Walau.. before become President, want to kick gahment out!

[mei mei]

Move gov’t operations out of Istana: Tan Cheng Bock

Singapore's four Presidential candidates have shared their plans in their first television broadcast on Thursday.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock reminded Singaporeans of his background as he shared his career as a medical doctor in Ama Keng, a poor village in Lim Chu Kang, to voicing the dreams of Singaporeans in Parliament for 26 years.

He then spoke on the growing desire for a clear distinction between the government and the office of the President.

"To strengthen the independence of the Presidency, one of my proposals will be to ask the government to shift its operations from the Istana grounds to another location," said the 71-year-old.

"The Prime Minister and Cabinet offices should not be housed in the same compound as the President, as this familiarity attracts unwanted suspicion of undue influence. It may sound drastic but I believe this is the correct thing to do for Singaporeans," he added.

Dr Tan said that the separation between the President and government is critical to public confidence as the physical separation will further assure the people that the two institutions are independent of each other.

"The Office of the President and the government must not be seen as the same. Under the Constitution, their powers are separate. Let's keep them separate," he added.

The former People's Action Party Member of Parliament also shared his plans to introduce an annual statement to let Singaporeans know whether the President is doing his job in safeguarding the reserves, their CPF, the appointment of civil servants, charitable activities, and national identity programmes in the arts, sports and culture.

 

[borom]

So far he is the only one to say clearly in his broadcast to " Put Singaporeans first".

I will vote for the candidate that have as his main campaign slogan " Singapore citizens first".

Lets not allow the pappy to obfuscate with their definition of Singaporeans as Citizens and PR's.

PR's are foreigners and hold foreign passports and should not be allowed to buy public housing(including resale), get top scholarships like President, Merit Scholarship and must be made to serve NS before being eligible for citizenship.

 

[HTOLAS]

Actually there is a sound basis for his proposal. The current arrangement is inherited from a colonial structure which in turn is based on a Malay political protocol whereby the sultans shared the compound with their bendaharas (roughly chief minister). When the British came, they kept the sultans on the thrones in Selangor, Perak, Pahang & Negeri Sembilan (aka the Federated Malay States) and Kelantan, Perlis, Terengannu, Kedah and Johor (unfederated Malay states) but appointed resident 'advisors' to make sure the sultans do their bidding. It was therefore natural to place the resident within the compound of the sultans' palaces so that the latter obey.

In the UK, the palace and the government are strictly separated, and there are ceremonies which reinforce this notion of separation, e.g., the sergeant-at-arms' closing of the door on the queen's face when she approaches parliament to give her address.

TCB is right to suggest that we should move away from the neo-colonial protocol and have a modern one.

 

[hairylee]

Trust TCB. This guy does not open his mouth without engaging his brain.

 

[steffychun]

TCB rocks! DO not vote self-centred TJS in.

 

[hairylee]

TCB rocks! DO not vote self-centred TJS in.

Yes, TCB rocks. He wants to kick out LKY and GCT from their offices in the Istana.
TJS bravely brought up the subject of ISA. I will vote for him come hell and high waters.

 

[annexa]

LOL now I don't know what is happening. Isn't kicking the pappies out of Istana what oppo supporters always wanted? This should come from TJS!

 

[zeddy]

What happens if Tan Jee Say is elected President..???

There will be a WWE Royal Rumble inside the Istana with Tan Jee Say, Old fart and Ass Loong, all of them under one roof...