is increasing MediShield premiums from 1 December. The hike...
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...
Reduce commuting time
May. 14 | Tan Kin Lian Like most big cities, Singapore is getting over-crowded. It is easy to build highrise apartments and offices for a bigger population but the challenge is in transporting these people between their homes and workplaces and back. A denser...
CASE’s relationship with NTUC
May. 11 | Uniquely Singapore The Unions, the Press, and the People – Part II Leong Sze Hian The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) founded the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) in 1971, and it remains an institution member today. (938 Live) (CASE’s...
