Concerns of the people

I read the views of Dr. Tony Tan on the role of the President. He now wants to understand the concerns of the people and to bring them to the attention of the government, using the appropriate channels, i.e.both formal and informal. 

Dr. Tony Tan now shares my position (stated in my statements found in www.tkl2011.com) that the President must speak up on behalf of Singaporeans. With our views converging, voters now have to decide on who can act independently of the Government in looking after the interest of the people.


It seems that Dr Tony Tan also disagrees with the Law Minister that the President cannot speak without the approval of the cabinet. 

Tan Kin Lian

Carrying out the pledges

Dear Mr. Tan,
You are the only Presidential hopeful who has pledged to donate at least half of the President's salary to charity. The other hopefuls are keeping silent on this point. 


You have also explained in detail how you wish to implement the "voice of the people" by forming a Presidential Personal Council. At least you have the plan to implement your key platform. I do not know how the other hopefuls plan to connect with the people. Maybe they will copy your idea - so you should copyright it.


Daniel

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Reduction in yield

If you invest in a unit trust, look for one with an expense ratio of not more than 1%. If you buy a life insurance policy, look for one where the reduction in yield (similar to the expense ratio) is not more than 1.5%. The additional 0.5% is for the cost of life insurance protection.

Most life insurance policies have a reduction in yield of 3% to 4%. This eats into the return that should be given to the policyholder. A reduction of 3.5%, compared to a benchmark of 1.5%, means that one-third of the maturity value is taken away.

I wish to explain the reduction in yield. You can take the projected maturity or cash value of the policy at the end of (say) 25 years and the annual premium to calculate the actual yield, say X. The insurance company used a gross yield, say Y, to project the cash value. The difference (Y-X) is the reduction in yield. For example, if the insurance company uses 5.25% to projected the cash value and the actual  yield is 2%, the reduction in yield is 3.25%.

Read this article carefully to understand the impact. 

Statement from TKL - Prince Charles, voice of the people

At a recent Institute of Policy Studies forum, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister Mr K Shanmuggan noted that the law and conventions of the UK were distilled into the Singapore's Constitution i.e. the Singapore Constitution has been modeled on that of the UK.

While there were clear differences in circumstances, it t is interesting to note that former British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair indeed has had some issues and discomfort with Prince Charles who spoke publicly on various issues and hence, was playing his role as a Voice of the People. 

Notwithstanding this, Mr Blair eventually disclosed in a letter to the Guardian that "A prime minister may sound off from time to time, especially when sensitive discussions with members of the royal family leak into the papers, in the middle of some high-profile issue". He continued, "However, I want to make it clear that I always found my discussions and correspondence with Prince Charles immensely helpful. I thought he had a perfect right to raise questions and did so in a way that was both informative and insightful. So I welcomed his contributions, and have no doubt he will continue to raise issues with the new government as he is entitled and indeed it is his job to do, and that they will also find it helpful."

It is my hope that if I am elected President, I will have the meaningful dialog with the Government in my efforts to be the Voice of the People. It is my hope that this spirit of cooperation and mutual respect can prevail and that the outcome will be productive and beneficial for the people of Singapore.

Tan Kin Lian