Tag: PAP

Singapore’s Next President: A Look At Potential Candidates

Amendments to the Constitution were passed on Nov 9, with Members of Parliament voting in favour of the Government’s proposed changes to the Elected Presidency 77 to six.

Apart from tightening the eligibility criteria and strengthening the powers of the Council of Presidential Advisers, the Amendment Bill also put in place a “hiatus-triggered model” to ensure multi-racial representation in the Presidential office.

Under the new rules, the next Presidential Election – due Aug 26 next year – will be reserved for Malay candidates. This means Singaporeans will have their first Malay President since Mr Yusof Ishak died in office nearly 50 years ago.

After the amendments were passed, names of several potential frontrunners have surfaced. These are prominent figures in the Malay community, and are from both the public and private sectors.

Leading the list is current Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yaacob, a former unionist and an MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.

Former Minister and Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi has also been tipped to be a potential candidate. Mr Abdullah – who was part of the nine-man Constitutional Commission that reviewed the elected presidency – reportedly said he has not given the idea of running much thought, and that friends have encouraged him to do so.

Current Ministers Yaacob Ibrahim and Masagos Zulkifli, and former MP Zainul Abidin Rasheed have also been identified as possible candidates.

Potential candidates from the private sector include Bank of Singapore CEO Bahren Shaari and Public Service Commission member Po’ad Mattar. So far, none of them have indicated any interest in contesting.

CANDIDATES FACE “UNIQUE CHALLENGE”

Political observers told Channel NewsAsia that candidates in this first ever reserved election face a very unique challenge.

“This person has to tread a very fine line between being the best of breed that that ethnic community can offer and yet also be that quintessential Singaporean that all voters feel they have an affinity for,” said Dr Gillian Koh, Deputy Director (Research), Institute of Policy Studies.

This means candidates cannot limit themselves to speaking about issues concerning their own community, and must represent the values and ideals of a multicultural Singapore.

“We look at the example of Mr Yusof Ishak, when he was President. He was the managing editor of Utusan Melayu, a very Malay-rights newspaper. But when he became Yang-di-Pertuan Negara in 1959 and later as President in 1965, he represented Singapore. He spoke about multi-culturalism, equality of rights,” said Dr Norshahril Saat, Fellow, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.

Singapore Management University Associate Professor Eugene Tan noted: “Candidates can set the tone as well by putting forth their vision or how they are going to promote and practise multiracialism through the office of the elected president.”

Political observers also stressed that candidates must be aware of what their role as President constitutes, reinforcing what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said in Parliament.

Mr Lee recounted that in the 2011 Presidential Election, a candidate championed a S$60 billion economic plan to create jobs and enterprise, while another proposed better recognition for national servicemen, and more help for the poor and unemployed.

These issues, according to Mr Lee, are the Government’s responsibility.

“The purpose of having a President is not as a check and balance to Parliament. So I think one issue that the candidates should avoid is to act as if they can check the Government. They can’t because they’re largely symbolic even though they have custodial powers,” said Dr Norshahril.

Instead, candidates should put forth issues of national unity, said Dr Koh.

“There’s always a lot of goodwill that’s conferred onto the person who occupies the office of President. So I think the candidates can talk a little bit about their lifetime interests, or things that they can use the office to develop so that it contributes to community building for Singaporeans at large,” she added.

Observers said candidates should also highlight their track record, to show voters why he or she is the most qualified for the office.

While the role is largely ceremonial, the President still holds other important responsibilities, such as acting as the custodian of the nation’s reserves, and representing Singapore internationally.

“ENSURE THAT EVERY VOTE COUNTS”

Critics have warned that a reserved election could lead voters to think that there is no need to be engaged and vote for the best minority candidate. This is why, according to observers like Associate Professor Tan and Dr Norshahril, there is a need for candidates to engage all Singaporeans in their campaign.

“It is important for them to have their say. Not just having their say, but also having an informed say. So it’s not only being engaged so that they can determine who is better suited for the job, who would engender greater confidence and trust amongst the voters,” said Associate Professor Tan.

Dr Norshahril noted: “You must ensure that every vote counts. You must ensure that citizens feel that their vote counts. Candidates must come out very strongly and tell voters that they’re voting for the future of Singapore.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

November 23, 2016
Chee Soon Juan: Singapore Is Ailing, PAP Serving Her Poison

Dr Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), wrote an article on the condition of the country stating that Singapore economy is living on borrowed time and innovation is the only antidote.

“It is what we desperately need for economic regeneration. Welcoming the unknown, taking risks, making mistakes, embracing failure, encouraging derring-do – isn’t this what being innovative is all about?” he said.

Pointing that countries around the world are changing so drastically politically while Singapore continues to follow its old ways, being “disastrously out-of-sync with rapidly changing times.”. Cocooned in its comfort zone, unaware that Singapore is sinking deeper into dysfunction and mediocrity and passed by societies ready and willing to change.

This is what he wrote in full :

THE WORLD is in upheaval. South Koreans throng the streets demanding the removal of their president; Malaysians clash as they profess their love or loathing (depending on whether you don red or yellow apparel) for their prime minister; pro- and anti-Beijing Hong Kongers do battle over whether two young lawmakers should be disqualified from parliament; Pinoys and Pinays elected a Pope-cussing-Obama-hating-gun-happy politician as their national leader; the Brits up-ended order of every conceivable kind when they voted to leave the European Union; and now, half of Americans elected as their president someone whom the other half cannot find enough expletives to hurl at.

All this is enough to make Singaporeans want to quicken the search for another habitable planet to fly to.

Cue PM Lee: “In Singapore, we watch all this with concern and we have to ask ourselves how we can prevent ourselves from going in that direction. For 50 years we’ve been very lucky. We are still united, still proud of the country, still moving forward…So be aware that the risks are there, and you have seen what can go wrong in other countries.”

Translation: Singaporeans are lucky to have the PAP. So shun disruption, stick with the familiar. We may not be able to change the government but that is a good thing because citizens cannot be trusted to make the right decisions – just look at the other countries. The PAP will decide for us and protect us from the world’s madness.

This is what Singaporeans hear and have been hearing for half-a-century. The thinking has been baked into our national DNA.

It is also one that will ensure our country’s demise. It is this fear of the unfamiliar, fear of getting things wrong, fear of taking chances that will be Singapore’s undoing. For nothing in such an outlook fosters an innovative culture.

Welcoming the unknown, taking risks, making mistakes, embracing failure, encouraging derring-do – isn’t this what being innovative is all about?

The truth is that our economy is living on borrowed time. The dependence on multinationals to transfer skills and know-how, a hard-working and cheap labour force ready to work even harder and cheaper, and a bewildering bevy of government companies controlled by the Prime Minister’s wife is a model that may have worked in the past but is disastrously out-of-sync with rapidly changing times.

As it is, our economy, teetering on the brink of a recession, has been ailing for the last couple of years – this taking place despite the absence of a major world crisis. The danger is that it may signal the beginning of something protracted.

Innovation is the anti-dote. It is what we desperately need for economic regeneration. For this, change – including political change, especially political change – is necessary.

I can do no better than quote Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, who pointed out that a company like Apple could not have emerged from a place like Singapore: “Look at structured societies like Singapore, where are the creative people?…All the creative elements seem to disappear.”

It is a tragedy that Singaporeans are unable to see that Americans, Hong Kongers, or Britons are unafraid to take political chances, stand up to injustice – perceived or otherwise, and be their nation’s boss. So what if Brexit fails or China cracks down on Hong Kong or Donald Trump’s tenure turns out to be a disaster? They’ll learn, course-correct and improve their political systems in the long run.

What about us? We continue to be afraid of change because the PAP breeds and feeds the fear of change. We are cocooned in our comfort zone, unaware that we are sinking deeper into dysfunction and mediocrity and passed by societies ready and willing to change.

It has become a cliche, but still no less true, that this island on which we inhabit has precious little natural resources; nothing to mine for, drill at or grow on. This is why it is so troubling that those in power are strangulating the very thing that will ensure our survival and progress – the minds of our people.

What fertiliser does for crops, political freedom does for innovation. The messiness and seeming chaos that accompanies democracy must not be seen as societal threats to be bleached from our system. In our desire for peace and security, let us not inadvertently celebrate the peace of the cemetery and the security of the serf.

Political disruption (unfortunately, to many Singaporeans, this includes the simple act of electing a few more opposition MPs) is needed to energise the human spirit and provide that impetus for positive change.

May wisdom and courage prevail.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

November 21, 2016
PAP Has Gotten Worse Since Last GE

<Written by Joseph Tan Kheng Liang>

The PAP has gotten worse since the last GE!

One of the most recent landmarks in the Singaporean political calendar was the ‘watershed elections’ of 2011. The term watershed was used because it seemed highly probable at that point in time that the PAP would lose several GRCs. Lee Hsien Loong even apologised and cried in public.

The key question is this: How has the PAP changed for the better since then? The clear and simple answer is that the PAP is back to their own arrogant ways and Singaporeans are not going to benefit from this! Let me give you some examples to illustrate.

In 2011, they promised to work harder and apologised for their mistakes, mainly due to a liberal immigration policy and an infrastructure which did not keep up. 5 years later, they have come up with arrogant tactics and a completely befuddling “ownself-check-ownself” governing philosophy.

We have seen numerous cases of lack of transparency in recent times, including the Hep C outbreak at SGH which was not made public until a later stage, we had the case where residents in Sengkang felt cheated after plans to build a columbarium was labelled as a ‘temple’ instead.

When the trains have new problems such as mysterious ‘signalling fault’, there was no sound or trace of apology from their favourite fixer Khaw Boon Wan. Instead, he chose to pretend that everything was fine, celebrating openings and gatherings on his Facebook page.

Looking at the by-election of 2016 (which was caused in part because of the actions of their own MP), ministers and even junior MPs took the liberty to ‘whack’ their opponent’s character. When another by-election took place 3 years before, they resorted to no such thing with Lee Li Lian.

Their jokes even continued abroad! Mainstream media was so proud that Pinky got invited to a US State dinner but did not boast as much when he later ended up offending China by commenting on their territorial dispute and later prove their foreign policy lapses by offending Trump!

If the average man thinks that these issues do not affect him, look at the price increases: parking charges and waste collection charges (which Leong Sze Hian dug and found an increased surplus)! Even though there is a drop in transport charges, it is not as much as the drop in oil prices!

Ask yourselves: has the PAP given you a better life since the last General Elections? If the answer is no, the PAP must be very thick-skinned to tell us that they wish to check themselves! Is this even right given their recent track record?

I can only conclude that they have gotten worse and need someone like the SDP to keep them in check!

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

November 20, 2016
Rahayu Buang Dilantik CEO Baru MENDAKI, Berkuatkuasa 1 Jan 2017

Yayasan MENDAKI akan mempunyai Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) yang baru, Cik Rahayu Buang, mulai 1 Januari depan.

Beliau mengambil alih jawatan tersebut daripada Cik Tuminah Sapawi, 56 tahun, yang sudah menerajui badan bantu diri itu selama tiga tahun.

Cik Rahayu , 45 tahun adalah Pengarah Bahagian Sokongan dan Pendidikan Keluarga serta Pejabat Pembangunan Wanita di Kementerian Pembangunan Sosial dan Keluarga (MSF).

Beliau menyertai MSF 20 tahun lalu dan sepanjang tempoh itu, terlibat dalam pelbagai program pembangunan termasuk isu-isu pemulihan, perlindungan, hilang upaya, keluarga dan wanita.

Di bawah kepimpinannya juga, program-program pendidikan keluarga diperkenalkan dan keluarga yang bercerai disokong melalui program berasaskan kanak-kanak dengan penubuhan Agensi Pakar Sokongan Perceraian.

Cik Rahayu adalah penerima Pingat Emas daripada Sekolah Dasar Awam Lee Kuan Yew, dan menerima Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (gangsa) pada 2014.

Cik Tuminah pula akan menyertai Kementerian Kebudayaan, Masyarakat dan Belia (MCCY) pada 1 Januari depan.

Menurut MENDAKI, Cik Tuminah sudah banyak menyumbang kepada masyarakat Melayu/Islam, dan menyerahkan MENDAKI dalam keadaan yang lebih kuat kepada penggantinya.

Beliau menerajui Semakan Pendidikan MENDAKI yang meletakkan asas bagi usaha meningkatkan program pembangunan guru-guru pembimbing dan memperbaiki program pendidikan ibu bapa.

Di bawah pentadbiran beliau, MENDAKI juga meningkatkan usaha memupuk minda masyarakat Melayu Islam untuk siap menghadapi masa depan. Ini termasuk kempen #RaikanIlmu, yang menggalak masyarakat menghayati semangat mencari ilmu dan pembelajaran sepanjang hayat.

YAACOB UCAP TERIMA KASIH KEPADA CIK TUMINAH ATAS PELBAGAI SUMBANGANNYA

Sementara itu, menulis di laman Facebook beliau, Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Cik Tuminah Sapawi bagi pelbagai sumbangannya sejak tiga tahun lalu.

Di bawah kepimpinan Cik Tuminah kata beliau, MENDAKI selesai melakukan semakan pendidikan menyeluruh untuk memperkuat sokongan pendidikan dalam masyarakat Melayu.

Dengan fokus kepada usaha membangunkan generasi yang dinamik dan bersedia untuk masa depan tambah Dr Yaacob, MENDAKI di bawah Cik Tuminah menubuhkan sebuah unit Future Ready.

Unit tersebut melengkapkan masyarakat dengan kemahiran-kemahiran dalam menghadapi ekonomi yang sentiasa berubah-ubah.

Mengulas pelantikan Cik Rahayu pula, Dr Yaacob yang juga merupakan Pengerusi MENDAKI, yakin bahawa CEO baru itu mampu memimpin MENDAKI untuk meningkatkan khidmatnya kepada masyarakat dan negara.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

November 19, 2016
Elected Presidency Changes: Big Step Backwards For Malay community

I worry about the unintended consequences of changes to the elected presidency, especially the move to reserve elections for minority candidates.

I was brought up in an era where we Malays were told we had to fend for ourselves in school and in our careers, as Singaporeans of other races did. After initial trepidation, due in part to seeing how Malays in other countries in the region depended on race-based policies to help them advance, Malay Singaporeans grew out of their historical reliance on such crutches. And that has over time become a source of pride and motivation for the community.

In my frequent travels to neighbouring countries and in the speeches I deliver there, I speak proudly of the significant progress the community has made as we proved we could stand on our own feet. That was thanks in no small part to the brave decision by our earlier leaders to take away our proverbial crutches and make us compete on a level playing field. Like everything else, healthy competition drives the community to a higher level.

Now, I worry that all that is being undone. The announcement that next year’s presidential election will be reserved for Malay candidates strikes me as a major step backwards. Like it or not, it risks being read as a vote of no confidence in the community. It seems to suggest that we are still unable to compete on the same level with the rest of the population and that we remain a troubled community that requires – selectively – a big handicap. It makes me wonder what happened to our belief in boosting self-reliance and self-respect through doing away with affirmative action and race-based state aid in education and career progression.

During the last three decades of minimal race-based policy assistance, Malays have worked hard to prove our self-worth with significant achievements in the education and professional arenas. Today, more private sector and business leaders are drawn from the community than ever before.

There has been gradual but meaningful progress in all other statistics too, including education. The sense I get from my daily interactions with members of the community is that we are patient in waiting for further public sector achievements. I did not sense any clamour for the next president to be from the Malay community.

America waited more than 230 years for a member of a minority race to be elected president. That did not make people from minority races there feel any less American. When the day finally arrived in November 2008 and Mr Barack Obama was elected America’s first black president, the outcome was greeted with great celebration not just within the country but in countries across the free democratic world, including those in Asia and Africa.

Here in Singapore, the last time a president of a minority race was in the Istana was five years ago. The last time we had a Malay president was 46 years ago. I believe most Malays are willing to wait patiently for our next Malay president to be voted into office based on his own merit and in a contest against other capable Singaporeans of different races or creeds, however long it takes.

I personally think that even without changes to the elected presidency, it will not take quite so long. After all, minority MPs have regularly won elections in single-seat constituencies while others have led teams in group representation constituencies – a scheme originally created to assist minority candidates to be elected into Parliament – instead of being pedestrian members of the GRCs.

I would argue that more than a Malay president, what Singapore needs is policy consistency – we cannot afford policy twists and turns, especially on a selective basis, no matter how well intended.

Still, if the chance to have a member of their community as president is offered on a platter, not many Malays will reject such a gift. That is human nature. But what would be even more satisfying is a hard-fought campaign leading to the election of a Malay president who deserves the position based on the famously Singaporean values of grit and merit.

That is worth waiting for. The changes to the Constitution relating to the elected presidency may have inadvertently denied me and other members of Singapore’s minority communities the pleasure of seeing that happen.

Source: The Straits Times

November 15, 2016