BECAUSE I ADOPTED MY CHILDREN FROM ABROAD, I know more than most Singaporeans about the ins and outs of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. Here are two important lessons I've learned from painful experience. First of all, wake up early. The office opens at 8 am so aim to get there by about 7.30 am at the latest so you can queue to get in. It's unpleasant to have to wake up early just to queue, but it's worth it. If you are among the first to see the officer, you are out of the ICA in 15 minutes, tops. On the other hand, if you get there later in the morning, or heaven forbid, in the afternoon, you will end up waiting for at least an hour just to see someone whose job is to literally rubberstamp your application and give you a new dependents visa.

The other secret is to carry a small, crying toddler with you. That way, if you happen to miss your turn because you get there so early that you have no time to complete your application before your number is called, you can still show up at the counter and hope that pity will move the guy behind the counter to give you a break. Like I said, these are lessons that were painfully learnt.

Which is why I am a big fan of Internet portals such as CORENET, LTA.prompt or the Police Licensing Computerised System. In my line of work, I'm unlikely to ever need a permit to dig up a road or to submit a Strata Certified Plan to the Singapore Land Authority. I might conceivably require a public entertainment licence, but as my friends will tell you, what I do in public isn't really entertaining. However, I speak not as someone who lays pipes but on behalf of anyone who's ever had to stand in queue just to submit paperwork.

Who amongst us has not stood patiently in line only to find when we get to the front that we are in the wrong queue? Who amongst us has not queued up only to be told that we don't have the right documents or that a form was not filled in properly, so come back tomorrow?

Queuing is tediously painful and occasionally barbaric. The online alternative is vastly superior. Thanks to various Public Service initiatives, I've done the following things online: paid my taxes, applied for my passport, notified Mindef about going overseas and registered my business. No need to queue, no need even to negotiate the hell that is most interactive voice response systems. The only occasional problem I've encountered is that sometimes, services are tailored for Windows systems and Mac and Linux users get left out. As a Mac user, it is infuriating to be locked out of a system that should, with some forethought, work for you if only someone cared enough.

I believe that more and more services should migrate to the Internet, and in doing so, processes be streamlined at the same time. Putting a service online makes end users happy, because we don't have to queue up, and it speeds up processes because once everything is digitised, paperwork can be sent around faster.

That said, I should add that it is important that the old queuing system be retained for services aimed at citizens. There are people in Singapore who don't own computers, who don't know how to use the Internet, and who can't read in English, so we will still need to retain queuing for these people. However, for businesses especially, I say, go full steam ahead. Make it mandatory to use the online portal. It will save everyone time and money. I do have one small request though - can you make sure the system will run on my Mac?