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Tag: issues

  • Issues That Need To Be Addressed Fast Before The Formal PE 2017 Process Begins

    Issues That Need To Be Addressed Fast Before The Formal PE 2017 Process Begins

    PE 2017 by Former MP Inderjit Singh

    In less than 2 months, Singaporeans will get a new elected President. Unlike the past Presidential Elections (PE), the run up to this year’s PE has not been a smooth sailing one. Parliament passed a new ruling allowing for a Reserved Election. While many have questioned the wisdom of a reserved PE, Parliament has passed the law and this is our current system of how we will select our future Presidents.
    As the Head of State, the President must have the respect of all Singaporeans once he or she is elected (or appointed as in the past). After the new President has been elected in the reserved PE in September this year, I hope all Singaporeans will give that elected person the respect the office of the President of Singapore deserves.
    Many of us are saddened with the recent developments and comments from different quarters of society but I hope that we can put all these differences behind us. Once the new President is elected, we should all unite behind that person and focus on uniting the nation so that the respect accrued to the office of the President remains intact.
    To help that process, I feel that the following issues need to be addressed fast before we go into the formal PE 2017 process:

    1. For the purposes of effecting a reserved election, it is important to establish who our first elected president was Some feel that it is Mr Ong Teng Cheong. He was the first person who was formally elected to the office of President. Before him though, Mr Wee Kim Wee had exercised the powers of the elected president during his term, which was when the constitutional changes were made to allow for Singapore to have an elected President. The court will be deciding on this very soon, but I feel the policy makers could have avoided this question all together by paying more attention to this issue – the constitution could have said that the 5th election should be a reserved election and not the 6th. Nevertheless, once the courts decide, we have to move on.

    2. The concept of “Malayness” has also become a debatable issue. Questions about how Mendaki and SINDA classify who is a Malay and who is an Indian do not seem to be aligned with how a Malay or an Indian is defined for the purposes of a GE or a PE. For now, it is critical that the leaders of the Malay community and the government come out and make this position clear and hopefully this position will apply to all aspects of life in Singapore. I hope this can be resolved before the formal process of PE 2017 starts.

    3. This being the 1st ever reserved PE, many hope to see qualified Malays step forward and give Singaporeans an opportunity to choose their President. It is also very important that Singaporeans and the rest of the world see that we have enough qualified Malays in Singapore who meet the very stringent requirements set in the constitution. It will be a pity if we don’t have enough qualified candidates to choose from for the first ever reserved PE. So, I hope all those who meet the criteria, come forward for this wider call.

    4. While the constitution is open about having a current sitting government politician standing for the PE, some Singaporeans have expressed concerns on the prospects of a current government MP, still in parliament, resigning as an MP and immediately standing for the PE. The spirit of the Elected President is independence of office as intended by Mr Lee Kuan Yew when the idea was mooted. While I have no question about how each person will do his or her duty to serve the office they are elected to serve, public perception is also important. While Mr Ong Teng Cheong also did the same in 1993, I sense people are increasingly uncomfortable with this.

    As the Head of State, the President of Singapore holds the highest office and he or she must get the full respect of all Singaporeans. I hope the above issues are addressed before PE 2017 kicks off formally. It is good that Singaporeans are debating the issue of the reserved PE. My hope is that we can largely come to an understanding of the above 4 issues before we kick off PE 2017. And once our President has been elected, let’s all show respect for the President of Singapore and stand united as Singaporeans.

     

    Source: Inderjit Singh

  • Commentary: We Pray Not To Be Misled By You Again

    Commentary: We Pray Not To Be Misled By You Again

    We can gladly say that our Minister Masagos Zulkifli has scored several political points this week (claps for him) and that he will never be the people’s choice or at least the Malay Muslim community’s as the EP of Singapore. Nope, out of the question, never gonna happen. We are disappointed and you have shamed the community. However, we thank Allah SWT for showing us your true colours. We pray not to be misled by you again.

    When you accused WP’s Faisal Manap of attempting to cause division in Singapore’s social cohesion by raising the issue of hijab again, you also made an indirect ad hominem towards him by guilt of association using a picture taken of Faisal Manap and Zulfikar Shariff years ago in a mosque. So what is the Minister implying, that it was tantamount to being radical? Anyone who has a picture taken with Zulfikar must be put under suspicion? That is just low, way low even for minister. Then what about you being in the same picture with Netanyahu or gracing his presence?? Lagi worst kan.

    Instead of character assassinating our MP who is merely representing the minority Malay community in his ward, why don’t you tell him what you can do for the people. A religious debate in parliament where both sides are showing what they have done for an issue. Not one raise, the other sweep it away. Or has it been cast in stone that you’ve washed your hands off us and our issues, Mr Masagos? 🙁

     

    Yusuf Saiful

    [Reader Contribution]

  • 10 Issues For GE2015

    10 Issues For GE2015

    Even before the first speech on the hustings has been delivered, several issues, both old and new, have surfaced in recent weeks among the political parties in Singapore.

    How have the older issues evolved since the last General Election (GE) in 2011 and will new issues dominate GE2015?

    1. LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has cast this GE as one in which the next generation of leaders will be decided.

    “More than that, you will be choosing the team to work with you for the next 15-20 years, and setting the direction for Singapore for the next 50 years,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

    His remark came soon after the issue of the Writ of Election, a legal document that sets the election process in motion.

    It was also a theme he touched on in his National Day Rally speech, when he noted that he and some of his Cabinet colleagues were in their late 50s and 60s and “will not be around forever”. This is why the next team of leaders had to be “ready in the wings”.

    2. ECONOMY

    China’s decision to devalue its currency has wiped out more than US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) from stock markets around the world in the past two weeks and is threatening to create another global financial storm.

    Voters will head to the polling stations under these dark clouds and a domestic economy that looks set to grow at an insipid rate of between 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent this year.

    For the ruling party, the threat of an economic downturn might serve to focus minds on how the PAP government has been the stable pair of hands that successfully navigated the country through previous recessions.

    3. SECURITY AND EXTERNAL THREATS

    Similarly, external threats are also likely to weigh on the minds of voters as the election campaign season approaches.

    Worries over the growing influence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorist group as well as the rising political instability in Malaysia are two external threats that loom large, say analysts, who pointed to the symbolic timing of Polling Day: Sept 11.

    “Sept 11 is a good international backdrop. Why? Most of the First World countries will be remembering the tragic events of 9/11 in 2001,” said associate professor Alan Chong of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He added that PAP could use the occasion to remind voters about the types of external threats Singapore faces and tell them to vote wisely.

    4. IMMIGRATION

    The presence of foreigners remains a sensitive issue, PM Lee acknowledged in his Rally speech on Sunday, noting that there were no painless solutions to this challenge of immigration. The country needs foreign workers to keep the economy humming, but had to manage the flow carefully to address public unease over the inflow. Immigration and foreign workers were hot topics in the last GE, with many Singaporeans complaining they were crowding locals out of jobs, MRT trains and buses. While the Government has taken steps to stem the flow of foreigners and address housing and transport woes, this issue remains the PAP’s “Achilles’ heel”, said Singapore Management University (SMU) law professor Eugene Tan.

    5. TRANSPORT

    Much has been done to fix the public transport problems, with the building of new train lines and addition of hundreds of new buses on the road.

    But a massive breakdown on the North-South and East-West MRT lines last month, combined with crowded trains every morning, only serve to remind people that the efforts to fix the system are yet to prove effective.

    6. HOUSING

    After a concerted push to ramp up the supply of new Housing Board flats, alongside fresh measures to cool the housing market, complaints about costly homes are far fewer now compared to five years ago.

    But, as National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a recent interview, his “mission” to fix the housing situation is not yet complete.

    Some Singaporeans still worry they cannot afford an HDB flat, while others wonder if the cooling measures could affect their property values in the long run.

    7. COST OF LIVING AND THE WAGE GAP

    A pet topic of opposition parties at rallies, the rising cost of living has been a major complaint among voters for many years.

    This election will be no different, with renewed focus on Singapore becoming expensive, especially for the lower-income groups.

    Tied to it is the widening income gap and whether enough has been done to narrow it.

    Said SMU law don Eugene Tan: “It’s not just about people paying more. The deeper unhappiness is the sense that economic growth and wealth have not been equitably shared.”

    8. AHPETC

    One issue the PAP is likely to focus on is the Workers’ Party’s management of the town council looking after the constituencies it won at the last election.

    In the past year, the PAP has been on the offensive. Its heavyweight ministers took turns to press WP in Parliament to account for mismanaging the finances of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).

    The WP retorted that it has been transparent in giving information, and accused the PAP of politicking.

    Expect fireworks on this one in the campaign ahead, analysts said.

    “From the PAP’s perspective, this issue relates to integrity and competence, but WP may cast it as the absence of a level playing field for opposition parties,” said National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser.

    9. CHECKS AND BALANCES

    If there is one strong argument for why people should vote opposition, it is that there is a need for checks on the dominant party in power.

    In GE2011, there was a fear that with WP chief Low Thia Khiang and Singapore People’s Party chief Chiam See Tong leaving their single seats for bigger group representation constituencies, there would be no opposition in Parliament.

    Today, with the changed political landscape of WP holding seven seats, the debate is whether voters should give it even more seats.

    Will its slogan of Towards a First World Parliament and call for more checks still hold sway now that voters have seen them in action?

    10. WILD CARDS

    Election campaigns in the past have always thrown up a fair share of surprises, from a defamation suit against Singapore Democratic Party’s leaders on the eve of GE 2006 to a PAP potential candidate being dropped at the last minute.

    This year, will personalities like SingFirst’s outspoken chief Tan Jee Say make headlines? Or maybe a surprise candidate could show up on Nomination Day and disrupt various parties’ well-laid out plans.

    Much will depend on the events that unfold over the nine-day campaign.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Lee Hsien Loong Invited To Pink Dot Annual Gay Rights Rally

    Lee Hsien Loong Invited To Pink Dot Annual Gay Rights Rally

    Singapore’s Prime Minister was left fumbling for answers Saturday after agreeing to a live Facebook chat with increasingly strident citizens turning to the Internet to voice dissent in the tightly-controlled city-state.

    Lee Hsien Loong opened the conversation on his personal Facebook page from the social network’s Singapore offices and was inundated with nearly 1,500 comments during a hectic 45-minute session.

    The premier managed to post just 27 replies as foreigners and locals alike lobbed questions ranging from the trivial (“Do you like cats?”) to demands for better protection of gay rights and single mothers.

    Lee provided brief replies to verbose complaints about spiralling healthcare costs, public transport and public housing, but avoided straying into more controversial waters.

    “It’s been a lot of fun this last 45 minutes, reading your questions, answering them, typing furiously and keeping up with the flow,” Lee said in a video post after the chat ended.

    “I am sorry I couldn’t answer all of the questions you have asked,” he added.

    Perhaps predictably Lee failed to respond to a personal invitation to the city-state’s annual “Pink Dot” gay rights rally.

    “My invitation still stands. Send me a PM (personal message),” Facebook user Lim Jialiang wrote to the premier.

    Singapore’s penal code criminalises sex between men, a law first introduced by British colonial administrators in 1938.

    Some small business owners used the session to bemoan the government’s move to cut its reliance on foreign workers, stemming from citizens’ complaints about overcrowding and a tighter job market in a city where 29 percent of “non-residents” — those working, studying or living in the country — are from abroad.

    “Many small-medium enterprises have experienced the same problem as you,” wrote Lee to one Singaporean who said he was finding it difficult to hire locals for “entry-level jobs”.

    “We have tightened on foreign workers, but we have not shut them off,” Lee added.

    Lee, who has nearly 470,000 followers on Facebook, has stepped up his social media engagement in recent years. The Singaporean leader is also active on Twitter and photo-sharing network Instagram.

    Social media has emerged as a key political battleground as the tiny island republic of 5.5 million people transitions from strict political control to a more open democracy.

    Singapore is known for its tough stance on crime and retains the death penalty as punishment for serious offences, as well as caning for crimes such as spraying graffiti.

    With the local mainstream media still widely seen as pro-government, blogs, forums and Facebook have become a magnet for anti-government sentiment.

    Lee’s People’s Action Party, in power since 1959, suffered its worst ever electoral performance in May 2011, garnering an all-time low of 60 percent of the popular vote after the opposition and its supporters relied heavily on social media for campaigning.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com