American politics – No fear, No Sue

The Americans are giving the world a taste of what mature democracy is all about. Donald Trump, the maverick Presidential candidate for the Republican Party is as good as breaking ranks and convention and protocol and policies and everything, and is the top choice to be endorsed by the Party. His controversial stance drew a lot of flaks and opposition even from his own Party, but he would be nominated by virtue of the popular votes of the people.

Democracy is of the people, from the people and for the people.  American democracy is personified in Donald Trump and the American public. They are the voices and the people to decide who should be the president of America, not an elite entrenched by years of corrupting the system to their advantage. Would there be any call for a change of the Constitution to prevent people like Trump from becoming the President and upsetting the aristocrats and the vested rich and powerful in the establishment?

No way, the power is not only divided and diversified, power is not vested in one person or one party. This is the strength of the American Constitution, that no one can suka suka change the Constitution on his whims and fancy. The American Constitution is sacred and a piece of wisdom that would not allow fools of the day to change as they like to their advantage. The Americans protect their Constitutions zealously to ensure that power is separated and would not be abused by any one arms of the govt or an individual.

The right to oppose and disagree is part and parcel of the American democracy. Party members and leaders of the Republican are free to express their opposition to Trump and vote against him or abstained. They cannot be herded like sheep with a whip to do the callings of a small group of elite in the Party.

And most important of all, the power is really in the people. The people decide, not a few elite or aristocrats. It was like that for a while until Trump stood up and trumps them to their proper places. And Trump could do it protected by a strong and endearing Constitution and an educated people that would speak and vote for what is best for them, not to be dictated by a few elite or aristocrats.  And don’t forget the extremely independent and powerful judicial to uphold the Constitution of the USA, to protect the rights of the people against the abuses of the elite and aristocrats. The judicial will not be little office boy to do the running for the govt of the day without questioning the right and needs of what they are doing.

There is no Sue and no fear in American politics, and freedom of expression is a guarantee that cannot be violated by the power of the day. The world is getting a lesson in democracy, the rights and freedom of a free people who know that they are the real master of their country.

Elected President – Minorities need a lift?

The Constitution Commission must be deliberating on the numerous wise cracks submitted for consideration. Dudley Au, the grand old man, wrote to the ST forum and this is his opening paragraph. ‘I read with amusement the suggestion that we simultaneously have two presidents of Singapore, with one representing a minority group.’ I too laughed until I almost fell off my chair. Just imagine if this idea was put forth by someone from the opposition party camp, I can’t imagine what kind of comments would be printed in the media.  The media would have a field day writing about the ridiculous nature of the proposition. Dudley Au was just too polite, so I also better be polite. No comment is the best option.

Dudley brought up the case of Barack Obama being elected as the President of USA, a highly racist country, and also the newly appointed mayor of London in Sadiq Khan, a Muslim. Wow, in the thick of Islamophobia in the city of London, a Muslim was elected to be the mayor in a society hostile to Muslims in the face of terrorist acts committed by Muslim radicals.  How could these two be elected without the assistance of affirmative actions? Impossible, unimaginable, not in Singapore. We need affirmative actions, we need the protection of the Constitution to make these happened.

And we have our recent Bukit Batok by election to prove that a minority candidate, not the best, could beat the best opposition candidate squarely, without any crutches and special advantage. How’s that?

So, do we really need to have special provisions in the Constitution to ensure that minorities are represented in the Elected Presidency? If one is to look at the track record of the Presidency, the minorities are over represented in tenure in the last few decades.

So, what is the fuss about the need to protect minority representation in the Elected Presidency?  Another red herring, another wild goose chase? When the premises for this exercise are so flimsy, it is not unexpected to get flimsy and crazy ideas, even bizarre ideas.  Two presidents at the same time!  So much money to throw meh? Do we need to build another Istana?  Or would each president be getting half of the nearly $4m annual salary plus bonuses that could come to another $4m to make it a cool $8m each annually?

If money is not a problem, allow me to offer another silly idea. How about having 4 presidents at one time so that all CMIO would be represented? And if the new citizens would also want to be represented, make it 10 presidents sitting in the Istana at one time to please all and sundry. Only $40m plus plus, at most $80m a year. Sup sup suey. We got so much money to throw to make every minority happy, old minorities and new minorities.

Seriously, do we need to continue with this exercise? If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. What’s the hurry, what is so urgent, so paramount to have this Elected Presidency fixed?

In my blog, the quality of a blogger, commentator, is not in his rank or richness, but in the quality of the post. A stupid post is a stupid post. A silly post is a silly post. A silly idea is a silly idea. No one can pull rank to win an argument or to look clever or sound clever.

China will never accept Pinoy's fraudulent claims on Chinese territories, islands and reefs in the South China Sea

China will never accept Pinoy's fraudulent claim on Chinese territories, islands, shoals and reefs  in the South China Sea

China will never accept Pinoy's fraudulent claims on Chinese territories in the South China Sea

Before the 1970s the Pinoys like all other countries accept and recognise Chinese ownership and sovereignty of all the Paracel and Spratley islands inclusive of all shoals and reefs in the South China Sea. Somewhere in the

mid 1970s China announced the presence of huge deposits of oil and other minerals under the seabed of the South China Sea. The international gangster and Evil Empire USA then  as part of its plan to contain China's

peaceful development started a clandestine design to destabilise the region by both overt and covert means to create instability and choas and hostilities through buying over corrupt Pinoy politicians especially Aquino to

start laying unfounded claims on part of the Chinese islands and shoals . Not contented with just using the Pinoys as a ploy and proxy against China the Evil Empire plodded the Vietnamese vermins to also lay claims on

Chinese islands in the South China Sea. The Evil Empire had taught the Pinoys and Vietnamese rats to lay the claims under the guise of  legitimacy in the context that these islands and shoals fall as part of their continental

shelves. When the Pinoys were under the American colonial rule even US never claim those islands and shoals. Similarly when France was ruling Vietnam it never claim any of these Chinese islands and shoals. In fact prior

to the mid 1970s the whole international community including all European countries , US and Japan recognized Chinese sovereignty over all the Paracel and Spratley islands . This was clearly shown in all the European and

American atlasses prior to the 1970s when Paracel and Spratley islands were clearly marked within brackets ( China ) as Chinese owned. This can be verified in the British Philip Atlas printed in England in the 1950s. The

boundaries and sea limits of the Pinoys were indeed demarketed in the three international  treaties of  ( 1 ) The 1898 Treaty of Paris  ( 2 )  The 1900 Treaty of Washington  and ( 3 ) the 1930 convention between the  US  and 

UK. Thus the present illegitimate claims of the Pinoys and Vietnamese rats is clearly due to the unseen hands of the Satanic US plotting and instigating behind the screen in the hope of making use of these silly vermins as

frontline pawns to fight the Evil Empire's proxy wars against China . In this way US hope to eventually gain control of the whole of South China Sea and with that its rich oil and mineral resources and virtual hegemony over  all Asia.


Below I quote an article by  Bai  Tiantian of  Global  Times

   

China will refuse to accept S.China Sea arbitration result: FM
By Bai Tiantian Source:Global Times Published: 2016-5-7 1:03:01


"China on Friday reiterated its stance of non-acceptance and non-participation in the South China Sea arbitration case, adding that the case is a "political farce" unilaterally brought up by the Philippines to cover up its acts

of illegal encroachment of Chinese territory.

China also warned the Philippine's approach to territorial disputes set a dangerous precedent as it would allow other countries to be dragged into arbitration cases involuntarily.

The UN arbitration court in the Hague is due to release the ruling at the end of May or in June.

Ouyang Yujing, director-general of Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, told reporters at a press conference in Beijing that the Chinese government's attitude on the case is clear, which is

that the case has been illegal from the beginning.

"There have been major flaws and errors in the arbitral proceeding of the case in terms of laws, facts and evidence," Ouyang said.

He emphasized that the Philippines did not engage in any negotiations with China before it made the submissions at the UN arbitration court but went on to claim that it has "exhausted all negotiation measures."

"This case is a reality check to some countries because over 30 countries in the world have excluded themselves from compulsory arbitration following Article 298 of UNCLOS. This case shows that such countries can get

involved involuntarily in arbitration cases and be totally unaware of it. And this is a great harm to the international rule of law," Ouyang said.

The US has not ratified UNCLOS. The UK said it remains ready to consider the submission of disputes on a case-by-case basis, according to UN website.

The real intention of the Philippines, Ouyang said, was to negate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and cover up its illegal occupation of eight Chinese islands and reefs in the Nansha islands.

He said the territorial limits of the Philippines are decided by three international treaties - the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the 1900 Treaty of Washington and the 1930 convention between the US and the UK.

"According to such conventions, the western limit of the Philippine territory is 118 degrees east longitude. China's Nansha Islands and Huangyan Island are to the west of this line, meaning all these islands are beyond the

Philippine territory," Ouyang said.

Since the 1960s, he claimed, the Philippines has engaged in territorial expansion and moved beyond the 118 degrees east longitude line.

"The essence of the lawsuit from the Philippine side is to cover the fact of its illegal occupation of Chinese islands and reefs," Ouyang said, adding that the Philippines is trying to deceive the international opinion.

When asked about China's final goal on the South China Sea, Ouyang said China wishes to settle the disputes.

Since the 1960s, China has resolved territorial disputes with 12 out of 14 of its land neighbors through negotiations and consultations.

"It is important for the nation to reiterate our stance, which is reasonable and legal, at this particular time," Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the National Institute for the South China Sea, told the Global Times on

Friday.

It will also help China lay a foundation and get better prepared to handle more pressure from international public opinion, according to Chen. "

 

 

Southernglory 1

Inbox	x

Bukit Batok By Election –The inexplicable happened again

The results of the last GE floored every academics, pundits and political watchers in Singapore. It was too good to be true. The only new variable was the Lee Kuan Yew effect. But this would not cause such a huge swing of votes, across the board to the PAP. It was unbelievable and inexplicable. I do not subscribe to the idea that Singaporeans are daft and blindly voted for the PAP. I believe they have been doing just the opposite but for some reason or reasons, the votes did not show up this change in the voting pattern.

The inexplicable happened again in this by election. There was no Lee Kuan Yee effect to talk about. But the votes in favour of the PAP are again difficult to believe. They mystery deepens. Unless this mystery is solved, the results of future elections would be in the same pattern, strongly in favour of the PAP and no one is wiser.

Let’s look at the cards objective like all academics and analysts would do before the election. What were on the table? There was an affair involving the MP that led to his resignation. 10% swing against the PAP would be on the card on this indiscretion.

It was a by election, there was no fear of PAP not forming the govt. Another 10% swing for the opposition. Chee Soon Juan was gaining more credibility and support from the people despite the character assassination. Not many people would be moved by the pile of shit thrown over him. He would pull 10% of the votes to his side.

Murali was a minority candidate. If one believed in the PAP’s mantra on minorities, 10% swing would go the Chee way. These would add up to 40% swing in favour of the SDP.

What were favourable to Murali? Nothing. Murali was nothing exceptional. He was not touted as a minister material. His 16 years in Bukit Batok was only known to the grassroots working with him, not to the ordinary residents. He was an unknown compared to Chee, a national and international figure with a lot of class, charisma and leadership quality, a fighter for the last 20 plus years. Who was Murali? Murali was a minnow against an established name in Chee Soon Juan. There was no comparison in the two. Could not think of Murali getting any swing votes to his favour. 0% swing!

The only likely swing to favour him was the minority votes. In PAP’s thinking, voters would vote along ethnic lines, not my view. So Murali might get 5% swing in his favour from his ethnic group. The majority would vote colour blind and their votes splitted equally.

The goodies and programmes were non issues and neutral as the SDP too came out with a big list of things they would want to do for the people.  In fact the SDP was leading the charge with new programmes that the PAP was trying to keep up with.

There were some suggestions that the voters would think very deeply about this and that. Bull shit. Only a small minority of voters would spend sleepless nights weighing the pros and cons and the consequences of their votes. Many would vote on first instinct, on very simple and superficial reasons. This would not be in favour of Murali on any count. Chee had the novelty and maverick effects in his favour.

On balance the SDP already won before the election started. Now the result is known and Murali won 61%. How so? How could he garner the 61% votes? It defies all logical and objective reasonings. The PAP gang of ministers speaking for him were wishy washy and should not have much impact.  They were beating to a dead beat.

And they were speaking to their converts in the rallies. How many people really attended the PAP rallies other than the grassroots and supporters and those that went there for free chicken rice? Excluding these groups, hardly a single soul bothered to attend a PAP rally. This is a very significant development in the politics of Singapore. The PAP has lost the audience. It is not connecting with the people. The people did not bother to listen to the PAP anymore.

The big question, how to justify the 61% win by Murali and the PAP given the above scenario and factors? It is as good as fiction. There was no by election effect, no marital affair effect, no Chee effect, no minority effect, negligible negative effect to the PAP.  In this uptight island ran like a church, that any small indiscretion would be scorned upon, how could there be no impact when there was a marital affair involving an MP and a grassroot member?

What is the mystery behind this result and the results of the GE? All the academics, statisticians and political observers must be scratching their heads asking the same questions. There is something that is beyond all logics, something that they could not understand. The crowds that went to the hills to listen to Chee did not go there to be entertained. They were serious minded people wanting change. They were there to support change and they saw in Chee as the change agent.

Until this riddle is resolved, the PAP camp seemed to have a 10% to 15% advantage from the word go and any opposition party wanting to score a marginal win must have a solid 15% advantage to just scrap through. The 15% is just to square the playing field. This is a very tough odd to beat.

In my view, statistically Chee won, but for some unknown factors he lost.  Blame the voters because they were daft? No, it is not so simple. The people are not daft just because they were called daft, just like Chee is not mad just because some people said he is mad.

What do you think?  I am still trying to figure out what is this X factor.

Bukit Batok By Election – No miracle!

The miracle that the opposition camp was hoping for failed to appear. When the sample poll was announced around 9.30pm, Murali was leading by 61% to Chee’s 39%. Given the experience from the last GE, the sample count was as good as a done deal and the SDP was as good as lost. Chee would have to fight another day.

No by election effect,  no affair’s effect, no Chee effect, no Punggol East effect. There were so many factors that were favourable to Chee and the SDP. On record, PAP always lost their by elections. This by election had all the factors as the Punggol East by election. A marital affair of a popular MP and the people voted to show their displeasure. There were many other factors that gave the opposition a better chance in Bukit Batok. There was no LKY effect. Before David Ong, Ong Chit Chung’s winning votes were in the low 51% and 52% in two elections. And his opponents were not as strong as in Chee Soon Juan in this by election.

Heaven is still smiling at the PAP. PAP’s fortune is still now waning yet. The voters of Bukit Batok must be very happy with the PAP and it is looking like this is going to turn into a PAP stronghold.

The point that everyone will be asking, here there is an average minority candidate, not a ministerial caliber, facing one of the strongest candidates from the opposition camp, and won. So, does this disprove the rationale for GRCs, a rationale that Singaporeans are likely to vote on racial lines? Now this is proven to be untrue. Singaporeans, the majority ethnic Chinese, are not racists and would vote for a good candidate or even a mediocre minority candidate, and race is NOT a factor?

Would the GRC concept be disbanded? Will the ongoing inquiry by the Constitution Commision trying to safe guard the representation of minorities as Elected President by disbanded as this by election has proven that it is a NON issue?

Let’s hear the wise explanations from the govt that this by election does not prove anything and GRC must stay and changes must be made to give the minorities a better chance to be Elected President. Would it be another argument along the line that head I win, tail you lose?

This by election really pours a lot of cold water on the opposition camp. Even if there are more by elections, they would not win. The PAP has the secret formula to win elections, general elections and by elections. This will send shivers down the spine of the opposition candidates and supporters. I am not trying to create fear or cause alarm. I am just making an honest comment here.

PAP will be the ruling party till SG100 and forever. This is Singapore’s version of Exceptionalism. We are witnessing a new history in the making where a political party cannot lose power and will rule forever and ever and they lived happily thereafter, like in the fairy tales.

What is the secret formula? Let me guess, do the right things, even if unpopular, like increasing the population, bringing in more foreigners, give billions of dollars of scholarship to foreigners instead of to the citizens’ children, locking up the people’s CPF savings, high cost of living etc etc, all good policies though unpopular. But the people understood. The people are not daft, they knew they have a very good and honest govt working their guts out for them and the tough policies are good policies. The people may kpkb, unhappy, but when come to voting, they will vote for the PAP.  There is so much trust and faith in the PAP.

Even part time MPs are ok as long as they are PAP MPs. They are exceptional talents and would do a better job than full time opposition MPs, especially in running the very difficult and complex town councils that needs exceptional talents to do it. They deserve every dollar they are paid in their million dollar salary, the highest in the whole wide world.

Singaporeans are so blessed to have the PAP to rule over them.

PS: I received this sms from deep low a few days ago. It said PAP would win 60:40. I knew he knew and what he said was likely to be. But he did not know I knew he knew. He was trying to tell me something. He had to tell me that to prove a point. Of course I knew that was the likely result. I know where it was coming from.