8/23/2016

The Presidency Myth

Recently Singaporeans have been bombarded with the information that minorities are not well represented in the position of the President of Singapore and there is an urgent need to put a minority candidate to represent the minorities, and that the majority Chinese has over represented themselves in the Presidency. Is this true or a contorted myth?

Let’s look at the facts and numbers. The followings were the Presidents of Singapore.

Yusof Ishak 1965-70 (Yang di pertuan Negara or Head of State 1959 to 65)

Benjamin Sheares 1971-81

Devan Nair 1981-85

Wee Kim Wee 1985-93

Ong Teng Cheong 1993-99

SR Nathan 1999-11

Tony Tan  2011 to present

What did the above said? There were 4 minority presidents and 3 Chinese presidents.  Minorities underrepresented or over represented? This only tells part of the story. If we consider the period 1965 to 2016, a total of 51 years, the minorities were presidents for 31 years while the Chinese were presidents for only 19 years. If one is to include the period from 1959, Yusof Ishak was the Head of State, this would mean another 6 years going to minorities. That would mean the minorities were Head of State/President for 37 years against the Chinese’s 19 years.

Yusof Ishak, Sheares and Nathan all served more than one term.  Of the Chinese presidents, only Wee Kim Wee served 2 terms, Ong Teng Cheong served 1 ½ terms, and Tony Tan is still in his first term.

The big question, are the minorities under represented as Head of State/President of the country? If one is using the formula of proportional representation, with a 75% majority the Chinese should proportionally occupied 75% of the 51/57 years of statehood or 36/42 years of the position of Head of State/Presidency.

The truth is that the minorities are occupying the Head of State/President office by more than 70% while the Chinese are occupying only 30% of the duration.

Now you see the myth? The majority Chinese is under represented in the office of the Head of State/Presidency, and the minorities have been over represented. So, what is the fish? Why the urgency and desperation to amend the Constitution to protect minority representation?

With the way immigration is changing the demography of this island, with the low productivity of the Chinese, mathematically, the Chinese can become a minority in the future. Then what?

Now there is this idea floating around that the Presidency would be something like a GRC with several presidents. Is Singapore so rich to pay for so many presidents doing mainly ceremonial roles? If a president gets $4m a year basic, it will mean $48m for a 12 year term. If you add 12 months bonus, that would be $96m, and if it is 24 months bonus, that would triple to $132m! And if we have 3 or 4 presidents at one time, just imagine how much public money would spend on this office?

A wrongly conceived idea, contrived, smells no matter how many layers of scrap paper are wrapped around it.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

"A wrongly conceived idea, contrived, smells no matter how many layers of scrap paper are wrapped around it."
RB

Tiok. But then hor, they got 70% mandate to do this what, which is what really matters, tio bo? So what can you say?

patriot said...


If Sin is sincere and honest about Minority Representation in the State, it should be the Premiership that has to be shared.
The Ceremonial Presidency is no better than a flower vase for decoration and serves no meaningful
function and purpose. And it is a horribly overpriced piece of decoration pay by the People. It's
a piece of blood sucking ornament.

There is only such president in Sin.


patriot



Anonymous said...

The Incumbent President Tony Tan got only slightly more than 30%
or just a few percents
more than Tan Cheng Bock.

Anonymous said...

"Tyranny and siao ting tong-ness" .......

Of asymmetric information?

A "mis-informed" but some also "kia-su", "kia-see", "short-sighted", "greedy" kongcum?

Anonymous said...

// Tiok. But then hor, they got 70% mandate to do this what, which is what really matters, tio bo? So what can you say?//

"Tyranny and siao ting tong-ness" .......

Of asymmetric information?

A "mis-informed" but some also "kia-su", "kia-see", "short-sighted", "greedy" kongcum?

2015 NDR like more than 18 goodies announced, more than 2016 NDR's 9 issues raised?

Btw, 2016 NDR how many goodies announced?

Have?

Yes?

Anonymous said...

In fairy tales, when one lies, the nose will grow longer. In real life, when one is a incorrigible liar, the consequence can be a life and death matter.

PM has been checked and found to be medically sound, clean, nothing wrong, in good health.

This is good news but also bad news. Good news because he is medically ok. Bad news because something very strange happened during the NDR that made him dropped when there is nothing medically wrong with him.

Take this seriously as a warning and do the right thing. It would not be just the nose growing longer.

Anonymous said...

Bad news because something very strange happened during the NDR that made him dropped when there is nothing medically wrong with him.
9:25 am

Not only bad but also spooky. Reminds me of a similar scene in a horror movie I saw long time ago. The speaker just dropped like how LHL dropped, except that it is just a script of the movie.

Anonymous said...

Watching too much horror movies and or reading too much superstitious stuffs make one very imaginative.

Remember he was visitedby an owl years ago and there were much bad takes about it. In the end he got
70% of fans in the last GE.

Being born the son of a ruler
means he is destined or rather
arranged, to heir the power.
This itself is born lucky.

Anonymous said...

Spooky but the message may not be about the presidency issue?

Message may be not to overwork or have too gruelling schedule?

And also to learn more from 黄帝内经 about wellness and the DOs and DON'Ts of what and how to tc after "playing" and how frequent, especially for oldies past 60 yo?

Anonymous said...

Bad news because something very strange happened during the NDR that made him dropped when there is nothing medically wrong with him.
9:25 am
Not to forget, when the audience and vip politicians sworn the pledge, the light up of country flag or global city flag never shown up. Bad failure on the army organizing the event. It is a first warning people are not working or hiring wrong people to do IT, be scientific.

I agree that nothing medically wrong was the broadcasted message. But disagree the spooky talk. I do believe in 7th month, its spooky because few goes out after dark, like me too.
I disagree with the conclusion because i happened to read news about JP Morgon talking about UK economy. Before Brexit referendum, JP Morgon ceo dimon or sth, said his firm would shift away and cut its 16000jobs. Then this week, same JP Morgon said UK stock exchange will do better than any other stock exchange.

No job cut to JP of course. That is the same big gun firm forecasted about UK. One in June, one in August, the opinions of these "professionals" are the exact OPPOSITE.

Scientifically, we know, for a person to have dehydration and fall, he sweats, closes his eyes, turns soft like cotton and drops. But the freeze on mouth and eye movement seemed the brain lost control of the movement. What the "professionals" said? U can never know the under currents.

I believe in science, the consequence of death is inevitable. Some one passed away at old age because he had stroke. That is the result. If there is soul, i wish him on the way well. yi lu zhou hau.

Anonymous said...

All these changing of markers or changing goal posts is to make it hard for the next PresiTan to enter Istana..the PAPies juz wan to have a puppet under that Leegime so that everything can go thru seamlessly. With a Stroke of pen everything change to the miws likings..the crown prince can fool the dafts Sinkies but it can be fooled all the times..one of these day when the heaven eye open wide that crown prince will be in trouble just like wat would happen last Sunday nite...

Anonymous said...

Don't push your luck too far. There is a point of no return.

Anonymous said...

Sinkies are at the declining stage, well passed the peck point of no return. If the same attempts similar to the old man on mass immigration to create inflation on hdb flats and condos to report on high GDP is implemented to boost the capability of the cabinet, the wider and wider poor and rich gap might lead to similar situation like Little India on fateful night 2 yrs ago.
Everyone is watching. The same message about gloablization, about importing foreigners pmets to have foreigners creating jobs for locals, is a big risk to Singapore, as singapore has passed the point of no return.

The economy was supposed to be more consumption base as engine. There are so many malls in this islands. After the freeze face, i still saw the pictures of jurong being turned into consumption town, showing pictures similar to companies advs selling condos, looking so idealised. Jurong east week ends are crowded with ah nehs sitting around the fields. How about the shops inside the malls, are they doing well when the average folks are not having salary increased jobs, and many are displaced by foreigners indians, pinoys, and prcs, having no jobs to buy the goods sold in the malls.
Not to ignore, these young workers or jobless young have 3 times the cost of buying the hdb flats showing at jurong. How do they go for cpf to retire in 30yrs later if this group of cabinet capability keeps thinking about globalization, free labor inflows create wealth for the young.

I hope Trump be president to re adjust this false concept of globalization. It is a lazy way for sinkie s politicians to push creating jobs to foriengers responsibility. Voters need to know. Politicians need to create jobs, not foreigners, and stop talking about globalization any more. The world has already realized that globalization has destroyed middle class in US and UK. UK back off with Brexit. Now its up to US to back off from globalization, free movement of immigrants into US. No future US president is talking about TPP, yet the freeze mind sinkie politician still want to embark on TPP globalization. The whole talk is nothing at all because TPP has never been approved in US congress or parliament, agree?

Anonymous said...

Are the changes to the Presidential Election to protect minority interests or as Alfian Saat said, a pretext?

Or are the changes to prevent Tan Cheng Bock from standing for election?

Someone is watching from above. Be very careful in what one intends to do. You can't bluff the One up there. Don't try to defy Him. He will have the final say.

Anonymous said...

In the immediate term, what is more pressing are the many decisions that need to be made to "price in the risks" after last Sunday?

Say if YEW just placed a cheque deposit of tens of thousands on a coveted unit in a new launch last Sunday afternoon?

Then this thing happened?

Anonymous said...

Will there be (new) measures in place to allay investors' concerns (about such uncertainties now with much higher probability)?

After Sunday, this type of doubts will likley linger till next GE and beyond in some people's minds and calculations for big ticket decisions and even future moves?

So some people need to decide whether they want to be proactive or reactive after last Sunday?

Veritas said...

Indians are over-represented in ministers. Al Afian Saat should go fight the portfolio from Indians.

Anonymous said...

Heard the amount of funds under one's charge will increase. Currently at $100m capital will move up to $???m. Apparently fewer will qualify to stand for EP in the next round, perhaps including TCB. This is a good way of eliminating those you do not want. Alas, the talk of multi racial EP would be difficult to achieve especially for the Malays as not many are in that category.

Anonymous said...

Looks like nothing can change what is being planned for the EP. Only divine intervention can stop it and save this city state from fucking itself up for the future generations.

Anonymous said...

"Alas, the talk of multi racial EP would be difficult to achieve especially for the Malays as not many are in that category."
2:18 pm

Don't forget, ex cabinet ministers all qualify for EP election.

Looks like Abdullah Tarmugi may be a probable and only candidate.

Veritas said...

Alfian and his malay gang want to be free rider. Go any fortune 500 companies and see of any Malay CEO?

Go Malaysia industrial park see who is doing R&D and who is doing janitor?

And see which tribe have more scientist engineers top thinkers poets intellect...etc

Being a loser tribe who want to one up everyone of us by memorizing koran, now Alfian want to propose something like a racial quota.

In fact Chinese are way under represented in ministry.

Also those big companies run by muslims, for example aramco, petronas 1mdb are cesspool of corruption.

Veritas said...

The fact that Chinese companies now beat USA companies in so many areas, and China being a late comer shows the powerful efficient management style of Chinese. We have Huawei, Ali, Baidu, Foxconn, TSMC, Lenovo, Tencent now world class.

Give a Malay run a shop soon he will focus on hijab, memorizing koran, 5 times prayer a day, halah canteen...etc. You been lucky if the company never go into chapter 11.

Malay need to prove themselves first.

If Malay can set up private companies and beat everyone first.

You cannot focus study koran, hijab, dont eat pig, and then claim no one want to hire you as CEO.

Today even Jews are complaining they cannot compete against Chinese.

Malay want to try?

So the only way forward for this Malay guy to win is to claim discrimination and claim malay is so good, better than Chinese, despite the fact even Jews lost out to us.

Veritas said...

Malay now still have the clutch mentality of quota, not just Malay, all Singaporean minorities. In fact Chinese are under represented in ministry.

But clutch mentality do them no good. If we dish out quota to Malay, then they have the wrong impression that their ways of hijab, memorizing koran, 5x prayer per day, help them to be successful by gaining Allah favor.

That is wrong.

Or Malay should face reality that only hard work begets success.

In fact Singaporean Chinese are too good to minorities believing in kindness.

For example one big complains of European Muslims is white sabo them go bad schools thats why their results are bad. Reality is Muslims idle big time and if schools are full of Muslims, they become bad schools, best way to build good school is to locate it in the middle of East Asian neighborhood.

Now Chinese scatter Malay with racial quota so that they go into school full of Chinese. Chinese today ace Jews in study.

Else Malay will drop out more.

But Malay complain again.

Do it to European Muslism they will also complain.

Anyway give good school also complain, bad school also complain. Muslims forever complain.

Anonymous said...

Even Mahathir also fed up with his Matland Malays. See below.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2014/09/17/the-familiar-lamentations-of-dr-m/