Singapore more united in August

The month of August has been good for nation building and bringing Singaporeans closer as one united people. Thanks to Joseph Schooling and his Olympic Gold Medal. The Singaporeans of all races cheered when this hero returned from Rio and all felt very proud to be a part of his achievement.

Today we have another occasion for the people to be united as one people to mourn the passing away of SR Nathan and a state funeral for people to come together to show their respect for the past president.

Singapore needs more of such occasions to give a boost to the spirit of nationhood after the battering by the influx of foreigners that diluted the core built up over 40 long years of nation building. Schooling can be expected to bring in more gold medals in the near future. Oops, cannot wish for more state funerals. No more past presidents available. All our past presidents are dead. Maybe state funerals for past PMs but this will be a long wait if the expected lifespan of the elite is above 90.

Would there be other occasions to gel the people together? A terrorist attack, a war?

Elected President – What is the truth?

Hsien Loong has said it many times. I did not say the govt said it many times because no one else seems to be saying anything about the impending changes to the process of electing the President. Hsien Loong gave three reasons for the changes to the rules. 1. The EP is not just ceremonial but has a very important function to guard the reserves and to approve senior appointments in the Civil Service and uniformed services. 2. The person qualified to be the President must be able to make difficult decisions on financial matters and a stringent set of criteria must be met like managing a multi million organization to the tune of $200m, top civil servants or ministers. 3. The system must be changed to allow minority Presidents to be elected.

The above are the official reasons for this big constitutional change to enshrine racial considerations and elements into the office of the EP when race will be a factor in choosing the EP. Racial politics enshrined into the constitution a good thing, a progressive or regressive thing?

The unofficial version or reasons for the changes to the EP process in everyone’s lips is about keeping Tan Cheng Bock out of the race. Whether one subscribe to this view, whether one believes this is the real reason, this is what everyone is talking about. True or not, depends on who you want to believe.  If the govt is to amend the rules to bar the majority Chinese from the next EP election, saying that it is recommended by the Constitutional Commission, and applies this, then Cheng Bock would be locked out from the race and it would only confirm what the people feared and believed in.

And to add another barrier to people like Cheng Bock, the bar was raised higher, that the person must have managed an organization of more than $200m instead of $100m to take in inflation and the increasing value of the reserves.  So Cheng Bock’s previous organization would not be big enough and thus not eligible. This reason may be too flimsy to hold water as the inflation should also applies to the value of organizations at different times. Thus Cheng Bock’s $100m organization then would be revalued to $200m at today’s value, if there is no nitpicking. He was eligible then and should be now.

So, what is the real reason for the changes to the EP process? It depends on who you are and who you want to believe. Oops, please ignore those jesters recommending that there should be more than one EP at one time. They think Singapore is their grandfather’s company and money is no problem, can anyhow pay. And they may also be thinking Singapore is the biggest country in the whole world, bigger than USA and China combined, so need a few flower vases in the Istana, and pay them by the millions because their jobs are more important and difficult than the PM and ministers running ministries.

I got this funny feeling when I think of these extraordinary criteria for a non executive president. Should not these criteria or more stringent criteria be applied to people wanting to be PMs and ministers, the people that really wield great powers in managing the affairs of the state? Or are the PM and minister’s jobs easier than the EP so anyone can become a PM or minister without having to run a $200m company, just manage a town council will do? Make sense?

Oops, I digress. How many of you believe in the Hsien Loong’s version for the need to change the constitution on EP? How many of you believe the talk of the town, that the changes are rushed to keep Tan Cheng Bock out of the Istana? This one not I say one, everyone is saying this is the real reason.

At this moment, one thing is looking quite certain. The new conditions would mean that Tan Cheng Bock would not be qualified to stand in the next EP. What are the bookies stand on this? 1000 to 1 that Tan Cheng Bock would not qualify?

I think the bookies would even chicken out on such a bet.

SR Nathan – Another stalwart passes away

Singapore will have another state funeral with the passing of SR Nathan at the age of 92. There are not many of such ancients of a passing era left in Singapore. This is another man that had lived a very good life and passed away peacefully leaving behind a big family and family wealth that would last for generations.

Nathan is a typical relic of a time when life was tough and hard. Many of his generations starting life with nothing and tried all means to survive, to make a living. Nathan has made it good, very good, from the time he was a runaway, homeless and squatting in the attap house of his aunt. Now he lived in Ceylon Road, some said the whole or nearly the whole of Ceylon Road belongs to him.

Singaporeans would be lining the streets on Friday to send this man away in his last journey on mother earth.

RIP.

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.

National Day Rally – Reliving the scary moment

The NDR was just another routine ritual every year and Hsien Loong was doing his part to deliver his lecture to the people on the state of affair of country and what lies ahead going forward. Everything was going fine and Hsien Loong was in his normal self injecting some humour into his speech now and then.

After the Malay and Chinese version there was a break before he came on again to deliver the main speech in English. It was nearing the end of his speech when he was talking about the third reason why there was a need to change the Presidential Election that it happened.  He paused, glared to his front, both eyes wide open. Then his body lowered and tilted to his right. The camera was quickly switched to the audience that gave a silent and stunt expression. The mike was not switched off and you could hear a tumble. And then there was silence.

The audience looked really anxious. A murmur could be heard saying, ‘Hope he is alright’ coming through the TV. I too was shocked and worried. What was happening at the rally was serious and not looking good. The worse thing that could happen happened right in the midst of a ND Rally speech and the audience saw the PM dropped right before their eyes. Homeviewers must be equally troubled by the event.

When the camera scrolled back to the audience, several of the VIPs including Ho Ching and the two deputy PMs were not in their front row seats.

TRE was quick to post a pic showing Eng Hen supporting Hsien Loong who was then back on his feet. Chee Hean and Chee Meng and a few aides were up on stage next to the rostrum. He seemed to be well. Then there was an announcement for the guests to go for their reception.

At the 10pm news Tharman was heard saying that Hsien Loong was fine, no stroke. And a crawler appeared saying Hsien Loong would be back to continue his rally speech and he did, to finish the last portion of his speech, though shortened.

For those who are looking at signs and trying to make sense of things and events, the timing of the fainting spell, when Hsien Loong was touching on the changes to the Presidential Election must be telling. Was that a warning not to tinker with the Presidential Election process? If it was, then it was like someone trying to say, leave the process alone. Man propose, God dispose. Or God propose, man cannot dispose. Was it divine intervention? Of course this is nothing scientific but just a belief, an occult happening.

Whatever will be will be. Whoever shall be the next president of Singapore, he shall be and no one can stop that.