Arofanatics Fish Talk Forums  

Go Back   Arofanatics Fish Talk Forums > The Guildhouse > Chatterbox > Singapore Politics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-11-2016, 03:33 PM   #1
lenghan
Arofanatic
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 71
Default Next Singapore President

JUST IN: Next presidential election in 2017 will be a reserved election for Malay candidates

....according to LHL
lenghan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 03:43 PM   #2
BubbleBubble
Senior Dragon
 
BubbleBubble's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,401
Default

TCB would say they dun wan me as president. Haha...
BubbleBubble is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 04:08 PM   #3
streetsmart73

Hi there !!! 123
 
streetsmart73's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,895
Default

such "erection" for the people by the people can be reserved erh

"Laugh big my mouth" canto slang.

If song song, can also reserved the million-dollar salaried portfolio to the monkey in the park
streetsmart73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 05:27 PM   #4
tankw
Dragon
 
tankw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,701
Default

SINGAPORE: The next Presidential Election due next year will be reserved for Malay candidates, based on the hiatus-triggered model, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 8).

Mr Lee also said that as the Constitutional Amendment Bill states that the Government should legislate on when the racial provision should start, it intends to do so when amending the Presidential Elections Act in January next year. It will start counting from the first President who exercised the powers of the Elected Presidency, who was Dr Wee Kim Wee.

He was speaking during the parliamentary debate on proposed changes to the Elected Presidency system, which started on Monday.

So for the Presidential Election next year, if a qualified Malay candidate steps up to run, Singapore will have a Malay President again, the Prime Minister said.

“As Minister Yaacob (Ibrahim) noted yesterday, this would be our first after more than 46 years, since our first President Encik Yusof Ishak,” Mr Lee said. “I look forward to this.”
The hiatus-triggered model means that while presidential elections will generally be open to candidates of all races, but if there is not a President from a particular community for five consecutive terms, then the next term will be reserved for a President from that community. This means that in the course of six terms, there should be at least one President from the Chinese, Malay, Indian and other minority communities, provided qualified candidates appear, he explained.

ENSURING MINORITY REPRESENTATION "MOST DIFFICULT QUESTION"

Mr Lee also noted that amongst all the proposed changes in this complicated Bill, the one hardest thought about and where the most is at stake is the question of ensuring multiracial representation in the Elected Presidency.

He said as the Head of State for Singapore, the candidate must represent all Singaporeans and the office must be multiracial. If the President always comes from the same race, not only will the President cease to be a credible symbol of our nation, the very multiracial character of the nation will come into question, the Prime Minister said.

“Every citizen, Chinese, Malay, Indian or some other race, should know that someone of his community can become President, and in fact from time to time, does become President,” Mr Lee said.

He pointed out that Singapore is building a “radically different society”: Multiracial, equal and harmonious, gradually enlarging the shared Singaporean identity while celebrating different cultures and faiths. It is also allowing minority communities ample space to live their own ways of life, and not forcing everybody to conform to a single norm set by a single majority group.

“We have to work consciously and systematically at this,” Mr Lee explained. “It will not happen by itself, nor will we get there if we blithely assume that we have already arrived."

ELECTED PRESIDENT AN "IMPORTANT STABILISER"

The Prime Minister reiterated why the Elected President is an important stabiliser for Singapore, noting that founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew proposed the idea of the office because he was worried that there would be a freak election result one day, and the nest egg of reserves would be “squandered by a profligate Government”.

He added that Singapore’s system is unique and “very difficult to get right because the balance is a delicate one”. This is because the President is a symbolic Head of State but elected through a national ballot, and as such has a popular mandate but not a mandate to govern. The President can also use his mandate to say no in certain specified areas, but not push for policies or to initiate action.



The Prime Minister also argued against vesting the powers of safeguarding Singapore's reserves in the Parliament instead of a separate institution. He said that while it may help, the pressure in Parliament is to do more rather than spend less. Making everything depend on just one institution - the Parliament - "creates a single point of failure", he added.

Doing so will mean everything hinges on the outcome of a single general election, and on the Government elected into Parliament with that one vote every five years, he said.

Mr Lee said the Presidential Election itself presents difficulties, particularly in a fiercely contested campaign where “emotions and sentiments can build up and issues that have nothing to do with the role of the President can become hot”.

He cited the 2011 Presidential Election, when one candidate championed a S$60 billion economic plan supposedly to create jobs and enterprise, while another made proposals such as better recognition for national servicemen and more help for the poor and unemployed.

These, Mr Lee noted, are the Government’s responsibility, and for the Prime Minister and Cabinet to decide. “But in 2011, some candidates’ attitude was: Never mind, just say it. Get elected first, worry about the Constitution later on.”

The Prime Minister referenced the US presidential election, saying that while the two candidates – Mr Donald Trump and Mrs Hillary Clinton – represent radically different world views, people can take some comfort in the strong checks and balances in the US political system.

He cited James Madison, one of the country’s founding fathers, who wrote in the Federalist Papers: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

“A dependence on the people is no doubt the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”

“That is wisdom,” noted Mr Lee, adding that while a system like the US one cannot work for Singapore, the city-state needs some stabiliser besides the primary control of the Government, and that is the Elected President.

CHANGES ARE "MY RESPONSIBILITY": PM

As for the timing of the changes, the Prime Minister reiterated that he has been involved with the Elected Presidency almost from the beginning and knows the system – from the intent and design to how conditions have changed and ideas evolved.

“These changes are my responsibility,” he said, “I am doing it now because it would be irresponsible of me to kick this can down the road and leave the problem to my successors.

“They have not had this long experience with the system, and will find it much harder to deal with.”


In an exclusive interview with Mediacorp in September, Mr Lee said he believed this is something which needs to be done, and if it is not done, this would mean trouble for Singapore – “not today, not tomorrow, but 10 to 15 years’, 20 years’ time definitely”.
tankw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 07:13 PM   #5
Kohaku
Dragon
 
Kohaku's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 2,736
Default

Hmmm.... how many malay will be qualify for the position? Do u remember any ex malay mp or big companies ceo that qualified for this position?

I can't think of any for now.....
Kohaku is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 07:50 PM   #6
BubbleBubble
Senior Dragon
 
BubbleBubble's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,401
Default

Many lah... walan...
BubbleBubble is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 08:10 PM   #7
globalcookie
Dragon
 
globalcookie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,446
Default

Democracy is dictated. What's the point of an election? LHL can just nominate anyone he please.
globalcookie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 08:20 PM   #8
Robson
Arofanatic
 
Robson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 441
Default

If we see president's duties as mainly ceremonious. Why not let every race has a chance? What,s the problem. Furthermore, the Malay candidate has no concession and has to fulfil same criteria. Plus he (assume he) will be advised by an enlarged presidential Advisors.

It represents a multi racial society. If that add to stability and happiness why not.?

What's our loss with the new system?
Robson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 08:26 PM   #9
loveikan
Arofanatic
 
loveikan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 384
Default

Sure hv lah.

We just dun kn nia nia
loveikan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2016, 08:38 PM   #10
Auratus
Arofanatic
 
Auratus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 134
Default

Ah Gong advocated that playing race cards in society is dangerous but they had been using race as a tool to retain power. Now even the position of a president is based on race. Isn't this dangerous too? So meritocracy which they always cried about is now a joke?

Dictionary
Quote:
meritocracy
noun
government or the holding of power by people selected according to merit.

a society governed by people selected according to merit.
plural noun: meritocracies

a ruling or influential class of educated or able people.
But I am glad this happened, it is showing LHL is losing his ground and employed such cheap move. Trust is eroding away, and definitely it will cast doubt on his leadership within his rank and file.
Auratus is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +9. The time now is 08:49 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright © 2000-2008 Arofanatics.com (Since 30th August 2000)