• IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here.

    The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.

Chitchat Excellent TOC article - Why Halimah should move

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Well argued article on why she has to stop the charade and move out.
===================================
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/20...r-taxpayers-must-pay-for-costlier-protection/

Madam President, it’s time to move out; either you suffer higher security risks or taxpayers must pay for costlier protection

Published on 2017-09-18 by Carlton Tan

We get it. Absent an election, the next best way to demonstrate you are the people’s president is by living as they do—in a HDB flat. The only problem? Mdm Halimah Yacob lives in two where most of us only have one. The people are not amused. We know a farce when we see one. 97% of Mdm Halimah’s own race (Malay?) cannot afford to own a jumbo flat or better. The figure is 95% for Indians and 78% for Chinese (General House Survey 2015).

The first farce was the use of unreasonable eligibility criteria to disqualify all other candidates, effectively turning the election into appointment-by-criteria. We, the people, feel we have been robbed of our vote. We wonder if the PAP has pursued its own political interests at the cost of the nation’s founding ideals of meritocracy and multiracialism. And we suspect that Mdm Halimah will be no less pliant that previous appointed presidents, or presidents the PAP supported.

Rather than address those issues, Mdm Halimah now seems intent on perpetuating the farce that she is the people’s president. But her decision to continue living in her jumbo flat is likely to impose significant costs on the very people she claims to be serving.

Living in her HDB flat does not mean that the Istana no longer needs to be maintained. It doesn’t mean that taxpayers no longer have to fund the security services required to protect Mdm Halimah. No, it simply means that the effort must now be doubled. Mdm Halimah’s protection detail must work overtime to secure two instead of one estate.

Not only that, they face the challenge of keeping the president safe in a place with multiple possible points of entry, and where foot and vehicular traffic cannot easily be restricted without incurring the ire of neighbours. Even residents in the unit above and below Mdm Halimah had to be subjected to daily checks by security officers because their close proximity to her flat poses a security risk. After all, it’s far more difficult to tunnel your way under the Istana or parachute in from the sky. So, as the risk increases, so must the efforts of the police.

But what if the police choose to relax security instead? What if, as TOC’s investigation suggests, the police chose not to conduct identification checks on everyone in the vicinity? What if they decided that there is no need to restrict movement to Mdm Halimah’s floor? Quite clearly, this would mean that Mdm Halimah would be at greater risk of an attack here than she would in the Istana. Much as we may say #notmypresident, this is not a distinction terrorists would make. Any attack on Mdm Halimah would therefore represent an attack on the office of the presidency, and consequently also an attack on the nation.

In essence, then, Mdm Halimah’s decision to continue living in her jumbo flat creates a dilemma for the police. Either they inconvenience residents and increase the cost to taxpayers by imposing stricter security measures, or they allow Mdm Halimah to continue to place herself at greater risk of harm. There’s an inevitable trade-off to be made here. The more secure she is, the more her neighbours must be inconvenienced and their privacy infringed, and the more taxpayers have to pay. Security ain’t free, especially not when one is in an open estate and constantly travelling to and from the Istana.

Sure, taxpayers are willing to pay for official trips overseas even if these trips are purely symbolic and meant to bolster our international reputation. But the symbolism of Mdm Halimah’s gesture here is non-existent. Her decision to continue living in a jumbo flat is more an indication of the inequality that exists in our society today than of her identifiability with the common man.

Mdm Halimah’s daily travel between her flat in Yishun and the Istana neatly illustrates this dilemma. A motorist has uploaded a video showing how a long presidential motorcade took almost two whole minutes to drive past him (he was pulled over to let them pass). The fuel, manpower and vehicular costs required must surely be considerable. Add to that the inconvenience caused by motorists. The police’s assurance that this motorcade is only used on major occasions and will not be a daily occurrence is no assurance at all. It merely suggests that on other occasions, the president will not be adequately protected.
Either that, or the large motorcade was a waste of resources to begin with. None of this would be necessary if Mdm Halimah chose to stay at the Istana. The additional costs here are created, not by any need arising from her office, but solely because of her personal decision to use taxpayers’ dollars to keep up the pretence that she is the people’s president.

It’s time to end the charade. Mdm Halimah, it’s time to go back to the Istana and get to work. Let the police do their job and show that you care about the people in other ways. Let’s start by donating some or all of your $4,267,500 salary to needy Singaporeans.
 

Boliao

Alfrescian
Loyal
Current and previous Presidents cannot stay in Istana because someone else already staying there?
 

JHolmesJr

Alfrescian
Loyal
just shows how little she understands about being a president….doesnt even know how to show respect to the role…..how to expect others to respect her.
 

borom

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
In my opinion living in the same place does not mean you will know the people lives better-it means she also have to take train/bus to work (even in pouring rain), buy from the wet market nearby, eat at the hawker stalls/coffeshops there and queue up at the polyclinic/A&E at Yishun Hospital when she is unwell. Has she tried waiting for months for a specialist or dental appointment at Yishun Hospital? Her kids/grandkids also need to attend the neighbourhood schools to know the environment .
 

tanwahtiu

Alfrescian
Loyal
Why bother to assess her risk. It is pinky problems let him deal with it and if died of politic death take pinky to hang.

不得要死的总理。不知死。
 

Rogue Trader

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
What do you expect from a hypocrite? The fucking tudung is the most obvious giveaway of her pretentiousness.

Mark my words: after her 2 terms sinkies will be left again scratching their coconut heads wondering what the fuck she's ever done
 

cocobobo

Alfrescian
Loyal
Erm... Only 1st president stayed in istana full time. Thereafter from sheares to kfc all stayed own home and go istana for functions only
 

red amoeba

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I am looking to buy a unit at Yishun. It will be the safest place in Singapore. There will be no loanshark and graffiti. No drunkards who pee everywhere. No Mats to play guitar, smoke or play stupid music at Void Decks. No underages couples making it out at staircase landing. No bringing of cows into lifts.

Hell. The lifts are always working, the place clean and sterile.

It's going to be bliss man.

President Halimah I implore you to stay put.
 

kkbutterfly

Alfrescian
Loyal
I am looking to buy a unit at Yishun. It will be the safest place in Singapore. There will be no loanshark and graffiti. No drunkards who pee everywhere. No Mats to play guitar, smoke or play stupid music at Void Decks. No underages couples making it out at staircase landing. No bringing of cows into lifts.

Hell. The lifts are always working, the place clean and sterile.

It's going to be bliss man.

President Halimah I implore you to stay put.

the lift will be checked weekly?
 

kelton65

Alfrescian
Loyal
What was meant to be a gesture of being sympathetic to the common sinkie ends up becoming a nightmare for those who live near Halimah.
 

borom

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
......loanshark and graffiti...drunkards who pee everywhere.... play guitar, smoke or play stupid music at Void Decks....underages couples making it out at staircase landing....bringing of cows into lifts.

....lifts are(NOT) always working, the place(NOT) clean and sterile......

For a moment I thought you are talking about Pinoyland, India or PRC-has things gone so bad in Sinkieland that you need a VVIP to stay nearby for these to be fixed?
No wonder even Pinoys avoid HDB!
Most expensive public housing in the world at such quality?
 

myfoot123

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Ensure that block will be cleaned regularly by town council and the rubbish chute will be cleared on daily basis. No mouse should be caught running about at night and the place given a fresh coat of paint. Does that mean higher town council fee for the selected block because the selected president was staying there?
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
It's a mix of poor reading of humility and lack of political nous.

One of fourmmers here mentioned that she is doing it for her mum whose is on her last leg. I completely understand that as the elderly want to die at home and in familiar surroundings. She should then say so and people will grasp it and the noise will die down. More importantly if the concern is for the Mum, why even stand for the post. Quiet a dog in the manger.
 

winnipegjets

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Let Harimau live like a ordinary person. Remove all protection and let her drive herself to work. If she is assassinated, so be it. That's part of the job ...after all, she's being paid $4 million a years. If she is kidnapped, the state will not pay a cent to the hostage takers. She is on her own.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
WKW and Nathan would usually go home on weekends. Sheares goes to the Office daily. OTC stayed in the Istana with some time at Command House while Istana was being renovated. Devon Nair full time Istana. Tony Tan if in Singapore, Istana.

Ishak, WKW, OTC, Nathan, Nair etc all did the right thing by hosting many community and social events for various segments of society so they stayed and spent time in the Istana Sheares distested greatly meeting the common man and was very a intellectual snob. He was more interested in his medical causes so Istana remained quiet. Tony did the bear minimum.

OTC's 2 sons had to be cautioned about using the joint to show off - used to invite car dealers to come to Istana to show new models.

The Istana and the President are symbolically important to be one and the same. OTC and wife helped the Arts scene and brought in classical musicians and artists for recitals, exhibitions and talks. Sometimes they run late as everyone is fully immersed in it. You can't do a good job if you treat the Istana as an office and watch the clock. The escort convoy are also on standby and its a costly affair.

The job is immensely important as its helps society become inclusive. There is nothing more satisfying when you help foster young kids from dysfunctional families and then years down the road, you and those who have voluntarily done these roles are invited to the Istana by the President to express the thanks on behalf of the nation.


Erm... Only 1st president stayed in istana full time. Thereafter from sheares to kfc all stayed own home and go istana for functions only
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
One of fourmmers here mentioned that she is doing it for her mum whose is on her last leg. I completely understand that as the elderly want to die at home and in familiar surroundings. She should then say so and people will grasp it and the noise will die down. More importantly if the concern is for the Mum, why even stand for the post. Quiet a dog in the manger.

Her mum? Who passed away on Polling Day in 2015? So either it was faked or necromancers have resurrected her. I know singkies believe in the absolute omnipotence of the MIW but even this would be stretching incredulity to suggest that they had fashioned their own Lazarus...

ScreenShot2017-09-19at6.42.11AM.png


https://www.sammyboy.com/showthread...s-mum-just-passed-away-on-a-polling-day/page2
 

The_Hypocrite

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Current and previous Presidents cannot stay in Istana because someone else already staying there?

They don't stay at Istana..they stay at the house behind the Istana...I think it was called the British military commander residence
 
Top