8/05/2011

What should Tony Tan do?

It is not easy to be in Tony Tan’s shoe now. His shiny armour of a white knight is now smeared with tomatoes and eggs. It takes great effort and convincing to remove the grits. The thing is, how is this going to be done? Can god stand up and say Tony has done no wrong. Period. Let’s move on.

Even if god is to pronounce that Tony is innocent, the point is that would the people accept the judgement? If the people do not agree, then comes the election and Tony might get a real bruising, and this is no good.

On the other hand if there is no election, a walkover, unthinkable but possible, the smear will not go away. It will harden into a scar. Not only will Tony be affected, the whole institution will come under questioning and a big dark cloud will fall over the island. I don’t think this is an acceptable scenario, and the pus will keep festering and spread to the whole system.

There is another possibility, with a case that is like jumping into the Yellow River will not wash away the dirt, will Tony do the necessary and withdraw his candidacy for the EP? If this be the case, if Tony is no longer in the lime light like some of his contemporaries, the vibes may just fade away.

Well, what if Tony were to walk into the Istana uncontested, this episode is likely to be hanging in the air, in cyberspace, for as long as he is the Elected President, or by walkover. And the plot may thicken.

Which is a better or amiable scenario? An important point to note is that nearly every male Singaporeans has gone through NS and knew how the system should work. Any variation or deviation could be spotted from a mile away. Never try to bluff a NS man about NS. They can get very angry. They have given the best part of their lives to it.

PS. Another possibility. The PEC decides not to issue Tony with the COE in view of the controversies surrounding him and his son. Ok, this is really remote. Heheh. Whatever, once the election campaigns start, many of the concerns raised in the internet may spill over to the main media. It is not going to look good.

9 comments:

Trebuchet said...

Eh, "They have given the best part of their lives to it" is an exaggeration. Sure, given quite a bit, but objectively, the best part of our lives has not been given to NS. Please lah.

Anonymous said...

This one very difficult to please everyone. Some best is to enjoy their youth with the opposite sex. Some best part in the mid 30s, a full man, and a beast. Some in the 50s with all the money in the pocket to spend.

Some NS and the 2-2.5 years they lost to the girls in career devt.

Or the funs they could have had in those years.

Anonymous said...

If he had enjoyed some "perks" as a Defense Minister, I wonder what kind of "perks" would he be "entitled" to as a President?

Anonymous said...

Tony is going to help the Government understand better the economic situation.

Someone is complaining that the returns on GIC's investments, is only half of what the Chinese managed to attain. Now, either Tony must be sleeping on the job as Executive Director or he is not as competent as claimed. So, what is it that he can help the Government to understand the economic situation better? Bugs me a lot.

I believe that we already have a yoda so good in forecasting global financial issues that his advice is highly sought after. Why do we need Tony/

Anonymous said...

In today's Forum reply, Mindef called it "Exceptional"
How do you argue with a subjective title with facts?
The next thing PEC will come up with the approval of Tony Tan only because the rest have not as stellar a "Reputation" like TT. Just watch..

Anonymous said...

Somehow, me just remembers that tony tan once left the Cabinet citing that he needed to look after his children's education and maybe to bring them up with the best he can afford.
Later, he got into the Cabinet again and was even selected to be the PM after Lky, however, rumours said he turned the arrangement down. He left the Cabinet again to head GIC.
The Sin Parliament seemed to be a place he can choose to walk in or out as he pleases.
NOW, he said he want to help the Singapore Government whence he becomes the Sin President.
Is he implying that other being a president, he is not prepared or be able to help the Sin Government???
The EXCEPTIONAL many million SINDollars that a Sin President gets each year can really make some people talked in very strange manner.

Anonymous said...

The PEC not issuing Tony the COE is as remote as expecting the Ogre to say that he made a mistake.

The PEC not issuing the others with COEs is a possibility, with the exception of TCB, whom I suspect is the other alternative choice of the PAP. Otherwise, why is the Union chief talking about letting the labour movement support any candidate? Something fishy is going on.

Unknowingly, the sheeples will again be led to the slaughter. Just in time for Hari Raya.

Anonymous said...

The Presidential Election


Does Singapore really need a president? The president cannot talk about politics. He is supposed to protect the hundreds of billions of dollars of Singapore's reserves. On the contrary he is not allowed to know exactly how much is the reserves and the whereabout of the reserves being kept. So is the presidential seat a sinecure created for some one close to the innermost core of power. Therefore the reason for putting in place a very stringent criteria to exclude outsiders .


So the presidential post is a sham. Singapore does not need a sham president. Just in case the others are disqualified and only Tony Tan is left as the only candidate, in which case there will be great and serious ramifications. No candidate should be allowed to sail into the presidency just because there is no contest. The sole candidate should be subjected to a national referendum for approval. If more than fifty per cent of the votes cast are against him, therefore he is being rejected and so he should not be allowed to assume the presidency. In future General Elections Singaporeans must not allow any walk overs. All future walk overs must still be subjected to a national referendum for approval. Walk overs must not be allowed to get away as fait accompli.

Singaporeans are tired of hearing remarks like, " the president is the friend of the people", "the president has the heart of the people", "the president has the common interest of the people" , "the president is a very humble person." All these bullshits must stop. As friend of the people and having the heart of the people , we would like to know how much money has President Nathan given to charity. How much money has he given to help the thousands of poor people who are suffering from cancer, kidney disease and cardiac problems so as to enable them to seek medical treatment and cure. Is President Nathan keeping very close to his heart all his multi million dollar salary without sheding a cent for charity. A potential presidential candidate has indicated that he will give half his salary to charity if he is elected. Can all other candidates pledge likewise?


SG

Anonymous said...

"What should Tony Tan do?". Unquote.

If he is the only candidate eligible for the Presidency, he don't have to do anything. He can 'qiao ka yo lan pa'(Hokkien Dialect) meaning all he needs to do is to shake legs(and others' hands too) and swing his dingdongs, to collect his millions. Well, maybe one more thing he has to do is to put up fake smiles. So, don't be fool by the big title(appointment) of Elected President which is only at best a mascot of the Regime.