Joshua Chiang/
The first time I learnt that the head of state of Singapore is the President, he was already dead.
I was six years old when Benjamin Henry Sheares, our second President passed away. I remembered watching his funeral procession on television. I remembered the flag flying at half-mast, and the 21-gun salute. Most of all, I remembered feeling very sad. I didn’t know about what the President does then of course, but it was enough that a very dear person to Singaporeans had passed away. It was truly a day of mourning.
Such is the paradoxical power of the ceremonial head of state. By virtue of being nearly powerless, and hence above politics, he becomes a uniting figure, a living symbol to rally around regardless of political views and affiliations.
Flash forward thirty years later, three days after the most closely fought Presidential Elections which saw the victor getting only 35% of the popular mandate, and I begin to wonder if the person who first floated the idea of an Elected President with limited powers had anticipated that the President’s office would become yet another battleground for the tussle of political power.
It didn’t use to be like that. The oft-heard rationale for the Elected President was so that a rogue (read: non-PAP) government would not be able to spend the country into bankruptcy if there was a responsible President to hold the second key. Or so the logic from the smartest brains in the country goes. What the logic fails to account for is that in order for the ‘rogue’ party to come to power, it would already by then have the support of a large number of the population. And that in doing so, that same population would likewise want a President that best represents them. The government must be truly naïve to believe that people with partisan interests would not be interested in capturing an office that has the power to influence key appointments of public officers and control how much it can dip into the reserves.
And quite frankly, neither could it just sit back and watch. Dr Tony Tan might truly have made up his mind on his own accord to run for the presidency, but it is plain for all to see who the government really prefers to be President of Singapore, and conversely, who it doesn’t. Afterall, every government of the day likes to carry out its work with as little impediment as possible.
So we can assume that the government can heave a sigh of relief that it gets a President who has shown an understanding and respect for the role of the President that isn’t too unlike what it has in mind. But perhaps it also realizes the Catch 22 situation it has created for the President – how can an office that is seen as politicized, that it has had a hand in politicizing, act as a unifying force?
The ceremonial presidents before had no such problem. (In fact, I don’t recall any of them making any promises that they will unify the people.) Also, the mere fact that the ceremonial presidency was largely powerless means that the government could always appoint someone that is largely seen as non-political into the role. Not so anymore.
In fact, it is deeply ironic to have all four candidates in the latest Presidential Elections claiming they will unify Singaporeans when elected. What they forget is that Singaporeans have to want to unite behind their President as well. Unfortunately, the past twelve years has made people cynical about a Presidency which has become identified with the PAP. That a former PAP minister is now the next President doesn’t help. Dr Tony Tan has his work cut out for him.
Like any institutions, the Presidency has evolved from its original purpose, and not always for the better. There is little doubt that the office has become politicized, and will continue to be politicized. We have to re-evaluate the Elected Presidency, and decide what can be changed to allow for an office that will not be used for partisan interests.
The nation used to mourn together for the passing of its Presidents. It would be a crying shame if we don’t feel the same way for future Presidents because they have become synonymous with politics.
Singaporean are generally very united when in time of problems. Others than that, they are very vocal during the peaceful times. Can be quite irritating and somehow swing the votes. TT don’t have to do much unite the people; let them be. The more he would want to defend himself, somehow he gets himself some knocking…but one thing for sure, he really has to thanks the netizen for doing the opposite.
Maybe its just me, but it seems to me this election may have identified how many are true blue HARDCORE papsters.
It seems like there are 35% or nearly 800,000.00 citizens choose tt no matter what valid concerns have been raised by the minority .
That is A LOT! of hardcore citizens in our midst. I wonder who these are? I have so many questions for them.
@ ahMENG
You’ve got it wrong this time.
Steven Kho’s great grandmother lamented Puiyi had a 2″ cork. Puiyi is impotent, you know already.
Any President who attempts to divide the people is no president at all. TT will of course do his best to bring people together. The writer asks “do people want to unite behind TT”. That will depend how TT carries out his functions. I think people will be fair.
The immediate thing TT can do is to have PA, CCCs, RCs come under or subject to the office of EP. Ensure all these organizations are truly non-partisan n apolitical. All office bearers in these organizations are citizen n are not members of any political party. In this way he can truly contribute to the unity of Sporeans n prove to us that he is independent of PAP.
there are many respectable bloggers… they are amazing…right GG?
to truly represent us (all of us) he’d have to
– work cooperatively with the government 35% of the time
–stand up for what he believes in 35% of the time
– perform checks and balances 25% of the time and
– be the voice of the people 4% of the time
and obviously he’d have to donate part of his salary to the disadvantaged.
:))
I believe that one good thing has come out of this election. it is a wake-up call for the politically apathetic (who vote by default for the gov endorsed) . They would begin to question about why TT could have ALMOST lost… it would shake them out of their political apathy and make them more interested and responsible voters.
The fact that 65% have voted against TT also assuages their fears in voting for the opposition next time round.
Is that written in the Constitution, if not, NO GO! Have a life fellows? Dream and hope how you could be a millionaire is more realistic. Afterall, millions millions everywhere.
I think the government got it wrong again!
If the role of the President is to protect reserve from rouge government, then the more the President should not have any association with the government.
If the role of the President is to unite people then the more the President should not have any association with the government. Because any government will always have oppositions at the other end of the table regardless of how popular they are.
As such, the rules for the President should be such that he is someone who never have any association with any political parties PAST and PRESENT. Certainly not someone who has recently resigned from a party.
No endorsement shall be allowed. Let people make their clear choices.
Only then you will find a President who is independent and who can unite people and protect reserve.
In the May 2011 parliamentary election, 60 percent of the votes went to PAP and 40% to the opposition.
In the August 2011 presidential election, 35 percent of the hardcore loyalist supporters voted for Dr TT and the remaining 25 percent voted for Dr TCB.
I can see that this bigger group of 35 percent staunch supporters of the PAP is unshakeable. They are from the super rich in districts 9, 10 and 11, and the upper end of the middle class, who will vote for any candidate so long as the person is endorsed by the PAP.
I believe there was strategic voting at the presidential election.
I can see that 10 percent of the swing voters [from the 40 percent who voted for the opposition in the GE] gave support to Dr TCB instead of to TJS with the hope to counter the PAP loyalists rooting for Dr TT.
It did help to bring up the percentage for Dr TCB from 25 to 35 percent but it was not enough to beat Dr TT. It was short by 0.34 percent or 7269 votes.
The swing voters’ strategy was to help Dr TCB to beat Dr TT and with the hope that TSJ would stand a chance to gather enough votes to beat both of them.
However, the strategy overlooked to address and win over the rejected voters of 37,826 or 1.76 percent of the total 2,153,014 votes cast, and the 121,759 voters, who did not vote or 5.35 percent of the total number of eligible voters of 2,274,773.
The total of 159,585 votes adds up to 7 percent. It was not insignificant in the election for president. It could have been the major deciding factor that could have helped change the result of last Saturday’s presidential election.
It does seem to imply that the Presidential post is an anarchronism…and Tony Tan should be our last pesident…that post should be scrapped….
Modern day govt.does not need a person to be paid 4.2million $ just to have a big wide smile….
A real democracy does not need a President.
Get real. Even the religious god cannot unite a nation, what more mere mortal?
We have probably run out of ideas how to unite our people and had fashioned our own ” Thai king”. Even he, a passing monarch, failed to unite his people maybe we shouldn’t deceive ourselves and insult the people’s intelligence?
Yes, we need to give credence to the center of power but that center cannot be a….man.
Tony Tan’s first job should be to look into the figures of the Reserve & tell us how is there left & how much is squandered.
This ‘unifying the people’ thing is a distraction. If they are sincere men with integrity, the PM & the new President would have first give credit to all 4 men, that includes TJS & TKL for contesting & for their diversity in ideas.
If Tony Tan is man of integrity, he would have said he will look into his son’s NS case & get to the bottom of it as he does not tolerate favours esp as it concerns the ministry that he was in charge & esp as it concerns his son. How can he unite people when he has no problem that his own son is treated a cut above others by those wielding power?
The PM & the President will have lots more to smile about from this day, they both must have breathed a sigh of relief knowing majority of Singaporeans can still be led by the nose.
@Lulu, Tan Kok Tim
I don’t think that all voters of TT are hardcore PAP supporters. You also have to consider that voting is compulsory in Singapore. Thus people who don’t care much about politics are more likely to vote. They are probably more influenced by mainstream media and they rather choose parties or candidates whom they better know, i.e. the ruling party or affiliated candidates, especially when one party has been dominating politics for decades. But it seems to me, that this effect is getting weaker as the Singaporean society is getting more politicised.
…
1st of all, by allowing 4 candidates, the opposition vote will be split, but not the pap diehards, coming in the form of new citizens, slave traders, parasites, stooges, puppets, croynies.
in the very beginning, the damm lky always said the role of the president is onlt for the minority, so clam the neighbours, but with MILLION DOLLARS, dangling, the role is no more than a FARCE, because GREED is in all PIGs faces
now that GREED, ZERO MORAL, NIL INTEGRITY, NIL PRINCIPLE, NON COMPASSION IS THE CARDS TO PLAY, you will be seeing more STOOGES, CRONIES, PUPPETS, PARASITES, FLOODING THE LIME LIGHT.
HOORAY FOR THE ISLAND NATION,
IT HAS GONE TO THE DOGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tt already made it very clear & obvious that he has the full backing of PAP & he himself is wholly behind everything PAP.
So from the word go, he’s already decided to politicise the presidency. His aim & that of the ruling regime is to make sure that the presidency does not falls into the hands of the enemies.
Now after gaining a lucky win, he wants to talk about being a unifying force to all of singapore.
It’s a big joke that’s not even funny.
Anyway please take a closer look at his definition of ‘all singapore’.
Read & look at what he said on nomination day – he proudly tell all who cares to listen that those people who were with him on stage ‘consitutes all of singapore’
So don’t be too happy when tt says ‘all of singapore’, what he meant was defined to ‘people who follow him’ only.
It is very condescending of those to assume that those who voted to TT are unthinking PAPsters. We just have longer memories of the good things he had done. We are just more sceptical of the promises made by the other candidates. We are just more concerned that we will get a very divisive head of state. We do want to have checks and balances but do not think that it is the role of an EP to be a policeman.
Don’t need unifying…need jobs for slave!!!
The voters have choosen to work harder to serve his $4m President.
Like your drawing.
But TT the EP will be with No Heart, No Voice and No Palm Tree. Only his Glasses to help him see betterer (hopefully) as his vision is impaired!
Agree fully with ‘One of the 65%’.
whether or not tt can unites singaporean together is yet to be seen. if he still a hardcore papis, that’s the problem. otherwise, he should think deeply down in his heart that all these years of running ministry offices and stat boards with high flyer position, he should asks himself this question.
HOW MUCH HAVE YOU REALLY DONE FOR TRU BLU SINGAPOEAN ESP WITH THE AVERAGE AND POOR PEOPLE? WHAT WOULD DO FOR ONCE THAT IF YOU REALISED SINGAPOREAN REALLY NEED HELPS BADLY, WILL YOU GO AGAINST GOVERNMENT LIKE WHAT OTC DID FOR US??
This will probably be my last contribution to both TRE and TOC. I am not a good writer, or else I will write a book in support of LKY statement of Singaporean are daft. Never mind
On this subject, how can the President unify the people. By that statement you can tell that it is a stupid request. The reason is, you only unify the people when there is external aggression. the reason why Singaporean is not unify, this is because of policy the suffering of groups, the power hunger opposition and the daft of people. Tell me how can a person do the unification when this person do not have executive power? The only way is to soften the opposition and try to get as many of the current people to his side with some goodies etc.
Now if I am the president, based on the situation I will rope in TCB and let him to what he is best with, charity and donation etc, these activities will not impact the policy of what the government want to do, at the same time I probably win about 20 to 30% of those who vote for TCB.
Next I will continue to support the government policy of foreign talent, remember this, once the new citizen surpass the opposing group. In terms of unifying factors I look good.
That is why my previous message to TOC already mentioned my situation analysis.
Now I want you to know that the government policy of foreign talent is a must. That is without a doubt. and when I see many Singaporean complaint that the foreign talent are trash; this I can tell you that it is not for you and me to comment. It is the corporation that take them. That is why in this area, it is a noise and I agreed to it.
Now you may want to challenge me why support this policy. We have to, if not we cannot move forward. Then what am I fighting for? I tell you this, and I want you to clearly understand it. The reason why I stand on opposing team on this issue is because the Highly educated MP,highly paid ministers and the government never think through of the consequences and then take some measures to control it. They should know that it will impact the housing, the transportation, the culture different and more important the cost of living etc. That is why I stand with the opposing team. It is because the screw up of the group in the government that is why the good policy did not properly take off.
There are many issues, issue such as CPF, the ISA. the ministerial pay, the reserve as well as the people paid organization tie with the ruling party. The positioning of PA, PEC, EC all these have to re aligned. In addition the abuse of power etc. I guess it is not going to change.
Well, this is what I want to share, do not blame each others. Read my 1st write up and this one, you will understand that you have a lot of things to learn if you want to get involve with politics. And remember this, you only have 5 years or less.
Bye for now! and God Bless Singapore
Reality Check: 90% of the so-called 65% on this forum are actually part of the 25%.
Please do not continue to feed your opposition heroes that 65% of Singapore love them regardless of what they do as long as they are opposing.
Poeple want check and balances, not a road block. Currently, SDA, SDP, RP and NSP all position themselves as PAP hatchetman. No need to look far to see where they get their idea from.
As long as the ISA and a corrupt judiciary is the backbone of this regime, there is no change intended. With this grip on the population nothing will be respected. The PAP relations will continue to suckle at the honey pots of the country, extort unbelievable salaries as officeholders, bring in as much foreign economic units as required by cheap industrial enterprises, disregard the concerns of the people such as extreme poverty, flooding and permanent joblessness. Tony Tan will give the nod and bless every requirement of the PAP so that the concentration of Power is perfectly protected and perpetuated. We will have to endure this state of affairs for at least the next 5 years. As the grip of the ISD, the Rule of Law and State Institutions strengthen with time it may be that this is the steady end state of the Nation, its people an afterthought to a grand scheme of enrichment for the PAP core members. Unless something unforeseen happens when minds unite in resolve to throw off the shackle. The Arab Spring can come to this Nation.
As long fools remain, rascals get voted in.
That is the predicament here in this red dot of an island.
Too many are disconnected, self-absorbed n worse of all blindly enthralled on the frosting(s) of the cake.
However, all is not lost as the internet and many younger Singaporeans are waking up to the reality of what PAP is all about.
PAP delivers but the costs are horrendously incredible. There is no need to elaborate with many egs but one suffices – HDB is milking citizens off their money UNFAIRLY and more so when it purports to be subsidized and considers it as public housing.
When Mah Bow Tan was in charge – he did not overlook nor did he make unwise decisions. He knew that Singaporeans would be adversly affected by the inequitable policies. What amazes me is that not one of the MPs or Ministers complained or spoke on behalf of citizens.
What about LHL? He being PRIME MINISTER would have been privy to the state of affairs and his silence on the matter was a tacit support of MBT.
We are now in a situation where there is almost no one not connected with the PAP.In a sense, adding it all up, the PAP has 100% of the votes ! Because even TJS and TKL have their roots in the PAP one way or another. This is a bad state of affairs because the citizenry cannot bring the whole range of people in our social spectrum into leadership positions. Incest within a family has the same characteristics. Incest creates highly inbred individuals who are mostly defectives in some aspects. We are beginning to see and hear more of such political defectives in the speeches made by new PAP MPs. How are we to put an end to clones upon clones of the same type of people who bark at the same rhythm as the chorus of a Greek tragedy? The answer is staring us in the face: free the judges from political control of their appointments so that they do not need to demoralize society by their sordid justice, get rid of the ISA and its physical embodiment the ISD, normalize the salaries of office holders like Ministers so that the stakes for their holding on to public office is not so high as to be insurmountably impossible etc. Most of all my fellow citizens have courage, confront the political police in the event that you are singled out for humbling. This fear of the political police and sudden catastrophe has become our collective unconscious bringing memories of the hantu of our childhood days. With hantu so broadly based in our society, PAP will be the very air we have to breath for the next half century. The PAP and their cohorts will not give up their grip on a cowed population without a struggle and it is upon us.
Black Hei31 August 2011
Poeple want check and balances, not a road block. Currently, SDA, SDP, RP and NSP all position themselves as PAP hatchetman. No need to look far to see where they get their idea from.
………………….
really har?
pap hatchetman?
so 1st 2 know the true? cheques and balance$ perhap?
read below…i am EARs…
credit to fortune magazine
==================
Now we learn from the August 15, 2011 issue of Fortune Magazine that Singapore has no sovereign wealth.
Instead it has a sovereign debt of US$254 billion, which is 95% of Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This puts Singapore at 8th position as one of the world’s most indebted nations. Singapore is near the bottom of the pile; only seven developed countries are more in debt, in terms of GDP.
Apparently, Singapore has borrowed heavily from its own Central Provident Fund (CPF) which holds the retirement funds of Singaporeans. This explains why Singapore is not only raising the retirement age, but making it more difficult for Singaporeans to get their retirement funds even when they reach that age.
………………..
siap siap suey perhap$
ow much cpf is yours in the DEBT$?
$10 or $99?
Whether or not all four are linked to the PAP is a matter of definition and timing. Maybe only two can be called truly of the PAP. Nevertheless it shows a dearth of political experience dished out to Singaporeans. It certainly is not a healthy state of affairs as indeed we the citizenry are feeling the heat of two million new bodies brought into our country, choking our jobs, transport , housing, medical , educational services.The PAP has sold our country with us as sitting tenants. All because there is no effective voice in Parliament to oppose such moves and moves to enrich themselves by gross overpayment of remuneration and sucking the juice out of the honey pots of the country. The ISD is a sentinel watching over the population for any challenge against the centre of power and the judges will do everything asked of them to quash any dissenters. To ensure that the PAP is not the sole dish on offer we have to oppose the centre of power’s power and that is the PAP version of the Rule of Law. How to do this? That is the question. There seems to be no answers which are safe and easy.
Read below a report from CIA website provided by TOC netizen on government’s rationale to set up The People’s Association:-
QUOTE: Singapore offers a unique case history of counterinsurgency in an urban setting, where the leadership early recognized the problem in its political form and developed programs of a political nature with which to stunt insurgent growth. In this happy situation there was no requirement for direct American participation, but an opportunity was offered to learn lessons which can and should be applied elsewhere.
Singapore is a city without a countryside, with more than two million people packed into an urban area not much larger than Richmond, Va. In this environment social problems multiply. It came as no surprise when the large pro-Communist left wing of the ruling People’s Action Party split off in 1961 to form an opposition whose purpose it was to exploit these multiplying problems. As a consequence, there emerged two parties with almost equal strength in the legislature and an almost equal call on the loyalties of the people.
When PAP leaders surveyed their shrunken mandate after the split, they decided to meet the crisis head on with a nation-building program designed to wean pro-Communist voters away from the opposition. Their plan was unique in several ways. First, it was wholly an Asian creation and at no time depended to an important degree on idea,. or resources from outside. Second, the program aimed at two-way communication between government and ruling party at the top and the people below, and it aimed also to prove that the government could be responsive to the people’s needs. Finally, the program deliberately confused the roles of government and party so that the people tended to praise the party for activities undertaken by the government, Funded by the government but exploited by the ruling party, it cultivated an image independent of both. Thus Singapore’s unique People’s Association was born.UNQUOTE
Chen Show Mao is not wrong to allege that PA is acting like the political arm of the ruling party.
PA’s press release to the Straits Times published on 28.8.2011 clarifying that it is an organization established by the government for bonding of people obvously contains a lot of untruths and inaccuracies.
This matter should be debated in parliament so that there is no abuse of power in the name of bonding of people which obviously is untruthful.
If PA carries on in this manner, it should be renamed PAP people bonding branch not and should not be entitled to block out common areas used for performance of duties to Aljunied residents.
I think given so many are diehard papsters with unwaivering determination to support the pap at all cost, regardless of race language or religion and all the questionable things about Tony, the only way for opposition to win the middle voters is to show more attributes of pap. Do not show that you are opposing . Show you are pap2. have more innocent and scholarstic looking talents to join you. Get a Public relation expert in. paint a picture of bluer than blue.
When times get worse like the next financial crisis, if it coincides with the next election, you should be able to advance.
Its clear the people cannot choose anyone other than the pap regardless of all issues and concerns that are valid.
2ndly, I suggest TOC and TRE have monthly or bi-monthly small events to invite hardcore papsters to share with us why they voted for pap regardless.
Don’t make it confrontational. Make it information sharing. Make it informal and a session to understand one another better.
The opposition supporters have valid concerns but the papsters also die die will never support opposition regardless of everything.
So, to UNIFY the DIVIDED country, TOC and TRE or any blog should have such video sessions, yes, has to be video sessions as its the most powerful medium. The intent and purpose is to let each side understand the other side.
Frankly, I still do not believe a papster can convince me their reasons for supporting pap.
So, this is why I also like to find out how they think and why they voted that way .
I hope they can convince me its not self interest.
We lack a LEADER who can unify the Divided city.
The last EP shows clearly that the Opposition or against-pap supporters CAN NOT unite and look at the bigger picture .
This proves : we are a pan of LOOSE SANDS. Self-Interest means and guarantees a DIVIDED people. These people need to be organized and Lead.
BEING A CITIZEN WAS NOT MY CHOICE TO MAKE. I was born a citizen. I frankly do not like the Spirit and Mentality of this country.
Dear Tony,I hope you don’t mind me calling you Tony. I am sure being
fresh fromcampaigning, you are still in a backslapping, informal, mix with
thecommoners mood and don’t mind my being informal.I am not sure if you
are presently basking in the after-glow of yourvictory. But it must be
difficult for you to accept that the majority ofSingaporeans did not vote
for you and in fact view your victory with dismay..Your victory must
have been a big relief to you given the very slim majorityyou won. Put in
another way, you almost lost. If just 20% of the spoiltvotes had gone to
TCB, it would have
happened. To paraphase WinstonChurchill, “never has so much depended on so
few”, 7,269 voters to beprecise.I am sure you read Malcolm Gladwell’s
book “Outliers” where the element ofluck was highlighted in “Success”. You
were extremely lucky in having 3other candidates and they were certified fit
to contest and the votes weretherefore split.You were lucky to have two
fairly strong contenders who to some extentdiluted the votes among
themselves. If it was a straight fight between youand TCB or you and TJS, I
daresay the outcome may have been different.You were also lucky that TKL
entered the fray and proved to be stubbornuntil the end. He could have
surrendered early in the campaign when it wasapparent that his was a lost
cause and asked his supporters to back TCB orTJS. This
could have endeared him to Singaporeans. Instead he perseveredin his self
delusion that he had a chance and is the one who made itpossible for you to
win. Singaporeans will remember him for that.I need to be upfront with
you and say I did not vote for you.I did not vote for you as I thought
you would not be independent being sointimately tied up with the Government
and the management of the reservesonly up to two months ago. I wanted
somebody who was much more independentand not afraid to speak up. You did
not fit my requirements.I was also very disappointed and angry at the
continued silence over yoursons’ NS. Why is it so difficult for you and your
sons to provideinformation on what they did during their NS and refute all
the variousallegations? If your sons are proud of their NS record, then why
be so coyabout telling more.Surely with your background as a banker and
a top politican, as you yourselfstated, it is important not only to be
principled and fair but to be seen tobe so. You surely know better than to
place yourself in a position whereyour actions and motives can be
questioned. People will always wonder andquestion. Continued silence will
just leave this sore festering and blightyour Presidency. Who knows when
and under what circumstances thiscontroversy will resurface and this could
even affect the PAP in
futureelections?Given your actions during this campaign, I will not
hold my breath waitingfor clarification and I think Singaporeans will never
know unless theinformation is forced and pried out somehow.We had
previously a President, who was not elected by any Singaporean voter,and who
served for 12 years. A Presidency best distinguished for being thehighest
paid political office in Singapore much more than
even the PrimeMinister himself). Now we have a President chosen by one out
of 3Singaporeans. So there has been some progress after all.Could I
suggest you start off your Presidency on a high note? How aboutdonating your
entire President’s pay to charity? TKL and TJS were willingto part with
some of the pay. TCB thought it was
tantamount to buyingvotes. You said nothing. Since you already won the
elections, you can startoff your Presidency with this magnanimous gesture.
This will be a powerfulsymbolic move to put your Presidency on solid moral
ground right from thestart and emphasise your commitment to public service
for all Singaporeans.Iam sure you can spare the few millions involved.
This will make itexceedingly difficult for future potential candidates to
challenge you thenext round.I am afraid I cannot give you much
advice right now on what else you can do..Although you have won, you know
that the majority of Singaporeans aredisappointed that this happened. But a
win is a win and is better thanlosing. You are now in the saddle. I am sure
your advisors will bebrainstorming with you over the coming months on how
you will define andmanage your Presidency.The PAP itself probably
also was very relieved that you had won but willhave to reexamine the
reasons for your poor performance and learn from thisepisode.For the
future, I just want to say that although we may stand as a sign ofrespect
when you officiate at functions, do not mistake this as anythingelse than a
sign of respect to the office that you hold.
Just remember that what is
worse than an unloved President is a President that we do not respect.
Respect must be earned.
Please don’t take the whole of 6 years to do
this.I wish you luck and success.In the end, we are all
Singaporeans.Majulah Singapore.Yours
sincerely,Ah Sook
Latest circulating email received. Eye-Opener to even thos 35.2% and ther other 35%? Dignity anyone?
NOTE: Sorry picture not admissible in such blog spheres and so not visible as note in the following text msg.
QUOTE
This is what happens when our leaders molly-coddle FTrash by exhorting S’poreans to adapt to the ways of new PRs & citizens from PRC. First they tell us not to cook curry when they are at home (which we gave in) and now THIS ! They have have become so audacious that they are now flying a communist flag for all to see, as though saying to us S’poreans “So What ?!! WHAT CAN you do about it ?!!!” What a joke !!!
Belated message but good to share such disrespectful happening without punishment!
Mana boleh…
This is kurang ajah.
Saya TCB supporter also tak boleh agree, dont say TJS only.
Can meh…. Not China National Day right.
August 26th, 2011 | Author: Contributions p
NOTE 1:
1. Picture of China’s flag hung from the left of the HDB unit’s front right unit during our National Day Celebrations clear as daylight. Will the SPF take action without a Singaporean making a report to them?
2. This may be “see”n as a one of as “a one-off case of mischieve”. But then isn’t BY LAW, DISRESPECT OF ONE’S NATIONAL FLAG BY ANYONE (Foreigners included) IS PUNISHABLE!
3. This brings back memories of Germany’s Merkel incident.
4. This is just some citizens’ ‘zero’ cents worth of Common Sense observation and thought. And should not be an issue for cyberspace consumption in our “Open and Inclusive Civil Society I believe”. Thus, it follows that this posting do deserve to be moderated not if we indeed are? It is sincerely concerned Singaporeans legitimate actionc and comments and should thus be respected if no one is beyond criticism in our expressed type of society by PM LHL right sfter 2006 win.
Hi TRE,
I just wanted to share this with TRE community. This was a picture taken by a friend of mine very recently and uploaded on his facebook on 20th Aug. I’m assuming it was taken very recently, i.e.. period of our national day…
As he might not appreciate the unwanted attention (especially from PAP dogs) as he is posting under his real fb account, I’ll just forward this across to you, given all the recent disrespect to our Natiion’s flag.
FYI, it’s definitely no where near China’s national day. So it pretty obvious this was a spiteful event of some kind? Buy our HDB flats (i assume they are owners) and hang China’s flag during our national day period.
I have nothing against respectful foreign talent of our multi-culture society, But I have a great deal of issues against foreign trash.
Hoping you can post this up, show the ugly side of PAP’s endorse foreign trash policy and help sway some swing voters to other PE candidates.
Cheers
UNQUOTE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11186649
35.19% has agreed and accepted “what PE can do as specified by the written words in the Constitution and cannot do vis a vis all not written in the Constitution” This essentially means the EP cannot do beyond the advice of the PM and Cabinet. The best he can do is just to discuss with them behind the scene (privately) and the final decision is still based on the ADVICE of the PM and his Cabinet. This has been vehemently debated, discussed and emphasized. 64.81% somewhat not convinced of such limited power of the EP while 35.19% agreed completely and the President was elected on this platform.
Whether such platform can effectively bring unification of the people, addressing the issues and unhappiness rasied by the people (voices of the people) and clarifying the doubts and queries of the people on past, current and future issues, one just have to wait and see. Your guess of the possible outcome is as good as mine and everyone else on this HOMELAND OF OURS.
someone did mention a good pt. we truely can define from this GE how many % of singaporeans are hardcore Papsters and opposition supporters , it really 35:25.the rest 40% are in the middle. the narrowness of this differences are a shock. as the past few years, the supporters for opposition camps grew so much. that a mere 10% now separate between both hardcore fans.
You guys supporting the current crop of PAP are great naive people.
If they truly interested in guarding the interest of the people of Singapore, ie Singaporeans, then they should pay themselves highly.
The president’s role is to safeguard the reserve, how ironic that he is getting paid out of our pockets to feed him and his family well. Look who’s not guarding! It’s YOU, the Singaporean, who voted him in and send signal to the self-proclaimed elitists of the PAP that they are right to be paid highly.
What a joke, still is.
“…then they should pay themselves highly.”
Typo. Should be “they SHOULDN’T”
Tt黄鼠狼拜年,不安好心
With pappies, 狼狈为奸
Unite Singaporeans?
The last time we have an Indian Security Guard as goalkeeper for 12 years.
Now we have a Chinese Security Guard as goalkeeper for the next 6 years.
Any different? Same same lah be it Indian or Chinese.
See no evil, hear no evil and do no evil. Everything OK.
And thanks for the $4 million. Dont have to go to RWS to try luck anymore.
Tony Tan would never unite Singaporeans. Because if he does so, Chee Soon Juan would then say that we are being Oppressed or being undemocratic. Just when would it stick in his damn mind that all of us voted him out?
Jokes aside, Tony Tan would never unite Singaporeans because Singaporeans are made up of different individual with different desire and different beliefs. E.g. How is Tony Tan going to get Muslims to read the Bible?
Asking to unite us is impossible. Only way he can do that is if he starts to pull a Hitler or Kim Jong Il.
Won’t be 4million dollars soon hopefully. Frankly, president salary is really obscene.
I find it unrealistic to expect a minority President to ‘unite’ a nation.
One can speak of this but the reality is that commentators are only speaking of this because he won first-past-the-post with only a minority vote when the majority of the electorate voted for 3 other candidates.
If there was a reformed electoral system to ensure that they would be a majority President (either 2nd round runoff Indonesian style or instant runoff voting system Irish style), we would be assured of majority President and no need for calls of unity after the PE.
Unless TT intends to stand at next election – we won’t know if his efforts for the next few years really result in achieving unity. Perhaps just leave it to the his minders and the media to create a show of unity.
There’s no point to go & on about the unity, since there are no or few opinion polls on President’s performance.
Even if TT stands in next PE, TCB and others may not be there and with a less well known single opponent, he may ride home 55%:45%. Then there will be all the praises coming from some quarters that he has become a successful majority President after all able to unify the nation: simply because he does not have to face 3 opponents again.
My point being this 2011 situation is a result of a split vote due to the existence of 4 candidates (which may or may not happen again) and not really because of deep underlying 4-way split type of disunity amongst Singaporeans.
The appearance of disunity is only because of the number of candidates. So the more candidates who stand, the more disunited we would appear.
To appear more united, if that is the general desire, one only needs a runoff or instant runoff form of voting i.e. a fairer electoral system that creates a fairer result for the voters (i.e. majority president) is more meaningful, instead of unrealistically asking a minority President to create ‘unity’ or asking the majority of Singaporeans to disregard the unfair voting system and rally behind the minority President.
If those who voted against him can get assurance they will somehow be represented through other political channels and more social justice and assurance their legitimate grievances are heard and followed up upon fairly, perhaps the next PE will not be so policised. I only have limited optimism on there being electoral, institutional and policy changes for this.
The PE is just a side show. The main show is how Singapore is governed and the PE was used by candidates and voters as a proxy for the main show. Inevitable when one has a contest.