Party political broadcast - 5 years back

Refreshing yoiur memory.

Perhaps it will be useful to go back 5 years ago to hear what was said in the battle 
to win the hearts and minds of Singaporeans before the elections by leaders of 4 
political parties, viz SDP, WP, SDA, & PAP. 

What will be the issues that will be brought up this time round?



Singapore Election 2006: Party Political Broadcast part 1 (Chee Siok Chin/ Sylvia Lim)
http://youtu.be/SjiiNSCupjA


Singapore Election 2006: Party Political Broadcast Part 2 (Chiam See Tong)
http://youtu.be/SG9zXF-503I


Singapore Election 2006: Party Political Broadcast Part 3 (Lee Hsien Loong)
http://youtu.be/CCuDwTgzA5g

Comparing credentials

SGEP has an article that compares the credentials of Lee Hsien Loong and Chen Show Mao.

Dolmabache palace, Istanbul

Mike Hansford contributed this fascinating power point of a beautiful palace in Istanbul, Turkey. See TKL website or click here.

Yeo Toon Joo's open letter to the government

An ex-journalist writes this open letter to the government, published in SGEP.

The black surgeon

An amazing story of a talented black surgeon who endured racial discrimination and continued to give his best.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=475

Funding unemployment insurance

I like to write a few words about funding unemployment insurance. The premium is paid by workers and are used to pay benefits to the unemployed.

Assume that the unemployment rate is 6%. If the unemployment benefit is 100% of wages, the premium rate has to be 6% of their wages. It is not advisable for the benefit to be 100% of wages, as it will create a moral hazard, i.e. some workers may voluntarily become unemployed. If the benefit is 50% of the wages, the premium rate can be reduced to 3%. 

Additional measures may be introduced, as follows:

a) The benefit is payable only for retrenchment after at least two years in the job.

b) The benefit is paid only for a certain period, say 12 or 24 months. 

c) The unemployed person must actively seek work and cannot reject a suitable job that has been offered.

With these rules, it may be possible to bring down the insurance premium to a lower level. Another factor is the share of the contribution from tax revenue. This contribution will bring down the insurance premium rate proportionately. It is possible for the insurance premium to vary according to industry. A higher rate may be charged for industries with higher unemployment rate, i.e. the rate is based on actual claim experience. 

A final point - the unemployment insurance scheme has to be compulsory by law. If it is voluntary, only those who suffer a higher risk of unemployment will buy the insurance. This will not give a sufficiently large pool to spread the risk. 

Tan Kin Lian

Contest in Tampines GRC -HSK and GMS

Dear Mr Tan
We truly envy the Hong Kong people and what Hong Kong Monetary Authority have done for them. I have watched Channel 8 news 630pm (about 1 week ago) of Mr Heng Swee Kiat in response to Minibond saga that MAS have a vigourous system and most of the investors have their money back,. This is not the answer but a comparison of how a caring authority would do to protect their people when they were being victimised.
 http://www.economist.com/node/18486397?story_id=18486397


I am glad that Mr. Goh Meng Seng, who spoke for the investors at Hong Lim, is now contesting against Mr. Heng Swee Keat, former MD of MAS. I wish to give my support to Mr. Goh of the NSP.