Tan Kin Lian

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong paid a visit to his ancestral village in China. An astute observer commented that the visit was intended to show that Singapore is a nation of immigrants and that the local people should welcome the new immigrants from China, India and other countries.

My late father came to Singapore from China 70 years ago. I also visited my ancestral village 20 years ago. I understand the sentiment.

I now have many friends who are recent immigrants into Singapore. I support and welcome their decision to make their future and home in Singapore.

But, I have to say these words on behalf of the local Singaporeans who appeared to be resentful of the competition for jobs, homes and space from new immigrants.

There are many things that need to be put right in Singapore. We are seeing the consequences of many decades of the policy of the current Government. They include:

a) A declining birth rate causing by the insecurity and unsatisfactory quality of life in Singapore
b) The burden of National Service faced by male Singaporeans, including competing for jobs
c) The loss of trust in our commercial and government institutions
d) An unjust society; the small people being treated unfairly
e) The loss of pride in being Singaporeans

Some of these issues have been voiced by many people, including me, over the past years. We need to address them and put things right, so that there is greater unity and cohesion among the people of Singapore. If we are confident and strong as a people, we will be able to welcome the new immigrants and help to integrate them into our Singapore society.

Established in April, Fisca is run by a 12-man committee of volunteers headed by former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian. It operates independently of any financial institution to “maintain objectivity”, said its committee member, postgraduate Michael Zhan.

Source: My Paper

I paid $36 to support Tan Kin Lian’s Fisca, who is doing something for the small guys.

I no longer want to have anything to do with some other people who are more interested in lining their own pockets, instead of working for people.

Arthur

By Tan Kin Lian

The situation in Singapore is very sad. The investors have to take an expensive and uncertain class action to sue the distributors of the credit-linked notes. Although the distributors were, in my opinion, negligent in selling the notes to the investors, they earned only a modest commission (maybe 3%) from the transaction.

A better solution is for the distributors to collaborate with the investors to sue the issuers of the credit linked notes. The issuers were the party that benefited most through the creation of these notes. They were also responsible for writing the prospectus in a manner to hide the true nature of the structured product, hence misleading not only the investors but the distributors as well.

The distributors had a fiduciary duty to their customers. It is only right that they should do all they can to help their customers. In this regard, the action of Great Eastern Life should be applauded. The other financial institutions should emulate this good example to do what is fair and right for their customers.

If the distributors, being financial institutions, buy over the credit linked notes for 50% of the invested sum (plus 50% of the ultimate proceeds), they will have the financial and legal means to sue the issuers to recover any damages that were caused by their action. The distributors can also decide on the best action to recover and protect the value of the underlying assets. In contrast, there is no way that the individual investors can take any of these actions.

Another possible action is for the government authority to take the appropriate action on behalf of the consumers. This was done in many countries, most notably in New York State and other parts of USA. Hong Kong is also adopting a similar approach, although done at a somewhat late stage.

I hope that the financial institutions and the government authority can take this action now. Better late than never.

By Tan Kin Lian

It is important for our society to be operated on the principles of honesty and fairness. The minibond crisis has raised many issues of deep concerns to me, and many other people in Singapore.

When I organised the Petition last September, it was very clear that the financial institutions had failed in their conduct as required under the Securities and Futures Act and the Financial Advisers Act. The Petition, signed by more than 1,000 people, asked the authority to carry out an investigation and take appropriate actions under these law.

After a protracted period, which left many investors in deep anguish, the investigation report was published. The punishment meted to the financial institutions was light. Many investors, who lost large sums of money, were not compensated. This raised serious doubts on the question of fairness and justice in our society. It seems that the ordinary people are at the mercy of the powerful people and institutions.

Hong Kong took a different approach. The authority exercised its power and influence to get the financial institutions to make compensation of 60% or more, to the investors. The amount that is being compensated is many times of the compensation in Singapore. The situation is similar, in respect of wrong doings by the financial institutions.

The Hong Kong settlement is scantly covered in our local media, although it is a matter of great importance, not only to the invsetors who are affected and their families, but to the other people who are not affected. It shows two different approaches taken by two states on a similar issue.

This raise another serious issue of honesty and transparency. Why is such an important issue being swept under the carpet and not reported in the mainstream media? People are not blind. They can read the news in the internet and the blog. They have ears and can listen to news in the coffee shops and elsewhere.

I hope that the authority will reflect on this matter and re-approach it on the principles of fairness and honesty. It concerns the future of our country, the people and our children.

By Tan Kin Lian

Singaporeans, in general, are a fearful people. They are afraid to express their views and do not have any opinion. They are afraid to take any risk or face the consequences. They prefer other people to decide for them.

For several decades, they are afraid that their vote in a general election is not secret. They are afraid that they will lose their job or will get into trouble with government officials, if they are found to have voted for a party other than the party in power.

Read more

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Are we seeing a modern Animal Farm happening in Singapore, where corruption and propaganda are used to control the populace?

Tan Kin Lian

ANIMAL Farm is a novel written by George Orwell in 1945. I studied this book for Literature when I was in Secondary Two.

It is a satire, depicting events in Russia leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II. The animals of Animal Farm threw out the owner Mr. Jones and took over the farm, depicting the overthrow of the Czar of Russia during the Russian Revolution in 1917.

The animals, representing the people, looked forward to a better life under a new leadership. Their leaders were the Pigs, and Napolean was the supreme leader. He ruled Animal Farm initially with the support of the animals, but later kept his power through all means, including propaganda, lies and the use of terror.

Two memorable parts of the book were the Seven Commandments and how they became distorted and the story of the loyal horse Boxer.

Seven Commandments

The original seven commandments of Animal Farm were written to reflect equality of the animals, ethical behaviour and the search for a better life:
Whatever goes upon two legs enemy
Whatever goes upon four legs or has wings is a friend,
No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.

Corruption

Later Napoleon and the Pigs (elites) were corrupted by the absolute power they held over the farm. To maintain their popularity with the other animals, they secretly painted additions to some commandments to benefit the pigs while keeping them free of accusation of breaking the laws. The Pigs manage to get away with this because only Benjamin the donkey and Muriel the goat can read to any effective degree, but they were not willing to challenge the pigs.

The commandments were changed to accommodate the desire of the leader for a life of luxury and wealth, while ignoring the lot of the other animals.

No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
Four legs good, two legs better!
No animal shall kill another animal without cause.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Boxer

I felt strongly attached to the horse Boxer. He was the symbol of the working class: loyal, kind, dedicated and respectful. He was physically the strongest animal on the farm, but naïve and slow. His two maxims were “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right”, reflecting his strong and unquestioning loyalty to the leader. He was, to a large extent, taken in by the propaganda of the leaders. His work ethic is often praised by the Pigs, and he is set as a prime example to the other animals.

When Boxer was injured and could no longer work, Napoleon sent him off to the knacker’s yard to be slaughtered and used to make glue and leather. He deceived the other animals, saying that Boxer died peacefully in the hospital and that the ambulance was an old knacker’s van that hadn’t been repainted.

Transformation

Towards the end of the story, the pigs learned to stand on two legs and regarded the four-legged populace as inferiors (i.e. lesser morons). They started to wear Mr. Jones’ clothes, slept in beds and drank alcohol.

They brutally ordered the killings of the confessing animals (who were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit).

The slogan “Four legs good, two legs bad!” was later changed to “Four legs good, two legs better!” as the pigs became more human.

Relevance to Singapore

Although this book was written as a satire to the Russian Revolution, some bloggers have started to compare it with what is happening in Singapore today.

There are grounds for the people of Singapore to be concerned. We have seen the good old values of Singapore being replaced by new values. In the past, Singaporeans were more honest in their dealings and had a stronger sense of caring for each other. In recent years, ethics and honesty are being set aside in the pursuit if wealth. There was less care or concern for the welfare of the weak and the poor.

Even the pursuit of equality was now thrown aside unashamedly. Someone told me that this is now replaced by the expression: “Look at the fingers of your hand – do you find them of equal length?”

I cannot help but think of Boxer as reflecting the workers of Singapore – hard working, dedicated and loyal, but were let down when they grow old. After a lifetime of work, they could not afford to retire and were asked to continue working. They have no security, no pension, no savings for old age (many lost through the credit linked notes) and cannot afford the expensive health care.

I have seen many examples in our society where business and public leaders say one thing but acted in a different way. They declare a concern for the welfare of the customers, but continued to make excessive profit at their expense. They declare a strong belief in corporate governance, but felt it proper to hide information “in the interest of the organisation”. Similar examples can be found in the public realm. If one is used to distorting the truth, in due course, one will believe the distortions to be true!

I like to mention the wise old donkey Benjamin in the story. He could read as well as any pig, but preferred to have a low profile. Benjamin had known about the pigs’ wrongdoing the entire time, but he said nothing to the other animals. He represented the cynics in society or the intellectuals who had the wisdom to stay clear of the purges, but take no action themselves.

Written by Tan Kin Lian

Published originally at The Online Citizen

I received an e-mail from a young person aged 27. I extract a few paragraphs from his e-mail below:

Hi Mr Tan,
…. It pains me to see how incompetent the current government is. It’s no joke: whenever you seek help or answers, you are pushed into a chain of merry go rounds whereby each recipient declares that someone else is responsible.
…. Look at the recent current affairs. Which agency or leader have ever declared “yes, it’s our mistake. we will do whatever we can to learn and not repeat them” ?
…. Every single one starts by declaring “it’s not my fault. Everyone else is to blame” and then finds a scapegoat. If not, then they say, “Everyone went in with their eyes open”.
… For me, I am waiting for a new dawn in Singapore Government. Failing which, I’m setting my sights on New Zealand. I heard the grass there is not only greener, but a lot less hectic.”
Singaporean traits

I have personally observed the following traits among Singaporeans over the past many years:
a) Unwilling to take personal responsibility. “It’s not my responsibility”. They are always ready to pass the buck to somebody else. Before taking any task, they want to have their responsibility clearly defined.
b) Unwilling to admit a mistake. There is a fear of making a mistake and paying a heavy price for it, such as losing their job. They learn how to handle it – by passing the blame to somebody else!

How did it happen?

How did Singaporeans get these two traits? I believe that it is due to our education system. They strive to be the top in the class, so that they can qualify for a scholarship. To be top, they must have 100% marks. They cannot make any mistake. If they admit to a mistake, they will lose marks. So, they learn how to avoid admitting a mistake, by pushing the blame to somebody else.
The top scholars never make any mistake. Later, they become the head of our civil service, political leadership and business establishments. The colleagues who work for them learn from their leadership style and behaviour. After a few years, this becomes part of the Singapore culture.

Bad Policy Decisions

Many major decisions in Singapore are made by a small group of people who discuss the issues in secret (fearing a leak of information). To make matters worse, it is quite widely believed in Singapore that many key decisions are really taken by a few top people, or maybe by one person. The people involved in the detailed planning try to second-guess the views of the top people, and will formulate proposals and plans that are acceptable to the top people.

This approach has led to many bad policy decisions being taken. These bad decisions continue a long time, because of the fear of admitting a mistake. Some examples are our public transport and education systems.

Our public transport system has now become quite expensive and does not provide the standard of comfort and convenience that is possible. Our education system produces students with good marks, but lacks the moral values and practical common sense (i.e. street-smart).

Educate Values

To make a change, we have to strengthen the education on values. I like to share the four key values that are important to me:

a) Honesty
b) Fairness
c) Public interest
d) Courage

Honesty. We have to be honest as part of our character. This goes beyond business dealings. We have to be honest in expressing our views and beliefs. We cannot just follow the views of people in power because it is “safe” to do so. If we make a mistake, it is honest to admit it, rather than to push the blame to somebody else.
Fairness. We have to be fair to other people. We cannot take advantage of their ignorance (and profit at their expense) or weakness (and exploit them). We have to give them a fair deal. It will lead to more harmonious relationships and a better society. We cannot cheat others and say that “they should open their eyes” or that “it is a free market”.

Public Interest. We should be prepared to work for the public interest – provided that our basic requirements have been met. We should look for leaders who are prepared to put the interest of the general public above their personal interests. They can make an important contribution to improve the lives of the people. This will be better than monetary rewards.

Courage. We need people who are wise to know right from wrong and have the courage to take action to put things right. Many Singaporeans are fearful of the consequences of taking a different view from the people in power. They dare not speak up, for fear of jeopardising their current status. They only speak anonymously or in the coffee shops. This has to be changed.

Innovation

We want to build an innovative society in Singapore. Innovation requires the willingness to try many different approaches, to make mistakes and learn from them, to take input from as many people as possible.
The input comes not only from theory but from practical experience. We have to talk to the ordinary people who face the practical issues everyday.

Change for the better

I hope that we can change the negative traits in the Singapore character and have people who are able to know what is right (from wrong) and are willing to stand up for what is right. This will produce a more robust people and society.

We help ourselves. Don’t expect others to help

Tom Wright painted a bleak picture of Singapore’s property sector going forward at The Wall Street Journal. His article ended with the following:
“I’m yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel [for Singapore],” says Mr. Tan, the high-end broker.
We would expect people to continue to dig the dirt and tell it to [...]



Our skin isn’t as thick as it should be

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) organised a seminar on March 4 to discuss Singapore’s political blogosphere.  Tan Tarn How, Senior Research Fellow and Research Assistant Tan Simin presented their paper on trends observed in the blogosphere.  As reported in the TOC, the researchers identified the following limitations:

The online-offline firewall, while somewhat alleviated by offline [...]



Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew – The answer to the African problem?

Recently, I followed a thread “Democracy and Economic Growth” which started in PoliticsForum.org.   Apparently, members there often question the role of democracy in a developing nation. “During the wave of democratization in Africa during the 90s, many people had renewed hope for the continent, immediately equating newly established democracies to economic growth. Are these democracies [...]



Tell Singapore government: Ask them a question or give a suggestion

We informed people about the “Tell Singapore Government” subsite and have received some interesting reaction at some forums.
See: 3in1 Kopitiam, Sam’s Alfresco Coffee, Singapore Kopitiam, SgForums
Our responses to some of the comments are listed below. If we are not answering some other specific questions, that is because we do not know how.
 

Petitions

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I don’t know

Our Singapore

As seen by people

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• Purpose

To observe, analyse, present our position, and call for action. Read our articles, give your views, and learn together with us.