You may be right. The Office of the President is seldom criticised by anyone let alone the opposition because we all want to give it sense of respectability. The only gauge appears to be the social media.
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The Presidency Dilemma , Nathan and other issues.
- Thread starter scroobal
- Start date
Here is dilemma that the architects did not realise. If you make an office electable, people who contest the elections got articulate how they can contribute in the office. As the Office is pretty much sterile and there is little the Office can do, what can candidates do except sing about their past. It looks impractical to spend time and money to contest something that comes down to a comparison of CVs.
Tan Kin Lian has little in the way of a CV. So he has little choice but to spin the angle that he is anti-establishment despite his storm-troopers day with the PAP. Note even Tan Cheng Bock made a similar note that people were not happy with the government and the will speak his mind. Even if Tan Cheng Bock speaks his mind for the next 6 years, is it going to change much. Both these chaps by their views offered should be running in the GE rather than the EP.
Maybe it would have been better to have appointed well regarded luminaries and sector experts in financial prudence to a custody of reserves committee to make an informed choice rather then leave it to the President. As Kingrant has stated, it was designed for the old man for his twilight years. At end of the draft he must have realised it is a hollow office and decided to stay in cabinet for next 25 years.
Tan Kin Lian has little in the way of a CV. So he has little choice but to spin the angle that he is anti-establishment despite his storm-troopers day with the PAP. Note even Tan Cheng Bock made a similar note that people were not happy with the government and the will speak his mind. Even if Tan Cheng Bock speaks his mind for the next 6 years, is it going to change much. Both these chaps by their views offered should be running in the GE rather than the EP.
Maybe it would have been better to have appointed well regarded luminaries and sector experts in financial prudence to a custody of reserves committee to make an informed choice rather then leave it to the President. As Kingrant has stated, it was designed for the old man for his twilight years. At end of the draft he must have realised it is a hollow office and decided to stay in cabinet for next 25 years.
It looks more like a conundrum. For a brilliant Cambridge lawyer and an even smarter spouse to boot, how could he have overlooked the dilemma? I guess he really needed to put legitimacy into the office and electability is the way to go. But the electability feature will become a mockery if nobody except PAP endorsed candidates comes out and stands. Another self-imposed trip up is that it will not be easily removed. Sure, the PAP can still do so with its parlimentary domination, but it has fallen into its own trap where it has to justify to the people why it should be abolished as hard as, if not harder than, it has justified why we needed it in the first place.
The Council of Presidential Advisers is also a side show. Why not just have this CPA, and make the Chairman a rotating one, who can act as the President, so doing away with an EP? Have the CPA elected to office by the people like the Congress or Senate in the US.
The Council of Presidential Advisers is also a side show. Why not just have this CPA, and make the Chairman a rotating one, who can act as the President, so doing away with an EP? Have the CPA elected to office by the people like the Congress or Senate in the US.
which president of sinkapo talks in d tone of d political ruling pap party??
which president of sinkapo CALLED SINKAPOLIANS VOICES AS "NOISES"??
as far i remember (dats worth remembering) ... president wee kim wee is a 'people president'
which president of sinkapo CALLED SINKAPOLIANS VOICES AS "NOISES"??
as far i remember (dats worth remembering) ... president wee kim wee is a 'people president'
Basically, what the Old Man wanted Singaporeans to think is this:
If you intend to vote in a rogue Opp in govt, there's this EP who's going to stop your tricks and he's got teeth.
But if business is as usual, the PAP govt doesnt want the EP meddling with its free hand. So it wants you to stop thinking he's got any teeth other than the emergency dentures given to him by the PAP when the contingency arises. Just like the Cheshire Cat.
Hence the Law Minister spends his expensive time having to convince people that no use trying to lock down the PAP.
If you intend to vote in a rogue Opp in govt, there's this EP who's going to stop your tricks and he's got teeth.
But if business is as usual, the PAP govt doesnt want the EP meddling with its free hand. So it wants you to stop thinking he's got any teeth other than the emergency dentures given to him by the PAP when the contingency arises. Just like the Cheshire Cat.
Hence the Law Minister spends his expensive time having to convince people that no use trying to lock down the PAP.
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I do remember clearly when it was first mooted I wondered who respectable would stand for elections. The PAP then were already finding tough to find good people to stand for elections as an MP. Politics in Singapore is not well regarded unless you are a scholar and your were selected to stand as a candidate.
In 2005, when it dawned on them that they were looking at another lame duck elections, the Govt began to crunch the numbers and ended with an eligibility pool of 500 to 600 candidates. A real small pool as most people were looking towards a well earned retirement. The issue was not holding the Office, it was more the campaigning and elections. Nobody wants to be the loser especially having achieved so much in life. Secondly who wants to lose such a substantial deposit in the event that there are more than 2 candidates. The possibility of losing close to $45K would become a real possibility.
The removal is an absolute issue. Imagine if the president suddenly gets religion. It sure did not take long when the first elected EP began to cause issues. If OTC was not sick and dying, I am sure the problem would have been worse.
In 2005, when it dawned on them that they were looking at another lame duck elections, the Govt began to crunch the numbers and ended with an eligibility pool of 500 to 600 candidates. A real small pool as most people were looking towards a well earned retirement. The issue was not holding the Office, it was more the campaigning and elections. Nobody wants to be the loser especially having achieved so much in life. Secondly who wants to lose such a substantial deposit in the event that there are more than 2 candidates. The possibility of losing close to $45K would become a real possibility.
The removal is an absolute issue. Imagine if the president suddenly gets religion. It sure did not take long when the first elected EP began to cause issues. If OTC was not sick and dying, I am sure the problem would have been worse.
Sure the EP is becoming another failed PAP policy, and should belong with the rest in history's dustbin - the Grad Mum scheme, stop at two, Own a piece of Singapore to defend, cronies and nepotism in PA, NTUC, Temasek Holdings, etc.
The more they tinker with the Westminster system to protect their power base, the more they are like digging holes everywhere. I am just waiting for one of these days for them all to collapse on one another and bury them in it.
The paranoia must die with him altho he's trying hard to burn it into his legacy and his son's govt, which has taken the flak for him.
The more they tinker with the Westminster system to protect their power base, the more they are like digging holes everywhere. I am just waiting for one of these days for them all to collapse on one another and bury them in it.
The paranoia must die with him altho he's trying hard to burn it into his legacy and his son's govt, which has taken the flak for him.
Come to think of it, if we have a policy to pay "the best for the best" maybe non politician Ministers can appointed ( and dismissed if they do not perform to expectations ) after due scrutiny and approval by Parliament...Then we canl have genuine politicians who really want to serve the people and are not in purely for the big bucks!
If you do that, you have what is called an Administrative State. The trouble is then they will not feel obligated to serve their constituencies, but just doing their jobs as best as possible. We already have this in our administrative service in the civil servants.
Because of the need to be accountable to the people, there is the political layer above, which goes to the polls every 5 years.
Because of the need to be accountable to the people, there is the political layer above, which goes to the polls every 5 years.
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If that were the case, Steve Jobs would be one of the fittest men on earth.
Steve Jobs did not go to east coast to swing his arms at about 8 am everyday, rain or shine. Maybe when he reached his office, his next exercise routine is to shake his legs for the rest of day while doing his work. A proven exercise regime for longevity indeed.
No thanks, the net result will be the same as a parliament appointed President. It is an exercise in futility. OTC torpedoed the seat when he found "religion". From what I understand, OTC was not all squeaky clean. His architecture firm was hugely popular as it was a slam dunk in getting building design approvals. Hence he did a roaring trade. His opponent (despite doing all he can to lose the election) garnered a significant amount of votes. Evidence of the disquiet about the position and OTC was confirmed a PAP man through and through. It was only in his twilight years that he realised he was going to have a shit name for posterity. Hence that 180 degree change in direction that threw LKY plans into a tailspin.
LKY and Prataman, Japanese traitors during the war, have no qualms about their legacy. They truly symbolize the "living for the moment" idea.
