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  • Damanhuri Abas: “The Reserved PE Has Divided The People Like Never Before”

    Damanhuri Abas: “The Reserved PE Has Divided The People Like Never Before”

    “The reserved PE has divided the people like never before” – What do you think?

    ***

    A nation agonizes over 2 commendable aspiring candidates, from a tiny almost non-existent pool limited by imposed racial restriction, hoping to qualify over an excessively high financial bar that they clearly cannot meet, and a hollow sloganeering ex-government figure trying hard to abandon her recent past and parading her sudden new found neutrality, all over a supposedly noble Presidential campaign sadly undermined and tarnished even before it begin. The reserved PE has divided the people like never before. A cruel departure from its stately position as the unifying figurehead it was meant to be. It fly against all reason to execute an out of sync intervention on the PE for its declared reason to right some racial inequality in society. It is totally unnecessary and misplaced affirmative action for ulterior motives and will likely backfire.

    The smiley faces that front the prospective candidates paint a false media led facade of acceptance for this queer act by the Government. It belies their insincere and bad faith to address deep systemic discriminatory practises that it admits still exists today and may have had a hand in. Ironically, the very community that supposedly will benefit, in fact will have its collective integrity severely damaged for accepting to be used for it. The issue of race is about the intent of our nation to establish a truly multi-racial democratic society based on justice and equality. What we all pledged to daily, for a good 10 or more years of our lives. This single act by this Government tarnished those words we religiously uttered together, rendering them meaningless into years of futile parroting exercise by us and our children.

    Singaporeans should not allow ourselves to forget those lofty ideals that our founding fathers wrote and fought very hard for. This aberration is a sad chapter in our history that we must overcome together. Many of us still truly believe and live our lives daily to realise the multi-racial Singapore that we worked tirelessly to keep. The Government that once stood for all the good that this country has build, now, is sadly led by leaders who strangely abandons those core principles that has made us to be, a shining beacon of prosperity, justice and equality, that our founding fathers aspires for this nation. The achievements that we made surely are much more than the mesmerizing iconic skyline of our city. It is more preciously, the collective identity shaped by years of rigour, sacrifices and hearts of the multitude of people of all races living together in this island state we call our home. Each one cognizant of our unique diversity contributing to the colourful tapestry of our multi-racial society build overtime with honesty and mutual respect for one another. These are the sacred values that unfortunately we see eroding caused by the very people that are responsible for its upkeep.

    In this lose-lose scenario, the next elected President will unceremoniously inherit a divided country it ironically has caused. We in truth, also allowed ourselves to be divided, for all the wrong reasons. Led by leaders who chooses their vested interest for continued power, above the interest of our nation, our founding fathers and us, the people. May all of us who love this country and cherished all that it stands for as enshrined in the verses of our constitution, huddle on, wised up and collectively rise again from this dismal state we are in, to one day correct the mistakes we did, before its too late, for the sake of our children and our future generations. Heads up my fellow Singaporean and be counted when our country needs us the most. We may lose this battle but let us unite to win another day to regain back our country.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Pork Briyani Is Now Available In Singapore

    Pork Briyani Is Now Available In Singapore

    To all Muslims, please be aware that currently, pork briyani is introduced in Singapore. The shop’s grand opening is on 9 September 2017.

    Shop: Banana Leaf Pork Briyani
    Location: 71 Woodlands Industrial Park E9 Wave 9 #01-04 Singapore 757881.

     

     

  • Commentary: No Need For A Contest? Reserved Election Promotes Multi-Culturalism? What Utter Nonsense!

    Commentary: No Need For A Contest? Reserved Election Promotes Multi-Culturalism? What Utter Nonsense!

    *********** Not Par for the Course ****************

    Over the weekend , the MSM was suggesting that perhaps there is no need for a contest in the upcoming Presidential Election and that the reserved Election promotes multi-culturalism .

    What utter nonsense !

    This reserved Election has already gone down as the most despised , ridiculed and discredited election in Singapore history . It has set back the Singapore identity and race relations by 50 years . It has laid to waste all the efforts at Nation building for the past half a century , all for the sake of political expediency by the establishment .

    The Singapore identity meant amongst other things , that when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility , what counts is not membership of a particular class but the actual ability which the man possesses . That Singapore identity has been totally shredded by this reserved election .

    The Establishment uses euphemisms such as promoting multi-culturalism to camouflage the racial ugliness of their stratagem . Multi-culturalism is always inclusive and never exclusive , which sadly is what the reserved election is all about .

    Halimah Yacob says that the reserved election is still meritocratic because all the candidates have to meet the same qualification criteria . No Madam . A meritocratic system is one where other races are not excluded from being elected President . You are participating in a ” handicapped ” election where other races are excluded in favour of a particular race . It is comparable to the US Masters Golf tournament being reserved only for Black golfers in a particular year . Tiger Woods did not require such a handicap competition to win the Masters in 1997 or 13 other major championships , and countless other tournaments throughout the world . Neither did Barack Obama require a reserved Election to become the first Black American President in 2008 , an achievement which was thought well-nigh impossible just 2 years earlier .

    For those who suggest there is no need for a contest , I have this to say . Whoever becomes the next President of Singapore has already become so diminished by this whole absurd saga . To even begin to salvage a modicum of respect for a hollowed out Office requires the person to win the command and respect of the Singapore people in a proper contest . If there is a walkover , there will be no mandate or respect from Singaporeans for this President , who will assume Office on 14 September as the lamest of ducks !

     

    Source: Tean Lim

  • Damanhuri Abas: Reserved PE Is A PAP’s Ploy, Sadly A Compliant Malay Community Will Only Served Their Plan To The Tee

    Damanhuri Abas: Reserved PE Is A PAP’s Ploy, Sadly A Compliant Malay Community Will Only Served Their Plan To The Tee

    Today we are sadly living in times when values are mere rhetorical slogans thrown around with no sense of truth that it becomes meaningless.

    Few years ago they said to attract good leaders in government, peg ministers pay to top private salary bracket. The assumption is that this would bring the so-called talent from private to the public sector. What it failed to explain is the logic of correlating two different positions and roles with two different objectives and responsibilities. Yet we seemed to swallow it. A dismal flow of ‘quality’ people from private to public since they up the salary is a damning exposé on its illogical logic.

    Actually all this strange logic is only possible because the whole process only went to a parliamentary route which is already a biased one as the overwhelming power of one party would simply allow them to use it to push through their preferred decisions. The fair route would have been to allow thorough public debate which would have prevented this and other changes from seeing the light of day but alas we killed that possibility by allowing such a lopsided parliament to exist in the first place.

    And the rest is history.

    This PE being reserved is but another similar episode of the PAP simply using their power to get away with what they want. The full machinery of control is then used to validate a clearly unjustified ruling. A compliant Malay community do not help as they simply served the PAP plan to the tee.

    This will not end and more crazy changes will take place so long as we the people continue to allow them to do so by our own failure to act according to our conscience.

    Today the PAP has set the ground rules to ensure that the chance or possibility of a political breakthrough for the opposition to be minuscule if not impossible. With the GRC and the gerrymandering, they effectively already won even before election is called. If we factor in the exclusive access to public broadcast where they no longer even bother to hide their utter blatantness in utilizing the public media to propagandized and even bring disrepute to oppositions, the outlook and prospect gets only worst for the opposition.

    This is the state of the nation today.

    The fundamental role of check and balance, fairness and justice no longer exist in so far as political space and reality are in Singapore. We collectively are responsible for this situation. History has shown how this is unsustainable and will lead to abuse and suppression or even oppression on any segment of society that dare to challenge their dominance.

    We had a window of hope in 2011 but 2015 showed how we chose to follow our emotions rather than our rational mind and logic. By the way things are, and the slew of changes to strengthen their almost absolute control, 2020 may be worst.

    Without unhindered political space, unlike most other regional nations, we remained sadly behind the political maturity curve. This stagnation or even regression is taking place amidst a changing economic reality that are driven primarily by freedom and space accorded for dynamic social growth in which political freedom is key.

    Therefore it do not augur well for our future that today we remained stuck in this clearly debilitating discourse over the highest office in the land not over the critical role and function that it meant but the secondary or even minor issue of racial equality totally misplaced and clouded with so much questions, half-truths to even strange redefinitions. It is really painful to see the acting by all parties to this national charade.

    To think that with all the intelligent minds that we have produced as a nation and to see such outright dumbing down of the people for vested political interest of the PAP is a damning indictment on our ownself. No one else is to blame really.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • This Is What Happens If You Don’t Vote In Singapore; A $50 Fee If Reason Is Not Accepted

    This Is What Happens If You Don’t Vote In Singapore; A $50 Fee If Reason Is Not Accepted

    Voting: is it a right or a privilege? The verdict’s still out on that, but in Singapore, you’d better believe it when they say voting is compulsory.

    According to the Elections Department website, “Voting at Singapore’s presidential elections or parliamentary elections is compulsory for all eligible citizens. It is part of the responsibilities of being an adult Singapore citizen.”

    So what really happens if you don’t vote?

    Well, you don’t serve time in prison, that’s for sure. But the Returning Officer (that’s Ng Wai Choong, who took over from everyone’s favourite Yam Ah Mee) will pass the list of names who didn’t vote to the Registration Officer, who will then remove your name from the list of eligible voters. This means you won’t be able to vote in future elections. It also means that you’re automatically disqualified from running as a candidate in any election.

    You can get your name back on the list of eligible voters, though, if you explain why you didn’t vote here or send in a form providing your reason for not voting. Take note that you will only be able to restore your name to the list before the Writ of Elections is issued (it’s too late now), and that only certain reasons may be accepted, such as:

    1. working overseas (including being on a business trip) at the time of the poll;
    2. studying overseas at the time of the poll;
    3. living with your spouse who is working or studying overseas;
    4. overseas vacation; and
    5. illness, or delivering a baby.

    (Source: Singapore Elections Department)

    If your reason is deemed invalid, you will have to pay a S$50 fee in order to get your name restored (no, this is not an SG50 joke).

    So to avoid having to go through the trouble of getting your name restored, cast your votes next Friday, and vote wisely, Singaporeans.

     

    Source: https://vulcanpost.com