The Elected President: A private lottery for the rich and influential

[Papsmearer]

Let’s say that someone comes up to you and tells you that if you put down $48K on a bet, you have a 1 in 4 chance of winning $24 million plus 6 years all expense paid accommodations and travel in a 5 star resort, you want or not? Pretty good odds, especially better if not all of the $48K has to be your own money. Some can be donations from strangers. But the only condition is that you must be some big shot, run a big company and well connected. How many people can meet this criteria? Maybe 0.01% of the population? .

Well, to me, this is what the EP has now become. The absurdity and contradiction of all this makes absolutely no sense to me, and is your typical PAP logic. The EP is their back up plan in the event that the PAP loses an election. There is no proof whatsoever that a qualified President can safeguard the reserves properly. The proof is in all the billions $ lost by Temasek and GIC in recent years, and the deafening silence from Nathan. No calls for investigations, no request for CPIB to look into it, etc. In other words, the EP is one big wayang. Recent history is replete with many people who would have met the EP requirements running their banks and investment houses into bankruptcy. Meeting the EP criteria means nothing.

But due to the rules, not all peasants can play in this wayang. So, lets just call it what it is. The EP should be put under Singapore Pools and run as a Sweepstake lottery where the odds are 1:4. Only selected individuals can buy the $48K ticket.

 

[mojito]

Candidates will see worse odds than 1 in 4 chance for the next presidential election. Hundreds of fund managers, wealth managers, private equity investors and "old money" crowd will now qualify for the $24 million sweepstakes, further increasing the chance that the PAP-endorsed candidate with extensive coverage from the mainstream media will get the largest vote share. This is turning out to be farcical.

The entry of TJS has opened the Pandora's Box.

 

[depeche]

Sad to say, i guess it gonna be the last EP!

 

[HedgeTrader]

Good thread. It's all wayang and lottery. TT most likely to win and rep PAP again but the other three are playing cheat. They're not so stupid to believe they can interfere with Parliament passing laws and Government making policies that affect our everyday lives. But they keep claiming they somehow could and would. That's somehow conning voters unsure about laws and constitution to vote for them. If they heng heng win, they'll make some noise and complain that Government is blocking them. That's why I'm anti-EP system. I'll spoil vote and hope more will spoil votes too. Give them a high spoil votes %tage. Maybe they'll consider abolish this wayang.

 

[mojito]

Personally I think spoiling votes will not contribute to the aim of preventing TT from being elected president. I am prepared to vote for whoever is most favoured among the other Tans, character-flaws, warts and all, even if he is not my most favoured candidate. Still, each candidate is entitled to their own intepretation of the president's role. A forceful elected president could potentially question the legitimacy of the current administration and its policies and practices, thereby creating the necessary checks and balances on government policies, that is on top of its custodian and ceremonial role. That is certainly outside the scope intended by the PAP when the EP was set up, but certainly he doesn't need to be gagged if he doesn't want to.

Rules say what the role is about, but never say what it cannot do. I feel it is a Singaporean mindset that we need to break free from.

 

[Papsmearer]

Candidates will see worse odds than 1 in 4 chance for the next presidential election. Hundreds of fund managers, wealth managers, private equity investors and "old money" crowd will now qualify for the $24 million sweepstakes, further increasing the chance that the PAP-endorsed candidate with extensive coverage from the mainstream media will get the largest vote share. This is turning out to be farcical.

The entry of TJS has opened the Pandora's Box.

Maybe not, if there is a successful and well know figure, they may win over the PAP candidate.

 

[Papsmearer]

Good thread. It's all wayang and lottery. TT most likely to win and rep PAP again but the other three are playing cheat. They're not so stupid to believe they can interfere with Parliament passing laws and Government making policies that affect our everyday lives. But they keep claiming they somehow could and would. That's somehow conning voters unsure about laws and constitution to vote for them. If they heng heng win, they'll make some noise and complain that Government is blocking them. That's why I'm anti-EP system. I'll spoil vote and hope more will spoil votes too. Give them a high spoil votes %tage. Maybe they'll consider abolish this wayang.

Thanks for saying so. EP candidates will say anything now. The chance to win $24 million is too strong for them to ignore. This is the problem with the PAP. U don't know whether any of these EP candidates are motivated by money or a sense of public duty.