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SG Presidential Election 2016/17!


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who is Singapore first elected president?  

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  1. 1. who is Singapore first elected president?

    • Wee Kim Wee
      5
    • Ong Teng Cheong
      130
    • S R Nathan
      5
    • Yusof Ishak
      10


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Next presidential election should be in 2016, so early discuss liao?! Lol.

 

 

Uncle RadX very nice de...see all of us so bore after GE no where to de-stress so open this thread help us focus on something meaningful to discuss...kekekeeeee

 

Also now he is not so busy, 7th month just over Liao [:p]

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Actually, it's always puzzled me why people keep supporting George Yeo for Elected President, almost to the point of idolisation. BTW, I've actually met the guy. He is definitely bright and able, but he's never impressed me as a person who's made a strong stand on principle - e.g. he was the first one to propose the building of the casinos in SG (and then opposed it later, by which time he was a lone voice in the wilderness); also, he was the one who designed the MDA blocks on the Internet, shortly after the gahmen assured a visiting Bill Gates that SG wouldn't practice Internet censorship.

 

When he lost Aljunied, he not only resigned from the party, but relocated to HK. Which is why I came up with the meme below: GY is the new NAIR. :D

 

In other words, GY is like the best of the current crop of MIW - an able technocrat, but not made of any special moral fibre. Remember what the role of the EP is supposed to be about: to be a hawk watching the reserves, and even challenging the gahmen when need be. What, in GY's political history, has really convinced people that he's the right person to do this?

 

Think the problem with George and some PAP Ministers is that on one hand they have to support the govt initiatives whilst wearing the PAP hat. On the other hand, whilst wearing the cap of their own personal/religious/moral beliefs etc, it may differ, so they could be in a dilemma.

 

Casinos is a classic eg. George knows the obvious economical benefits of building casinos here but being a Catholic, his religious beliefs may say otherwise and hence the flip flop I feel.

It is precisely this perception of him not having a strong stand leads me to feel that at least George has a conscience unlike the many yes man in the Govt who may seem to speak strongly on an initiative even though they don't believe in it.

 

I agree with you that the EP needs to be strong as he may possibly have to stand up against the govt one day so he needs to have clout to do so. The electorate, as can be seen from our GE leans towards perceived stability and in the last PE both TT and TCB garnered 70% of the votes between them so IMO if that's the preference of the electorate, GY would be a good candidate as he has opposed ideas like the Casino which you have pointed out whist being in the govt so I feel he'll have no qualms if he's a EP, my 2 cents.

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the problem is the requirement to stand for presidency

 

  1. has held office for a period of not less than 3 years in position of seniority and responsibility in the public or private sector as described below:

    • as Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker, Attorney-General, Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Auditor-General, Accountant-General or Permanent Secretary;

    • as chairman or chief executive officer of a statutory board to which Article 22A of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore applies;

    • as chairman of the board of directors or chief executive officer of a company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act (Cap. 50) with a paid-up capital of at least $100 million or its equivalent in foreign currency; or

    • in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organization or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector which, in the opinion of the Presidential Elections Committee, has given him such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of President.

     

 

these alone will disqualify most of the PAP's opponents.

leaving only those PAP supporting ex ministers or CEO of GLCs etc.

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the problem is the requirement to stand for presidency

 

  1. has held office for a period of not less than 3 years in position of seniority and responsibility in the public or private sector as described below:

    • as Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker, Attorney-General, Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Auditor-General, Accountant-General or Permanent Secretary;

    • as chairman or chief executive officer of a statutory board to which Article 22A of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore applies;

    • as chairman of the board of directors or chief executive officer of a company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act (Cap. 50) with a paid-up capital of at least $100 million or its equivalent in foreign currency; or

    • in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organization or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector which, in the opinion of the Presidential Elections Committee, has given him such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of President.

     

 

these alone will disqualify most of the PAP's opponents.

leaving only those PAP supporting ex ministers or CEO of GLCs etc.

 

i can think of many MCFers who qualify

 

:D

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61797658.jpg

 

=X Mai inkrish ish a beri beri bad. I no.

 

Doesn't matter. In on the first page of a new monster thread (or so I hope).

 

Actually, it's always puzzled me why people keep supporting George Yeo for Elected President, almost to the point of idolisation. BTW, I've actually met the guy. He is definitely bright and able, but he's never impressed me as a person who's made a strong stand on principle - e.g. he was the first one to propose the building of the casinos in SG (and then opposed it later, by which time he was a lone voice in the wilderness); also, he was the one who designed the MDA blocks on the Internet, shortly after the gahmen assured a visiting Bill Gates that SG wouldn't practice Internet censorship.

 

When he lost Aljunied, he not only resigned from the party, but relocated to HK. Which is why I came up with the meme below: GY is the new NAIR. :D

 

In other words, GY is like the best of the current crop of MIW - an able technocrat, but not made of any special moral fibre. Remember what the role of the EP is supposed to be about: to be a hawk watching the reserves, and even challenging the gahmen when need be. What, in GY's political history, has really convinced people that he's the right person to do this?

 

I didn't see him with such popularity before he was ousted from Aljunied. Not sure if he's the first cabinet minister to be ousted in an election or not, but I did start following him after that happened.

 

There's always more than one way of seeing things. For the casino one, it could be seen from the angle that he's flip flopping, or he's acting on new information.

 

Anyway, I would support Tharman for PM or EP too! But highly unlikely he will go for EP this time.

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I hope not TAN, TAN, TAN, TAN again...


 

Think the problem with George and some PAP Ministers is that on one hand they have to support the govt initiatives whilst wearing the PAP hat. On the other hand, whilst wearing the cap of their own personal/religious/moral beliefs etc, it may differ, so they could be in a dilemma.

 

Casinos is a classic eg. George knows the obvious economical benefits of building casinos here but being a Catholic, his religious beliefs may say otherwise and hence the flip flop I feel.

It is precisely this perception of him not having a strong stand leads me to feel that at least George has a conscience unlike the many yes man in the Govt who may seem to speak strongly on an initiative even though they don't believe in it.

 

I agree with you that the EP needs to be strong as he may possibly have to stand up against the govt one day so he needs to have clout to do so. The electorate, as can be seen from our GE leans towards perceived stability and in the last PE both TT and TCB garnered 70% of the votes between them so IMO if that's the preference of the electorate, GY would be a good candidate as he has opposed ideas like the Casino which you have pointed out whist being in the govt so I feel he'll have no qualms if he's a EP, my 2 cents.

I tot EP no power.. only rubber stamp..

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Shouldn't be an issue, if not how do we explain Nathan?

Nathan was perm sec or something.

 

i don't think TCB would qualify? he was only a doc and MP nia. doubt his clinic clocked 100 M per year? lol

 

i was actually thinking Ngiam Tong Dow.

 

he definitely qualifies. and he's not afraid to speak his mind.

 

any one that can call the PM of Singapore " Hsien Loong" in an interview definitely earns my vote. lol

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Calling the former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow “outspoken” is like saying a nuclear holocaust is “regrettable”.

Because that would be an understatement.

You might have to hear it to believe it. But the quotes this man gives makes him a living legend.

Ngiam has served as Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office under Lee Kuan Yew, as well as in various other ministries. He has earned his reputation as a no-nonsense kind of guy. Someone with clout. Someone who can speak his mind without fear or favour.

At 73, he could be trimming bonsai, shooting the breeze and smoking a pipe.

But no, he is still out laying the smack down on everyone.

So, here are 10 Ngiam Tong Dow sayings from his recent wide-ranging interview in the September edition of the Singapore Medical Association newsletter that will make him go down in history for giving it like a manly man.

1. “I think a lot of these pseudo-economists and pseudo-politicians say Singaporeans should be employed first, but are Singaporeans fit or willing to do some of these job?”

gilbert-goh.jpg
Source

Ngiam shows what he thinks of today’s naysayers who regard foreigners as stealing Singaporeans’ jobs.

2. “My favourite topic — I’m on public record — is Formula 1 (F1). We’re paying the Englishmen to stage the F1 night race here. Why should we use taxpayers’ money to pay for these races? I have asked this question publicly, but the MOF has never addressed it.”

ministry-of-finance-sg.jpg
Source

Ngiam thinks the Ministry of Finance is dodgy.

3. “I was born in a generation where every cent counts, so I believe we should spend our money wisely, and not on frivolities. Sometimes, I think our present Cabinet spends money on frivolities, and staging the F1 is my “favourite” example.”

singapore-cabinet.jpg
Source

Ngiam tells the present Cabinet ministers to shove it with their frivolities.

4. “A Hong Kong delegation asked me what I consider frivolities. In Hong Kong, they have fireworks displays every year. One of the delegates asked me whether I thought it was a waste of public money. If everyone in Hong Kong can see the fireworks, then there is no waste; if only a restricted number of people can see it, then the money spent is wasted.”

ndp-fireworks.jpg
Source

Ngiam tells why a public good paid for by taxpayers should be non-rivalrous.

5. “For example, one of my favourite topics to show the stark difference in priorities during my younger days and today is work-life balance. During my younger days, we never thought of work-life balance. For me, my first plane ride was for a work conference in Bangkok!”

singapore-passport.jpg
Source

Ngiam thinks work-life balance is making our present generation chumps.

6. “In the early days, Lim Kim San and Goh Keng Swee worked night and day, and they were truly dedicated. I don’t know whether Lee Kuan Yew will agree but it started going downhill when we started to raise ministers’ salaries, not even pegging them to the national salary but aligning them with the top 10.”

parliament-singapore.jpg
Source

Ngiam thinks Singapore’s leaders are overpaid and it’s not working out.

7. “When you raise ministers’ salaries to the point that they’re earning millions of dollar, every minister — no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell Hsien Loong off or whatever — will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary. Even if he wants to do it, his wife will stop him.”

lee-hsien-loong-casual.jpg
Source

Ngiam calls the Prime Minister “Hsien Loong” casually. And he labels ministers’ wives as gold diggers.

8. “The Civil Service has definitely become tamer, which is not good because we need a contest of ideas. The difference is that no one wants to make a sacrifice any more. The first generation of PAP was purely grassroots, but the problem today is that PAP is a bit too elitist.”

pap-supporter.jpg
Source: Terence Lee

Ngiam tells the Civil Service and PAP to shove it.

9. “We shouldn’t buy trophies. The best thing is to train our own people and give them the experience. I wrote an article some time ago on how we were spending over $6 billion trying to raise productivity. I found out that we have 30,000 trained workers each year, if we took into account the graduates from all our universities, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education! Yet, our employers refuse to take them on because they say that while the graduates may have the theories, they may not be able to do the job!”

nus-graduation.jpg
Source

Ngiam wants to nurture our own local talents to unlock their own achievements.

10. “For example, the delivery of medical care falls squarely on the shoulders of our nurses, so I was very upset to read that our Population White Paper classified nursing as a “low-skilled” job. Whoever passed that document should have his pay revoked. (laughs)”

nurses-singapore.jpg
Source

Ngiam wants to revoke the salaries of some people who worked on the unpopular Population White Paper.

Somebody, give this man a beer.

Read Ngiam’s full interview here.

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Nathan was perm sec or something.

 

i don't think TCB would qualify? he was only a doc and MP nia. doubt his clinic clocked 100 M per year? lol

 

i was actually thinking Ngiam Tong Dow.

 

he definitely qualifies. and he's not afraid to speak his mind.

 

any one that can call the PM of Singapore " Hsien Loong" in an interview definitely earns my vote. lol

 

 

think he was referring to age. But then again, TCB too long since he stepped down, so rules him out

 

 

Seems like anybody's game now

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Nathan was perm sec or something.

 

i don't think TCB would qualify? he was only a doc and MP nia. doubt his clinic clocked 100 M per year? lol

 

i was actually thinking Ngiam Tong Dow.

 

he definitely qualifies. and he's not afraid to speak his mind.

 

any one that can call the PM of Singapore " Hsien Loong" in an interview definitely earns my vote. lol

hahahah.. I'm sure many people call him by other names more affectionately in public too..

 

but seriously, I don't think we need another mandarin

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Calling the former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow “outspoken” is like saying a nuclear holocaust is “regrettable”.

Because that would be an understatement.

You might have to hear it to believe it. But the quotes this man gives makes him a living legend.

Ngiam has served as Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office under Lee Kuan Yew, as well as in various other ministries. He has earned his reputation as a no-nonsense kind of guy. Someone with clout. Someone who can speak his mind without fear or favour.

At 73, he could be trimming bonsai, shooting the breeze and smoking a pipe.

But no, he is still out laying the smack down on everyone.

So, here are 10 Ngiam Tong Dow sayings from his recent wide-ranging interview in the September edition of the Singapore Medical Association newsletter that will make him go down in history for giving it like a manly man.

1. “I think a lot of these pseudo-economists and pseudo-politicians say Singaporeans should be employed first, but are Singaporeans fit or willing to do some of these job?”

gilbert-goh.jpg

Source

Ngiam shows what he thinks of today’s naysayers who regard foreigners as stealing Singaporeans’ jobs.

2. “My favourite topic — I’m on public record — is Formula 1 (F1). We’re paying the Englishmen to stage the F1 night race here. Why should we use taxpayers’ money to pay for these races? I have asked this question publicly, but the MOF has never addressed it.”

ministry-of-finance-sg.jpg

Source

Ngiam thinks the Ministry of Finance is dodgy.

3. “I was born in a generation where every cent counts, so I believe we should spend our money wisely, and not on frivolities. Sometimes, I think our present Cabinet spends money on frivolities, and staging the F1 is my “favourite” example.”

singapore-cabinet.jpg

Source

Ngiam tells the present Cabinet ministers to shove it with their frivolities.

4. “A Hong Kong delegation asked me what I consider frivolities. In Hong Kong, they have fireworks displays every year. One of the delegates asked me whether I thought it was a waste of public money. If everyone in Hong Kong can see the fireworks, then there is no waste; if only a restricted number of people can see it, then the money spent is wasted.”

ndp-fireworks.jpg

Source

Ngiam tells why a public good paid for by taxpayers should be non-rivalrous.

5. “For example, one of my favourite topics to show the stark difference in priorities during my younger days and today is work-life balance. During my younger days, we never thought of work-life balance. For me, my first plane ride was for a work conference in Bangkok!”

singapore-passport.jpg

Source

Ngiam thinks work-life balance is making our present generation chumps.

6. “In the early days, Lim Kim San and Goh Keng Swee worked night and day, and they were truly dedicated. I don’t know whether Lee Kuan Yew will agree but it started going downhill when we started to raise ministers’ salaries, not even pegging them to the national salary but aligning them with the top 10.”

parliament-singapore.jpg

Source

Ngiam thinks Singapore’s leaders are overpaid and it’s not working out.

7. “When you raise ministers’ salaries to the point that they’re earning millions of dollar, every minister — no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell Hsien Loong off or whatever — will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary. Even if he wants to do it, his wife will stop him.”

lee-hsien-loong-casual.jpg

Source

Ngiam calls the Prime Minister “Hsien Loong” casually. And he labels ministers’ wives as gold diggers.

8. “The Civil Service has definitely become tamer, which is not good because we need a contest of ideas. The difference is that no one wants to make a sacrifice any more. The first generation of PAP was purely grassroots, but the problem today is that PAP is a bit too elitist.”

pap-supporter.jpg

Source: Terence Lee

Ngiam tells the Civil Service and PAP to shove it.

9. “We shouldn’t buy trophies. The best thing is to train our own people and give them the experience. I wrote an article some time ago on how we were spending over $6 billion trying to raise productivity. I found out that we have 30,000 trained workers each year, if we took into account the graduates from all our universities, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education! Yet, our employers refuse to take them on because they say that while the graduates may have the theories, they may not be able to do the job!”

nus-graduation.jpg

Source

Ngiam wants to nurture our own local talents to unlock their own achievements.

10. “For example, the delivery of medical care falls squarely on the shoulders of our nurses, so I was very upset to read that our Population White Paper classified nursing as a “low-skilled” job. Whoever passed that document should have his pay revoked. (laughs)”

nurses-singapore.jpg

Source

Ngiam wants to revoke the salaries of some people who worked on the unpopular Population White Paper.

Somebody, give this man a beer.

Read Ngiam’s full interview here.

 

Well, he should have made more noise before he retire or quit in protest..

unless needed to wait for pension to kick in, then cannot say anything.

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I tot EP no power.. only rubber stamp..

 

If the govt needs to draw from past reserves, they have to get the permission of the EP. Nathan was asked for permission during the last recession and he will have to give the green light, so it's not just a rubber stamp. If he's not convinced he should say no. He has a board of advisors to refer to if needed. OTC too asked questions on how certain segments of the reserves were valued when he was EP so whilst by and large it's a ceremonial role, the EP does hold the 2nd key to the reserves so not something to be scoffed at.

 

If it's going to be a PAP backed yes man then I worry n hence I personally felt TCB was a good choice based on his track record of speaking out in Parliament when he was a back bencher though this doesn't necessary mean he will do so when he's an EP but what other yardstick can we base on?

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