Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Building wealth

Read this article on savings, avoiding debt and investing.

My comment
The tips are similar to the points made in my book - Practical Guide on Financial Planning available online.

Mortgage on your home

This article explains how to pay off your mortage early. - but after you have built up an emergency fund and have set aside money for your children's education.

My comment
It is more important to avoid getting a large mortgage in the first place. You should buy a property within 5 years of your annual income, and pay it within 25 years with a monthly repayment of less than 25% of your income. This is explained in my book on financial planning.

Mother Tongue Language

There is much controversy over the issue of the mother tongue language. I do not have my personal view about whether the weightage should remain the same or be reduced.

I wish to express my concerns on two issues:

a) Some people hold strong views that the weightage should be maintained while others felt strongly that it should be reduced. I am concerned about the manner in which the views were expressed, without regard for the views of other people who may be in different circumstances.

b) There seem to be a loss of trust in the government leaders to find the right balance that takes into account the diverse views of the people. I believe that they have the responsibility to seek the right policy which accommodates the views and needs as many people as possible.

I believe that it is possible to encourage students to learn a second language, without forcing them to do it through the "weightage" in the PSLE.

Tan Kin Lian

Signs at MRT stations

The most important signs at a train station are the "Platform No" and the "Way Out" signs. In most train stations in other cities, these signs are large, standardised and are easily seen. At our MRT stations, these signs are small and non-standardised.  We have signs that show "Exit" and other signs that show "Way Out".

I hope that our signs can be standardised and displayed in large signs at a prominent place. This will be helpful to visitors and tourists, who are not familiar with our MRT system.

Education system in Singapore

Read this article by Ng E-Jay.

My comments
I prefer an education system that teaches our young to be literate, numerate, know how to communicate, interact and have values. They should not be required to compete for top positions in class - which teaches them to be selfish.

Security at Suntec City

I visited an office in Suntec City. They asked to scan my NRIC but as it was lost, I gave them another card with the bar code. They gave me a visitor pass, just to get through the barrier.

I do not know the purpose of recording all visitors to the offices. There must be several hundred thousand visitors to Suntec Mall every day. They are not recorded. So, what is the purpose of knowing who visits the office? How does it enhance the security of the office? If there is a bomb, it is likely to occur among the visitors to the mall.