A very attractive young girl was about to enter the church in a topless dress when the vicar ran towards her.
"I'm very sorry, miss," said the vicar, "but I cannot possibly allow you to go into Church like that."
"But I have a divine right," protested the young girl.
"Yes," agreed the vicar, "buy you have a divine left too, but I still cannot let you into my church like that."
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Encourage more people to take public transport
Editor
Forum Page
Straits Times
During the past year, I take the MRT train regularly to visit most places in Singapore. I find the train to be more convenient that driving a car. I avoid paying high ERP and parking charges and driving in congested roads.
I wish to give the following suggestions to make it more convenient for commuters to take the MRT train:
1. Have a digital display above each door of the train to announce the previous, current and next train station as the train moves along the journey. The names of the stations can be displayed in English and Chinese. This system is used in the Taipei system and is helpful for passengers.
2. Have a green light at each door, to indicate the left or right door that will open at the next station. This system is adopted in Hong Kong.
3. Mark the space near the door with a yellow box. Passengers standing in this box should make way for disembarking passengers.
4. Display a map prominently at the exit of the MRT station, showing all buildings and bus services serving each bus stop within 2 kilometers of the station. This will make it easy for a commuter to take a connecting bus to their final destination.
5. Allow independent operators to use a light bus to run a feeder service to serve the catchment around each MRT station. This service can be operated at a low cost, with a short waiting time.
The first four suggestions are low cost and easy to implement. It will make it more convenient and enjoyable for commuters to take public transport, instead of driving a car.
Tan Kin Lian
Forum Page
Straits Times
During the past year, I take the MRT train regularly to visit most places in Singapore. I find the train to be more convenient that driving a car. I avoid paying high ERP and parking charges and driving in congested roads.
I wish to give the following suggestions to make it more convenient for commuters to take the MRT train:
1. Have a digital display above each door of the train to announce the previous, current and next train station as the train moves along the journey. The names of the stations can be displayed in English and Chinese. This system is used in the Taipei system and is helpful for passengers.
2. Have a green light at each door, to indicate the left or right door that will open at the next station. This system is adopted in Hong Kong.
3. Mark the space near the door with a yellow box. Passengers standing in this box should make way for disembarking passengers.
4. Display a map prominently at the exit of the MRT station, showing all buildings and bus services serving each bus stop within 2 kilometers of the station. This will make it easy for a commuter to take a connecting bus to their final destination.
5. Allow independent operators to use a light bus to run a feeder service to serve the catchment around each MRT station. This service can be operated at a low cost, with a short waiting time.
The first four suggestions are low cost and easy to implement. It will make it more convenient and enjoyable for commuters to take public transport, instead of driving a car.
Tan Kin Lian
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Give adequate wages to low income workers
I wrote an article with this title in Online Citizen. It is drawing a lot of discussion and comments.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/give-adequate-wages-to-low-income-workers/#comments
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/give-adequate-wages-to-low-income-workers/#comments
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tolerance for mistakes
I posted this comment in www.theonlinecitizen.com regarding the case of a father who went through the immigration checkpoint using his son's passport (by mistake).
I am appalled at the attitude of Singaporeans to mistakes that must occur from time to time.
The photograph on the passport is usually taken a few years ago. It may be difficult for the immigration officer to detect the difference between a father and son from the photograph. It is sometimes diffiult to judge a person's age from his physical appearance.
If our immigration officers have to screen through 350.000 Singaporeans and visitors each day, an error rate of 1% of 1% means that 35 people will have to be missed daily.
Is there a big security risk? I doubt it. If I am a criminal trying to flee Singapore, there are better and easier ways to leave this place than using a wrong passport.
I do not like to see over-reaction that will lead to stricter measures that will create a lot of inconvenience to ordinary people who has to travel.
I do not tolerate complacency. I am very irrated to see customer service officers chatting among themselves, rather than serving the customer. This also applies to immigration officers. They should pay attention to their work, rather than chat among themselves to relieve the boredom. I hope that the supervisors can instill this discipline.
Let us accept mistakes as they occur and do not try to exaggerate their impact. We are not a perfect society. Let us focus on the more important things in life.
I am appalled at the attitude of Singaporeans to mistakes that must occur from time to time.
The photograph on the passport is usually taken a few years ago. It may be difficult for the immigration officer to detect the difference between a father and son from the photograph. It is sometimes diffiult to judge a person's age from his physical appearance.
If our immigration officers have to screen through 350.000 Singaporeans and visitors each day, an error rate of 1% of 1% means that 35 people will have to be missed daily.
Is there a big security risk? I doubt it. If I am a criminal trying to flee Singapore, there are better and easier ways to leave this place than using a wrong passport.
I do not like to see over-reaction that will lead to stricter measures that will create a lot of inconvenience to ordinary people who has to travel.
I do not tolerate complacency. I am very irrated to see customer service officers chatting among themselves, rather than serving the customer. This also applies to immigration officers. They should pay attention to their work, rather than chat among themselves to relieve the boredom. I hope that the supervisors can instill this discipline.
Let us accept mistakes as they occur and do not try to exaggerate their impact. We are not a perfect society. Let us focus on the more important things in life.
Jubilee Series 8 Notes
Hi Mr. Tan
What do you think of the above investment?
> Standard Chartered Bank is pleased to offer you higher fixed rate interest on your deposits and investments.
> The Jubilee Series 8 Notes, which pays 3.15% p.a%, interest payable quarterly,
EC
REPLY
There is an analysis of this product in this blog:
http://www.lioninvestor.com/merrill-lynch-jubilee-series-8-notes/
I usually advise people to avoid structured products.Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/sinvest.html
What do you think of the above investment?
> Standard Chartered Bank is pleased to offer you higher fixed rate interest on your deposits and investments.
> The Jubilee Series 8 Notes, which pays 3.15% p.a%, interest payable quarterly,
EC
REPLY
There is an analysis of this product in this blog:
http://www.lioninvestor.com/merrill-lynch-jubilee-series-8-notes/
I usually advise people to avoid structured products.Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/sinvest.html
Are restructured products fair to small investors?
Are structured products fair to small investors? The evidence is "no". Many people have been disappointed with the poor yield on structured products. What can be done to deal with this problem?
Here are my views:
http://www.tankinlian.com/articles/structuredi.html
Here are my views:
http://www.tankinlian.com/articles/structuredi.html
Lucky draw on a donkey.
Here is one of my favourite jokes which has some relevance to insurance.
A young man bought a donkey for $100 from a farmer. The donkey died. The owner thought of a way to get his money back. He arranged a lucky draw for the donkey, sold 100 tickets at $2 and collected $200.
The winner of the draw came to collect the donkey, found that the donkey was dead and made a complaint. The owner refunded back his $2.
The moral? Some insurance companies collect your premium. When you make a claim, the reject the claim (or refund back your premium) on the grounds of non-disclosure or other reasons. Look for an insurance company that is honorable in paying claims, and in treating customers fairly.
A young man bought a donkey for $100 from a farmer. The donkey died. The owner thought of a way to get his money back. He arranged a lucky draw for the donkey, sold 100 tickets at $2 and collected $200.
The winner of the draw came to collect the donkey, found that the donkey was dead and made a complaint. The owner refunded back his $2.
The moral? Some insurance companies collect your premium. When you make a claim, the reject the claim (or refund back your premium) on the grounds of non-disclosure or other reasons. Look for an insurance company that is honorable in paying claims, and in treating customers fairly.
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