<Facebook post by Terry Xu>
My bet is Halimah Yaccob. Then you have the claim that Singapore is progressive with a female President and a Malay one somemore.
I have seen for my eyes how biased is Halimah Yaccob towards the PAP ministers and MP against WP’s in Parliament as the Speaker of Parliament, what more to say if she is the President.
Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com
Since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced last week that next year’s presidential election will be reserved for Malay candidates, several names of possible candidates have surfaced.
Community leaders and observers cite two prominent figures from the community: Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob, and former Cabinet minister Abdullah Tarmugi, who was Speaker from 2002 to 2011.
Observers said both possible candidates tick all the boxes of the eligibility criteria for those from the public sector, having spent at least three years in key public offices.
PM Lee was speaking during the debate in Parliament on changes to the Constitution to ensure minorities are represented in the elected presidency from time to time, as the office is a symbol of the nation’s multiracialism.
Singapore has not had a Malay president since its first president Yusof Ishak, who died in office in 1970.
Madam Halimah, 62, an MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, entered politics in 2001, became minister of state in 2011 and then Speaker in 2013.
She is widely seen as a front runner. But when asked if she has given the matter thought, Madam Halimah told The Straits Times: “My paramount consideration is service to Singapore which I am doing by wholeheartedly focusing on my current responsibilities.
“Regardless of our position of service, it is more important to stay focused on the same core mission, which is to do our best for Singapore,” she added.
Political observer Eugene Tan of the Singapore Management University said her background as a unionist – she spent 33 years at the National Trades Union Congress and left as deputy secretary-general – will endear her to the man in the street. The labour movement will have no problem backing her, he said.
“That she is a ‘double minority’ sends a powerful message – that a Malay-Muslim and a woman can aspire to and be elected to the highest office in the land, as both groups are under-represented in the office of head of state,” said Associate Professor Tan, a former Nominated MP.
Association of Muslim Professionals chairman Abdul Hamid Abdullah added that Madam Halimah connects well with people on the ground, who know her to be capable. “The fact that she wears a tudung is not a handicap,” he said. “She is very well accepted by both the Malay and non-Malay community.”
Iseas – Yusof Ishak Institute fellow Norshahril Saat noted that Madam Halimah would need to resign as an MP and a Speaker if she were to run for the presidency.
There is a precedent for this – former deputy prime minister Ong Teng Cheong resigned in 1993 to contest the first presidential election that year.
But Dr Norshahril said some voters might think Madam Halimah is too closely affiliated to the ruling party if she steps down as an MP and runs for president shortly after.
On the other hand, Mr Abdullah, 72, is a little more “detached”, having retired from politics in 2011.
Asked if he would run, Mr Abdullah, who was part of the nine-man Constitutional Commission that reviewed the elected presidency, said he has not given it serious consideration. But several friends have encouraged him to do so, he added.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
The Malaysian ringgit tumbled to a 12-year low in offshore markets yesterday, sending some Singaporeans into a buying frenzy.
One Central District money changer told The New Paper that his stock of RM300,000 (S$96,000) was sold out in four hours.
Emerging stock markets and their currencies have been hit by fears that once Mr Donald Trump assumes the US presidency, higher interest rates would spark capital outflows from this region.
At 10am yesterday, the ringgit was trading at 3.1504 per Singdollar according to currency conversion app XE Currency. The rate shown on the app is usually higher than what is offered at the money changers.
By noon, it was at 3.0351 at AR Money Exchange at Junction 8. By 2pm, it was between 3.035 and 3.05 at eight money changers at The Arcade in Collyer Quay.
Money changers there told TNP they saw a surge of customers buying ringgit yesterday .
Aksha Exchange opened its shutters at 10am and ran out of its stock of RM300,000 by 2pm.
Its owner said: “We didn’t expect to run out. So many people came to buy.
“One week ago, S$1 was RM3. Today, it is RM3.04.”
Since Mr Trump won in the Nov 8 election, the money changer has noticed a 30 per cent increase in the number of customers buying ringgit.
This was echoed by Arcade Plaza Traders’ administration manager, Mr Deen: “Forty to 50 per cent of our customers today bought ringgit. ”
Mr Trump’s pro-growth message in his acceptance speech had sent US stock markets and the US dollar soaring. (See report below.)
The president-elect even had a cordial midday meeting yesterday with US President Barack Obama that had a positive impact in the US. (See report below.)
But it was bad news for emerging markets, including Singapore.
Even in the queues, there were winners and losers.
Shop manager Niel Hoh, 28, who makes a trip to Malaysia every two months, saved more than $200.
“I bought RM10,000 for S$3,278.69 today. Two weeks ago, I bought only RM1,500, S$1 was around RM2.90.”
But permanent resident David Wong, 55, who works in a Malaysia real estate firm, felt the pinch.
He sold RM20,000, and got about S$6,500 – about S$200 lower than what he would have got four weeks ago.
Money Changers Association Second vice-president Danny Yoong, 48, observed that ringgit-buying remained stable in the past few weeks.
Mr Yoong, who also owns Bon Voyage Money Changer, said: “But there are signs that the ringgit is weakening, and demand for ringgit may become high.
“There are also some customers who wait to see whether the ringgit rate will go down even further.”
He added that the Singdollar is not doing well against the US dollar, and sees a 10 per cent increase in people selling US dollar.
ELECTION
“Before the election, Singdollar was trading at 1.38 to 1.39 per US dollar, but it became around 1.400 to 1.415 after the election,” said Mr Yoong.
At 8.56am, the Singdollar was trading at 1.4135 per US dollar – down 0.57 per cent from its close of 1.4054 the previous day.
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Muhammad Ibrahim sought to assure Malaysians that the ringgit’s fall is due to speculation among investors and not the country’s fundamentals.
But senior economist at Mizuho Singapore, Mr Vishnu Varathan, said the plummeting ringgit will have a short-term impact on the cost of living of Malaysians and Singapore.
He said: “We have many cross-border transactions and involvements. The ringgit also features heavily in Singapore’s basket of currencies, so the Singdollar will also be affected.”
The Singapore stock market continued its fall following Mr Trump’s victory.
After Wednesday’s knee-jerk losses, The Straits Times Index continued its downtrend and ended 19.49 points, or 0.69 per cent, lower to 2,814.6, taking the year-to-date performance to -2.36 per cent.
Reports of rowdy street protests and an increase in hate crimes on minorities after Mr Donald Trump won the US Presidential election have not deterred Singaporeans from making travel plans to the US.
Travel agencies approached by The New Paper said they have not seen any cancellations so far.
Dynasty Travel spokesman Alicia Seah said: “Travellers are usually concerned if there are frequent terrorist attacks, ongoing intense crime or violence, civil war or health alerts of an epidemic outbreak.
“With the result of the recent US election, there may be short-term events of demonstrations which will not affect travel sentiments.”
Similarly, a Chan Brothers spokesman said it has not received calls from any concerned customers.
“Similar to last year, bookings and inquiries for travel to the US have been consistent throughout the year,” she said.
Ms Seah said the demand for US tours has stayed stagnant in the past five years, but there was a slight increase of about 5 per cent this year.
“This is in view of direct flights into San Francisco and higher demand in the leisure segment as well as student markets,” she added.
A woman who declined to be named said the election results and strong US dollar is putting a damper on her plans to travel to Boston, Washington DC and New York next week.
The sales executive, who is in her early 30s, said: “I will still be shopping, but will probably not spend on big-ticket items like branded bags.
“I’m just going there and hoping that the places I visit will not be affected by the protests.”
The weakening Singapore dollar has left Singaporeans worried about the rising cost of studying abroad.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s final-year mass communication student Heidi Tan, 19, said she will have to be extra thrifty when she enrols in Monash University in Australia next year.
“I’m also going to get a part-time job so that I can study without constantly thinking about money,” she said.
As at 2pm yesterday, the Singapore dollar was trading at 0.9308 against the Australian dollar – down from 0.9623 exactly a month ago.
Mr Clement Seow, 19, a third-year polytechnic student who plans to study in Australia, said he was considering other options.
“If our dollar weakens considerably against the Australian dollar, I might reconsider attending a university there as it would mean skyrocketing expenses,” he said, adding that he might consider studying in other countries such as Japan.
But Ms Eve Yeo, 26, who is pursuing a master’s in health communication at Tufts University in Boston, US, said she is unaffected by the weakening Singapore dollar.
As at 7.30pm yesterday, the Singapore dollar was trading at 1.410 per US dollar.
“I changed all my money to US dollars before flying over earlier this year, so I don’t foresee being impacted by the falling rates now,” she said.
But it is not the end of the world for Miss Tan, who said: “I don’t think the increased value of the dollar will keep me from pursuing what I want to do because this is something I’ve been planning for a long time.”
Source: The New Paper
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing grumblings back home that he is “selling off” his country after returning from China with about US$34 billion worth of deals, which could help lift the economy ahead of elections.
The concerns emerge from a deep-seated distrust of the Chinese among Malaysia’s Malay-Muslim majority, who form the support base for the ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO).
Najib was quick to dismiss the concerns after concluding his six-day visit to China.
“Some have scaremongered that Malaysia is being sold off. This is absurd and absolutely false,” Najib said in a statement on Friday (Nov 4), insisting the projects will be owned and run by Malaysians.
The deals include Malaysia’s first significant defence deal with China, an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels.
Najib’s visit followed that of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who announced his country’s “separation” from the United States and signed agreements and loan pledges worth an estimated US$24 billion with Beijing.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai also defended the deals with China, dismissing fears of overt Chinese influence in the country. Speaking on the sidelines of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing between Malaysia’s Tunku Abdul Rahman University College and China’s Tsinghua University, he told Channel NewsAsia that “we actually attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from any countries who want to invest in Malaysia”.
“At the same time, we buy anything also from those countries who can give us the best offer and that is natural,” he said. “So I think if we buy ships from China, it’s because China offered us the better deal. If it’s any other country, we can buy from France or we can buy from the US.”
The minister was also asked to respond to criticism from Malaysian opposition MP Tony Pua, who referenced a media report that suggested Malaysia had spent a “ridiculous price” on the “most expensive rail infrastructure project in the world in its class” – the East Coast Rail Link project.
Pua had questioned why Malaysia had borrowed RM55b (US$13b) from China, given that Liow had said that was not the cost of construction, but only the value of the Financing Framework Agreement.
Liow reiterated that the price was for the “framework of cooperation”, and that it was an outline. He added that the cost was not finalised.
UMNO leaders expect Najib to brief them soon so the party can start allaying any fears about China’s rising influence in Malaysia, said Shahidan Kassim, a senior member of the party’s supreme council and a federal minister.
“All of this has its pros and cons, but in UMNO we must have a policy statement on this,” he told Reuters.
ETHNICITY AND RELIGION
Ethnicity and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, where Muslim Malays form a little over 50 per cent of the population of 31 million. Ethnic Chinese make up about 25 per cent and ethnic Indians about 7 per cent.
Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese have long been a scapegoat for the Malay community, with UMNO leaders pointing to ethnic Chinese economic dominance to unite Malays and keep a firm grip on political power.
Last year, ethnic ties became strained under the weight of two opposing demonstrations largely split along racial lines. A ‘Malay pride’ rally blocked off Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur in a show of strength following an anti-government rally dominated by Malaysian-Chinese. Najib’s government summoned China’s ambassador over his remarks ahead of the “Malay pride’ rally.
Clashes are expected again this year as thousands of anti-government demonstrators plan to protest in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 19, calling for Najib to resign over the money-laundering scandal linked to Malaysian state investment fund, One Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
A member of UMNO’s policy-making Supreme Council, Irmohizam Ibrahim, said Najib’s deals with China have stoked concerns among party leaders.
“We’re expecting the prime minister to address these issues at our next Supreme Council meeting,” Irmohizam told Reuters.
“We will then need to go down and explain to the grassroots that … the deals are purely for the economy and trade,” said Irmohizam, who also serves as Najib’s strategic director in the party.
Malaysia’s opposition is questioning the China agreements but for different reasons, saying it is tilting the country toward Beijing.
“Malaysia’s economic dependence on any single nation is unreasonable and will affect the country’s freedom and geo-political strategy and foreign policy,” jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement issued from prison.
“GOLDEN JEWELRY”
Najib is planning elections in the second half of 2017, a government source has told Reuters.
The investments from China could help the prime minister pump-prime Malaysia’s economy before then. A 2017 national budget Najib announced last month calls for only a modest spending rise, amid a continuing slump in commodity prices.
Senior UMNO leaders and urban Malays, however, are uncomfortable that Chinese money will drive the development of strategic assets, according to James Chin, director at the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute.
Chin says the Malay elite welcomes Chinese investment in purely commercial deals such as property purchases, but are more wary about agreements such as a 55 billion ringgit (US$13.11 billion) deal for the Chinese to develop a rail network.
“The problem with these deals is that they are seen as selling the country’s golden jewelry,” Chin said.
Ties between Malaysia and China reached a high point last December when Beijing came to Najib’s rescue with a US$2.3 billion deal to buy 1MDB assets, helping ease concerns over its mounting debt.
Relations with Washington became strained after the U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits in July implicating the prime minister in the money-laundering probe at 1MDB, the advisory board of which Najib chaired until recently.
SHIFTING POSITIONS
China and Malaysia agreed to enhance naval cooperation, after sealing the deal to buy four Littoral Mission ships, fast patrol vessels that can be equipped with a helicopter flight deck and carry missiles.
Malaysia, along with three other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei – are among the countries contesting territorial claims with China over the South China Sea. China claims nearly the entire body of water as its territory.
Najib said last month the disputes should be resolved through dialogue with Beijing.
Duterte during his visit persuaded the Chinese to let Philippine fishermen operate around a disputed shoal, before declaring his unhappiness with Washington over its criticism of his lethal antidrug campaign.
ASEAN, meanwhile, has struggled to come up with a unified position on the South China Sea disputes at its meetings.
“ASEAN will not go away… but increasingly the idea of the multilateral track will be downgraded as now we see a swing from two key claimants to a more bilateral approach,” said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think-tank.
(US$1 = 4.1950 ringgit)
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
I refer to the article “Parliament passes changes to elected presidency” (Straits Times, Nov 10). It states:
“It means Singapore’s next president is likely to be Malay, as next year’s election will be reserved for Malay candidates. The amendments also raise the maximum number of Non-Constituency MPs from nine to 12, and give them the same voting rights as elected MPs. All 77 People’s Action Party MPs present voted in favour of the changes, while all six elected Workers’ Party MPs opposed them.”
These are the statistics for the next Presidential Elections:
Source: http://theindependent.sg