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Tag: Tan Jee Say

  • Tan Jee Say: Reserved Presidential Election An Admission Of PAP’s Failure To Unite Singaporeans Regardless Of Race

    Tan Jee Say: Reserved Presidential Election An Admission Of PAP’s Failure To Unite Singaporeans Regardless Of Race

    Mr Tan Jee Say, a candidate from the 2011 Presidential Election who won a quarter of the votes cast, said that the sweeping changes proposed for the Elected Presidency is the same as “changing the rules to get rid of the competition.”

    If the proposals by the Constitutional Commission is accepted and implemented before the next Presidential Election by Parliament, Mr Tan will not qualify for the contest this time around.

    Mr Tan suggested that the Government should introduce a “grandfather clause” if it is sincere about not having ulterior motives for implementing the changes. He pointed out that there is precedent for such an exemption in the USA, where seven southern states enacted this statutory mechanism between the years 1895 and 1910. It provided that those who had enjoyed the right to vote prior to 1866 or 1867, or their lineal descendants, would be exempt from educational, property, or tax requirements for voting.

    “We should be happy that we are giving the people a bigger pool to choose from, rather than restricting it further,” Mr Tan said, to question the need to tighten the eligibility criteria further.

    He added: “It’s like saying that since we have too many lawyers and only those lawyers with a first-class honours degree can practice law. You’re making it very elitist, and less representative of the population of Singapore.”

    Mr Tan further said that parliament approving the proposal for having a reserved election is a backward step and would be akin to the “Government admitting it has failed in bringing races together. To move from racial integration to entitlement.”

    “Race was never an issue. Why bring it out now?” he asked.

    Mr Tan said that despite the severe discrimination of blacks in the past, America did not need a reserved election to elect its first African-American President – Barack Obama. Any legislation which legitimises reserved election here would be see as politicising the Office of the President by introducing racial issues, he said.

    “We don’t have the kind of racial riots and all the racial trouble (in the US). Yet we are doing this. Why?” -Tan Jee Say

     

    Source: http://theindependent.sg

  • Tan Jee Say: Singaporeans Will Elect Minority Candidate As President Based On Merit

    Tan Jee Say: Singaporeans Will Elect Minority Candidate As President Based On Merit

    My comments on PM’s proposed changes to the Elected President, GRC and NCMP schemes, are as follows:

    1. Elected President-

    a) Existing eligibility criteria are sufficiently tight and yet flexible to permit candidates from a broad background to come forth and contest, so no need to change criteria;

    b) CPA (Council of Presidential Advisers) is not elected by the people and has no mandate or moral authority to have more powers vis-a-vis an elected President, it should remain an advisory body and not empowered to dilute the authority of an elected President;

    c) the Government cannot force a minorities President on the people as it is the people who decide; a President imposed on the people rather than truly elected by the people has no moral authority to check the Government; there are many minorities who satisfy criteria to be candidates and Singaporeans will elect them if they are adjudged to be better than others.

    2. GRC’s –

    a) GRC’s should be scrapped and Parliament reverts to SMC’s for all seats;

    b) minority representation, the purported objective of the GRC scheme, can be secured through a modified NCMP scheme for a minimum number of minorities MPs.

    3. NCMP’s –

    a) no impact with only minimum 12 opposition MPs including NCMP’s,

    b) will only make a difference if number of NCMP’s is increased to ensure minimum of over one-third opposition MPs that can effectively check government with a veto.

     

    Source: Tan Jee Say

  • SingFirst Seeks To Make History In Tanjong Pagar GRC

    SingFirst Seeks To Make History In Tanjong Pagar GRC

    New opposition political party Singaporeans First (SingFirst) believe they have a fighting chance of overturning the People Action’s Party (PAP) in Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the upcoming general elections.

    SingFirst secretary-general Tan Jee Say and led psychiatrist Dr. Ang Yong Guan, 60, sales executive Melvyn Chiu Weng Hoe, 36, media consultant Fahmi Rais, 48, and market risk manager Chirag Desai, 38, to file nomination papers at Bendemeer Primary School on Tuesday morning. The latter three are first-time candidates.

    Tanjong Pagar has been uncontested in the past five elections since becoming a multi-seat constituency in 1991. It was helmed by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew since 1955 until his passing earlier this year.

    PAP’s team will be led by minister Chan Chun Sing, 45, along with Senior Minister of State Indranee Rajah, 52, consultant surgeon Dr. Chia Shi-Lu, 43, assistant general manager at Temasek Cares Joan Pereira, 47 and former high-ranking police officer Melvin Yong, 45.

    There was a slight hiccup for SingFirst after it was pointed out that they had not filled in the name of the GRC in their forms, but it was swiftly resolved and Tan was bullish about SingFirst’s chances.

    “There is a heavy burden on us to create history and we will create history,” the 61-year-old declared.

    “We are optimistic; there is a lot of goodwill from residents who have met us… if you were to ask me, I would say [we have a] 50-50 chance of a breakthrough in this GRC.

    “We know it is tough, with the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s influence, so it’s not easy but I think we have got a good chance. Residents want change… this is an election about the future, the election is not about the past. So those who glorify the late Lee Kuan Yew are barking up the wrong tree.”

    Tan, a former presidential candidate, said the issue of having too many foreign workers was one of their main concerns, stating it is a “national problem” that Singaporeans “cannot run away from” no matter where they are.

    Meanwhile, Chan asserted the PAP team was “feeling good” heading into a historic contest and said: “Tanjong Pagar [residents] know who have been working for them, and who’s only stepping in when the time is right.”

    Three-corner fight in Radin Mas

    Meanwhile, there will be a three-cornered fight at the Radin Mas Single Member Constituency (SMC) between PAP incumbent Sam Tan Chin Siong, 56, Reform Party’s Kumar Appavoo, 46 and independent candidate Han Hui Hui, 23.

    “I’m here today [and] we will fight; fight for our CPF, our public healthcare, our public housing,” Han, a blogger and social activist who has been outspoken about Central Provident Fund (CPF) issues, said.

    “Regardless of whether it’s a two or three-cornered fight, every candidate has to prove their worth to convince the residents,” said Tan.

    The newly re-constituted Jalan Besar GRC will see a straight fight between PAP and the Workers’ Party (WP).

    Minister Yaacob Ibrahim leads a four-member team along with Heng Chee How, Lily Neo and Denise Phua against a WP side helmed by L. Somasundaram and comprising Frieda Chan, Redzwan Hafidz, Adrian Sim.


    “We take every challenge seriously,” Yaacob promised. “At the end of the day, the opponent doesn’t matter for us. I think the real challenge is for us to demonstrate to our voters that we mean business; we are an experienced team and we can deliver what we have promised.”

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

  • Goh Meng Seng: Possible For Two Opposition Parties To Join Forces

    Goh Meng Seng: Possible For Two Opposition Parties To Join Forces

    Members of various Opposition parties gathered at the home of Singaporeans First (SingFirst) secretary-general Tan Jee Say on Saturday evening (Aug 1) for an informal discussion on how they could “work together” in the upcoming General Election.

    Veteran Opposition politician Goh Meng Seng, chief of the recently formed People’s Power Party (PPP), told reporters after the gathering that having two Opposition parties join forces to contest constituencies is a “possibility”.

    He also alluded to Opposition parties’ interest in constituencies in the West. “Personally, I think the West is a good ground. In the past, it has been very receptive. It has been neglected for about 10 to 20 years,” he said, adding that the western part of Singapore was an Opposition “hotbed” in the 80s and 90s.

    Mr Goh said the meet-up had been planned before the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report had been released. He described the discussion as “just a sharing of ideas” and said no consensus was reached.

    Prior to Saturday’s gathering, the head of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Benjamin Pwee told the TODAY newspaper that six Opposition parties would be represented there – SingFirst, Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), Singapore People’s Party, NSP, PPP and DPP. However, SDA clarified on Facebook that it was “not aware of the meeting” and would not be attending. NSP also said in a Facebook post that its party president and secretary-general would not be at the gathering.

    Mr Goh said some of the Opposition party leaders were not present, but that party activists were, while Mr Tan said “more than half” of the Opposition parties were represented.

    DPP adviser Seow Khee Leng who was at the meeting said the parties discussed contesting in Ang Mo Kio, West Coast and Jurong GRCs. He echoed Mr Goh’s comment that Opposition parties could join forces to contest in the coming General Election. When pressed for details, Mr Seow said this would be fleshed out in Monday’s horse-trading meeting.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Singaporeans First Party To Contest Tanjong Pagar GRC

    Singaporeans First Party To Contest Tanjong Pagar GRC

    Opposition party Singaporeans First (SingFirst) said on Saturday (Aug 1) it has identified a slate of candidates to contest Tanjong Pagar GRC in the next election, but stopped short of naming them.

    Party chief Tan Jee Say said that they range from 30 to 60 years of age. He added that some of them were with him and his team of volunteers at Tiong Bahru on Saturday for their walkabouts in the five-member constituency.

    “We have a diversified and balanced slate of candidates, of various ages and various backgrounds,” Mr Tan said. He did not name the candidates, citing it as part of his party’s strategy.

    The Tanjong Pagar constituency, currently helmed by the People’s Action Party, has been uncontested since it became a multi-seat GRC in 1991.

    “For nearly 27 years since 1988, the voters of Tanjong Pagar have not had the opportunity to vote for their members of parliament, to represent their interests. So we’re coming in to give them this opportunity to elect their own Members of Parliament,” said Mr Tan.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com