Tag: Farid Khan Kaim Khan

Presidential Hopeful Farid Khan Says He Will ‘Work Harder’ And Is ‘Almost Ready’

Singapore presidential hopeful Farid Khan Kaim Khan said on Tuesday (Aug 8) that he would “work harder” to “reach more people” in order to compete with favoured rival Halimah Yacob and her greater political pedigree.

Mr Farid, 62, first stated his intention to run for presidency in early July. The chairman of marine sector company Bourbon Offshore Asia was the second to do so, after an announcement by 67-year-old businessman Salleh Marican in late May.

Mdm Halimah on Monday confirmed her bid for the post, the third name in the ring, for an election scheduled for September and reserved for Malay candidates only. The 62-year-old resigned from her official roles as Speaker and Member of Parliament (Marsiling-Yew Tee) the next day.

Speaking on the sidelines of an annual Bourbon beach cleaning event at Pasir Ris, Mr Farid said he both “expected” and “welcomed” the entry of another candidate.

“We want the people to have more choice,” he said. “Now there are three of us, and if more come, we welcome them too.”

Asked what his edge was over Mdm Halimah, he said: “I’m not linked to any political party and I have no personal agenda.

“I’m here to serve the people and the people will have to decide. If they want someone independent, that’s me.”

He added that his campaign strategy would centre on using “a lot of social media”.

“People just need to know me and what I stand for. This is important and it’s the message I will drive to the public.”

It remains unclear if Mr Farid meets the eligibility criteria to join the presidential race – specifically in the requirement for private sector candidates to helm a company with at least S$500 million in shareholders’ equity.

When first asked this at his unveiling last month, he said his team was “still compiling documents” for a successful application and he reiterated this point on Tuesday.

“We are almost ready,” he concluded. “We will submit our application by next Wednesday.”

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com

August 8, 2017
Osman Sulaiman: Changes To EP Entrenches PAP In Our Political System

The civil service certainly has no dearth of talent. If it decides to gather people of talent, Im sure it can put up a few good men.

Sadly, the civil service serves not the nation but panders to political influence.

Recently, the 9-member Constitutional Commission formed to review Elected Presidency system had made some changes to our elected presidency.

On the surface, it looks like a tweak but these changes to the presidential system are actually monumental. It ravages our democratic rights.

To be the president, the requirement for private sector candidate is that the person must have been heads of companies with paid-up capitals of $500 million in shareholders’ equity on average over three years

The rationale is that the candidate must have experience managing big amount of money to safeguard our national reserve.

The above policy is ill fitted.

Point 1, it disqualify a huge majority of the people from becoming the President. Nowhere in the world has such a policy existed.

Now comes the second part:

The President will have to consult Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) on ALL fiscal matters and key public sector appointments. Disagreement between the two, will have to be brought before parliament.

If President acts agaisnt CPA’s advice, Parliament can then reject president’s veto power with a majority.

With the above system, the President would no longer have any discretion to decide on important matters. Its decision can be overridden by CPA or when it disagree with the CPA, its veto power can be neutralized by parliament.

Let’s revisit point 1. Why then set the bar so high to $500 million? What difference does it make between a hawker stall holder and a CEO of an MNC after becoming president, making important decisions but thereafter, all decision made, has to be consulted upon or can be vetoed?

Why waste $2 million dollars of taxpayers’ monies paying the president’s salary? These are the kinds of policies that cost us as a nation.

Where the gov is a real scrooge on welfare, it finds no problem to bleed taxpayers money unnecessarily to entrench its hold on power.

So this whole episode of forming the 9 member commission to review the Elected Presidency system is all but a comical exercise to hoodwink the public of the need to protect the system.

What it actually does is to dupe the populace into believing that the nation is in need of these changes. Upon closer inspection, its deception is crystal clear.

And we have not even started to discuss the policy of reserving the presidential election for Malay candidates. That will open up more cans of worms.

Source: Khan Osman Sulaiman

July 25, 2017
A Lesson On The Malay Race On Racial Harmony Day

There is no definitive account of who a Malay is. Historically however, Malays are known to have originated from what is known as the Nusantara region that includes Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Southern Thailand and Southern Philippines. While possessing their own languages and dialects, they generally speak Malay and in more modern times, are adherents of Islam.

So…

Banjarese = Malay

Acehnese = Malay

Javanese = Malay

Bugis = Malay

Boyanese = Malay

And of course the Malays from Johor or Malaysia are definitely considered Malays.

Chinese Muslims not equal to Malay.

Indian Muslims not equal to Malay.

Pakistani Muslims not equal to Malay.

Tak Melayu Hilang Di Dunia

Rilek1Corner

July 21, 2017
Who Is Most Malay Among Three Aspiring Presidential Candidates?

Aspiring Presidential candidate, Mr Salleh Marican wants to donate his salary to charity if elected while Mr Farid Khan says he will focus on countering the threat of radicalism by working closely with the Government and the various groups to build trust among people of different races and religions.

Despite their noble intentions, netters gave the perception that all Singapore care about is if they are Malay enough, to qualify as the second Malay President of Singapore.

Being Malay has nothing to do with your IC. That is just the government’s (and previously Colonial) lazy way of categorising its citizens for its administrative purposes.

Being Malay is an identity, it is cultural, it is language, and it the community.

The latest tweak in the Constitution was made to preserve the multiracial nature of the institution, because ‘studies’ showed that Singaporeans tend to vote along their racial identity and thus needed to be nudged to practice what they preach – a multiracial community.

Why do you even bother asking if the person is Malay enough?

The essence of the minority rule is, to ensure that the official races in Singapore i.e. Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others all have an equal chance of qualifying to be the President of Singapore.

So what if MENDAKI has a rigid definition of your race? We have enough anecdotal evidence to show that it’s silly – Why then do you want to follow their silly definition?

Aspiring candidates for the presidential election have to see the office, not as a job but a calling and the President has to ultimately unite Singaporeans, beyond just the Malay community.

Asking an individual from the community if he/she is Malay enough question is harmful and are generally asked by people who have more to gain by distracting and fragmenting the Malay community further.

It achieves nothing.

Salleh Marican, Farid Khan and even Halimah Yacob (if she runs) IS Malay enough to me

They speak the language, they dress the part, they celebrate Hari Raya, even the people that they interact with on daily basis even thinks they are Malay.

Ethnic identity is a “matter of socialisation”. “It has nothing to do with skin colour or other so-called racial features.

What we should be asking is, what are their credentials?, Are they saying things just to play to the gallery, is their heart in the right place?

Have they consistently stood by and work for the community all their years or are they just doing this now because they want to be considered for the Presidency.

Do they represent meritocracy, equality and progress, values and ethos which Singaporeans hold dearly?

Can they unite Singaporeans, young and old? Can they uphold the highest level of integrity required and inspire others to do the same?

We are still months away from September and there would probably be more candidates coming forward.

The next time someone tries to engage you on the PE by asking if the potential candidates are Malay enough, ask them if they know what being Malay means in the first place.

The beauty and strength of the Malay race has always been its unity in diversity with regard to customs, practices and everyday living. The kinship ties between the various communities in different countries, particularly in the Southeast Asian region known as the Nusantara, is what defines Malay as a collective ethnic group

F*** Mendaki and their shallow and rigid definition of what is Malay.

Source: www.thoughtssg.com

July 20, 2017
Mystery “Malay” Man Considering Presidential Contest

A mystery Malay man was seen picking up the Presidential Election 2017 candidate forms from the Singapore Elections Department.

Singaporeans from all walks of life, who came across the man’s picture and felt this sense of deja vu, all said he looks like the most promising potential candidate for the upcoming PE almost immediately.

One Singaporean, Ma Lai Ren, said: “This man looks very qualified. He has all the criteria to be the next president of Singapore.”

“One look and we all know he will be giving the PAP-endorsed candidate a run for her money.”

Other locals said they recognise the man and even know his name.

Another local, Sio Pat, said: “Oh, this man is called Cheng Bock Bin Tan Resort. He is a prominent doctor in the community who used to run his own practice.”

“A lot of us who know him thought he is actually a establishment-leaning person.”

“Looks like he will be able to pose a solid challenge to the government-backed candidate.”

“Heard that he can play ukulele also.”

Source: http://newnation.sg

July 18, 2017