TR EMERITUS

I give this suggestion to MAS on how to introduce eCash into Singapore to replace physical cash (i.e bank notes and coins). I know of past failures of introducing the NETS Cash Card. We need to adopt a new approach to ensure that eCash does not suffer the same fate. The key changes required are: * Easy for the merchant to receive payment by eCash. * Easy for the customer to get an eCash card. The cost should also be low. This how I see the process works. 1. Any customer can buy an eCash card for $2. There is no need to register. The eCash wallet is anonymous. 2, They can transfer money into the eCash card at an ATM machine or by internet banking. 3. They can go to a top up point to give physical cash and credit the money into the eCash card. 4. The merchant can use a mobile phone (with NFC reader) to receive the eCash. The merchant can also buy a special device, costing about $200, to receive the payment. This device can be subsidized by the govt. When customers and merchants get used to eCash, they will prefer to use it as it saves time in handling physical cash and giving change. After a year, eCash can be the dominant form of payment at food courts and small retail outlets. China has gone through this transformation with AliPay and WeChat Pay (which requires a mobile phone). The eCash card is easier to use. It will work.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

A commentary by Channel NewAsia on Friday (5 Dec) touched on the political succession in Singapore. The COVID-19 pandemic and the weakening of the economy has led to delays in handing over the reins, despite the 4G leadership having already picked Heng Swee Keat as their "first amongst equals". Is a delay of succession inevitable? Amongst several political analysts interviewed, the consensus seems to be that succession would be delayed beyond 2022, which is the year that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he would step down as he turns 70. Mr. Leonard Lim, country director Vriens & Partners. Lim felt that the handover would take place in 2023 "the earliest", which is during "the second half of the Government’s term". However, he added that this would be complicated by the Presidential Elections that year. On the other end of the spectrum, Lim felt that the latest time frame in which the transition would occur would be in 2026 - a year or two after the next General Elections. If this were to take place then, Mr Lee Hsien Loong would be 73 years of age whilst Mr Heng would be around 64. It was interesting to note that Mr Lee Hsien Loong was 52, and Mr Goh Chok Tong was 49 when they took over the reins. Another academic, Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser from the National University of Singapore felt that the leadership transition may "skip a generation and be passed to those in their early and mid-50s by 2025, like Chan Chun Sing, Lawrence Wong and Desmond Lee.” A third, Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University said that whilst he does not “foresee a generational skip in leadership from 3G to 5G", there could be a possible skip from 3G to '4.5G'. Nonetheless, "this could be politically unsettling even if [Singapore emerges] well from the COVID-19 crisis". No confidence in the 4G? Professor Eugene Tan was also quoted as saying “Questions will invariably be raised in the event of an inordinate delay over whether the 4G leadership is equal to the task of leading Singapore in the post-COVID era.” Socio-political commentator and blogger Andrew Loh asked: "If the so-called 4G ministers are apparently still deemed not capable enough to handle a pandemic, or to take over the reins of leadership, then why are we paying the highest salaries for public servants on the planet?" What do you think?      Read More →

I’ve often stated that when it comes to religion, I am a Buddhist student of Christian theology who has been blessed by Muslims, Jains and Hindus. Someone on Tremertitus described my situation as messed up and a few people have suggested to me that my I’m destined for hell and that my lack of material success is down to my inability to devote myself exclusively to a single God. I think of this as a blessing. My experiences with people of different creeds has made me understand that there is yet to be a single faith with a monopoly on virtuous people and no religion has a monopoly of arseholes. I’ve often said that the best and worst paymasters I’ve had were both Tamil and Catholic. I’ve noticed that the Almighty tends to come to us in different forms. For me, while I will bow to Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist statues as much as I cross myself every time, I pass a church, I tend to see the presence of the almighty as a guidance rather than an active player. Prayer is an act to assurance. It’s not the same for everyone else. For the entrepreneur I married, prayer is the seeking of blessings in business. For others, God is a doctor and a banker. I’ve heard that people experience cures from things that the doctors had described as incurable. The Old Rogue used to say, “We are more than just a collection of atoms,” and you can’t write off everything as mumbo-jumbo. Having said that, I do believe that there are professions where God should not enter. I’ve stated previously and I’ll never tire of saying it, God should not be in real estate. Just look at the insolvable issue between Israel and Palestine. Two groups of people which share so many similarities have been unable to settle a land dispute for nearly a century because they were under the impression that God was a real estate broker for certain parts of the desert. The second profession where God should not enter is of course, politics. If you look at human history, you will notice that God does not exactly have the best of records when it comes to politics. OK, I’m saying that I think that politician should be without faith. I do believe that faith can help make a person better and as having good people in politics is imperative. What I do object do is you have people coming into office on the grounds that they are God’s exclusive agents on earth. The problem with that is that the people who usually come in on the ground of being “God’s Exclusive,” have a way of ensuring that they do everything else except what you’d imagine God would want them to do. Take the world’s most prominent theocracy as an example. Iran has a dual system of government where there is an elected president and parliament. However, the elected portion of government is subordinate to the guys who are nominally chosen by God. Iran’s presidents are all limited by term limits. The Supreme Leader stays for life and pretty much nothing gets done in Iran without the permission of the Supreme leader. So, despite being filled with highly educated and rational people, Iran remains unable to interact with the wider world because, well God’s agents don’t see the need to. Once again, arseholes are not limited to a single religion. Buddhist Burma has been involved one of the worst human rights abuses of all times with massacre of the Rohingya population. In Israel, the Sha’s party of extreme Orthodox Jews prevents any form of intelligent settlement with the Palestinians. One of my favourite examples of why we need to keep God of politics is in America, where the current President has chosen to have a rather interesting spiritual advisor. This is woman is called Paula White.. To be fair to Paula White, she has a nice rag to riches story. She is in her own words “trailer-park trash” and somehow, she found God, wealth and the ear of the most powerful man in the world. The other thing that you can say about Paula White is that she’s pretty in a “trashy” sort of way (eye-candy might be the politically correct term) and looks presentable in a dress: However, that’s probably as far as it should go. If you listen to this woman with a rational mind and consider the fact that the world’s most powerful man takes spiritual guidance from her, you’d end up rushing to cave and hiding in the hope that the end of the world will happen soon and swiftly. This woman (right) tells people that the ground she steps on makes things Holy. She, has, apparently been given the authority by God himself to make the grounds she walks on Holy. [LINK] When the election results were called against the Donald, Ms. White proceeded to launch a sermon accusing demonic forces of rigging the election and summoned angels from Africa and South America to sort things out (theologically wrong – summoning angels is God’s job not an individuals and angels live in heaven not in Africa or South America – though an African pastor in another video did suggest that she needed African angels because the American ones ate too many hamburgers and were too sluggish to do anything). [LINK] I’m not against people having faith or a relationship with God and politicians can choose who they pray to. However, when you’re talking about someone who has the ear of the most powerful man on the planet, it’s a different story, particularly when the world is in the midst of a pandemic and the country in question has by far and away the world’s worst number of cases. It’s a situation that requires rational and scientific solutions rather than someone’s conversation with angels and demons. It’s like the Malaysian Bomoh (witch doctor) who went on TV to declare that elves and demonic spirits made MH370 vanish. Sure, what this guy is saying is funny in a dark humour sort of way but it was totally unhelpful and it doesn’t help that there are people who listen and believe this stuff. The only benefit that the world had at the time was that the aviation authorities did not hire him to be a consultant. I’m all for politicians being believers. However, we need to remember that we live on the material plane where things like facts matter. Ironically enough, it was another so called “theocracy” that understood this. When Covid-19 struck, Saudi Arabia took steps to suspend Umrah and Haj Pilgrimages despite the economic benefits to Saudi Arabia (second largest revenue after oil) and political implications for the ruling family. Can you imagine how much worse the situation would have been if the millions who normally attend the Haj had been allowed to mingle and spread the virus because they thought God would protect them from the virus? In the middle of a pandemic, you do not need a snake oil version of God trying to convince people that they have magic powers. This is how you undo God’s work of making life on earth better for all mankind.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.      Read More →