Nowadays, I tried not to write too much about politics or social issues in SG but the recent major COCKUP of SMRT in our country's rail system really shows how a lot of Singaporeans missed the point. I have this conclusion when I read the comments and posts online and it pisses me off.
Which major point they missed?? They cliamed that this issue has NOTHING to do with our gahment and we are barking at the wrong tree. We should be blame it on SMRT instead. The gahment has nothing to do with this recent fiasco!
HELLLOOOO!!!! First of all, isn't the rail system a "PUBLIC" transport?? What do we meant by "PUBLIC"? It means it belongs to the gahment right? Even now its under a private corporation, our gahment should enforce checks and collect feedback from the common groung and enforce certain maintenance rules on SMRT or whoever is running the business. It seems that they just throw the ball to SMRT after building the infrastructure and wait to collect money. AND why is our public transport managed by a private Corp in the first place???!!!.This is absurd!
So of course we need to blame our gahment. Who appointed SMRT CEO?? Temasek board right? Who is in the Temasek board? Independent and private my big fat ASS! Grow up silly Singaporeans. Go on! Live in your little wells and believe in whatever the gahment tells you. You are screwed!! :P
*PS That picture of me is my expression when I see those comments..... :P really WTF!
This post is about politics in Singapore so again, if you are not interested, please redirect to somwhere else :)
I loved political forums and I am so happy TOC managed to rope in all the 4 Tans for a good face to face debate. If you, as a voting Singaporean have not watch the videos, I implore you to take some time to watch these 2 parts of the forum to have a better understanding of our 4 candidates.
Part 1
Part 2
In my previous post, I mentioned that all 3 candidates besides Tony Tan are credible and are much much better options as an elected, independant President. This was a pre-conceived idea from the information I have gathered from online readings of their blogs and other writings by their respective supporters.
But there are some very fundamental answers to certain particular principles and beliefs I have that I wished the other 3 candidates would answer before I could make a sound decision. And all thanks to the TOC forum, I have more or less reduce the 3 Tans to become 2 Tans (actually more or less have decided on mine but I still want to know more of the 2 left. :)
As I have known all along, Dr TT was the usual PAP puppet, he beats around the bush on certain tricky questions and his views are the exact same copy of our ruling gahment.
The one that surprises me most in this forum was Dr Tan Cheng Bock. I actually like that guy (so was my sister). I do have some reserves at first as he was still a bit tad too close to the ruling party but hey, so is the later Mr Ong Teng Cheong.
He did an amazing job in the 1st part of the video. Such as seperation of PMO from Istana, removing the election department to be under the PMO and directly under the President and etc. It was really good stuff and his composure and the way he carrys himself was flawless. I was truly impressed!
Then part 2 came yesterday and I found myself totally in shock. This joker just shot himself with a handgun (and a bazooka later :P ) and that's it, he's out of my list.
He made 2 points that gave me the decision not to choose him.
Firstly, the death penalty. He beats around the bush a bit but finally gave his final thought that he accepts it as a form of punishment and he would not even consider it to table a change in our harsh mandatory death penalty law in Singapore. This is totally against my belief so I was a bit dissapointed. If he did mentioned that he plans to bring it up to the PMO on looking into tweaking this issue or like TKL's smarter answer (totally forgoing the President's role in who is going to the gallows) then I might still give him some chance. But the way he answers tells me he is just not going to rock the boat on this issue. As I have once said, no human being has the morale judgement to end another person's life.
The 2nd one is the killer. At 1:00 hr where a lady asked about women involving in politics (especially in higher decision making roles) Even Tony Tan did a wonderful job in handling this question. But Dr Tan Cheng Bock has to shoot himself with a bloody Bazooka! What did he say?
He said:"Well, I think its a difficult area for women in Singapore, it's because the commitment is really heavy, so you need to get your permission from your husband."
Then the crowd goes... Whoooaaaaaaaa.. I had to rewind the tape a few times to confirm what I heard. This old joker is a classic male chauvanist in the new age! Which independant and strong modern woman would vote for such a person??? My sister defintely won't after she heard this and she express shock and disbelief.
What's even more funny is that he knew he screwed up big time and while Dr Tony Tan quickly added a point (to save him from total embarresment I guess) that he's confident that one day there will definitely be a women PM or President in Singapore. Dr Tan CB quickly agreed to this. This is uber sad. This is so low.. This is so PAP like...
Then it dawned on me, he's just another President who will not rock the boat enough. He will try to persuade and inform but once he gets shot down. He would either keep quiet or quit (as in he mentioned he will quit if has a great disagreement with the gahment) . In short, my feeling is that he will not try hard enough to do something about it. This is my reading and understanding of this man from the results of this forum.
Again, these are all my personal views and judgment call. Although Dr TCB is out of my list but I still think he is still much better then choosing Dr TT. So vote wisely my fellow Singaporeans. Choose a President that could represent your beliefs and principles rather than who can really win Dr TT.
Politics again!!! Do quickly close this tab or browser if you heck care about the upcoming Singapore Presidential Election. If you are really interested in my opinion, go ahead. :)
I'm writing this piece because a lot of my friends are asking for my opinion and again, I hate repeating myself so I post here and ask you all to read my blog instead :P. Its a big event this time as there will be four contestants, not just 2. If 2, it will be easy lah. You guys/gals will know I anti-establishment (especially PAP gahment) so generally I would vote for the "other" one that is not endorsed by PAP.
Well, it really depends. As the President is supposes to be independant. And the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong has proven to us that although he was a former PAP and strongly endorsed by the PAP ghament, he still stood up for us and had a good brief "encounter" with the PAP gahment last time. So to be fair, I don't just brush off Dr Tony Tan yet :). I need to research a bit first ,and thats what I think all of us as a responsible citizen of Singapore should do.
If the candidate is truly independant. Then its a non-issue at all if he has been a PAP member. And actually, out of the 4 of them, only Tan Jee Say (TJS) is not a former PAP member. But TJS also joined SDP during our latest election leh... so oso not that independant. The major concern here is partisan politics should not be brought into the PE. Its a different thing totally. So if you start off from this point by understanding the underlying concept that PE is supposed to be non partisan, then it will be easier for you to choose.
From recent reports from TOC, TR, FB postings and even the main stream media. We could already see that although PE is a non-partisan election, it has turned out to be Anti-PAP versus the Pro PAP camp again. Not that healthy and smart actually and this is quite bad for our political awakening as an apathetic Singaporean.
So here's my breakdown of the current situations and see if you guys could guess who I am voting for :P
Dr Tony Tan From what I gathered, he's a bit too close to the PAP and has the most number of "Unions" supporting him. One of my friend and I chuckled when he mentioned that its the first time he realised we have so many "Unions" in Singapore. From his past acheivements, I would say frankly that while he was the Minister of Defence, he did brought in a lot of good changes to the military and NS benefits. But that was just the past, we need to look at his future post and frankly, I would say he's suitable for the job (for his stylo milo hairstyle and looks) rather than substance. If our President is a figurehead with no absolute power, I actually dun mind him being our President. But that is not the case actually, our President do have some limited powers ands o definitely, I won't be voting for him :P
So one out, 3 more to go and this is the tricky part. All 3 of them to me are credible and much more independant then the former. So I would vote any of the 3. But I am not going to tell you which one I picked :P hehehe
A lot of people say because of so many choices, the opposition votes are diluted and the above mentioned DR TT would win. Maybe so but I sincerely believe we should choose on our own beliefs rather than being irrational and think that we have to have anyone beside Dr TT as our President. That means asking around and see who people might vote and ask them to change allegiance. Or worst still, asking 2 of the candidates to withdraw from the race. (Luckily no one did!) This is in my view, a bit shallow and not that good for politics to flourish in Singapore. This is partisan politics and we should avoid it at all cost.
People have their own minds and we need to repect their choices. That is true democracy. Althought sometimes I bad mouth those 60% who voted for the PAP in the last election in my blog of FB. I sincerely don't blame them as it's their vote and choice. I just do that for my own amusements and fun (rather unlike Thailand where they march the streets and stage military coups). I also take my benefit of doubt that they had made their decisions through rational and informed choice rather fear and plain ignorance. I sincerely hope the next 5 years will be better and there are some positive changes I see in recent events. Maybe we just give them more time?
So 3 Tans for me to choose. Maybe I should take out my D&D dice to do some rolling.. :P
Just one more post on politics before going back to reality. So the score card is 81 - 6. So how did I feel? Dissapointed. Why? I was actually hoping that more oppositions would be voted in. My personal score card that I think is a passing mark is 15 to 20 seats in the parliament. This, although could not form 1/3 of the parliament to block constitutional changes but at least it cuts a deep deep wound in PAP's ranks. If we are able to cut that deep, the PAP would listen. (Less than 55% mandate) I was actually hoping SDP would win the Holland BT seats (4), SPP Mr Chiam to ttake the Bishan-TP (5), WP in Ajunied (5),East Coast (5), Hougang (1), Joochiat (1) and NSP in Mountbatten (1). But I guess reality wasn't the case. :)
We need to cut deep as 61% to PAP is still a clear "strong" mandate. They won't listen and precisely just after the elections, the PAP still insist GRC is a good system, increasing GDP policy is here to stay as a benchmark for progress and Ms Kate Spate is a correct judgment call for fielding her. Where's all the humble apologies and promises to listen to the people our Prime Minister has spoken of?( I think its thrown all the way back into the rubbish chute liao.)
Some friends consoled me that I can't be too greedy and expect a sudden change in the politcal landscape. Some also argued that such changes and rocking of the boat is not good. We need gradual change they say.
I'm sorry but I disagree on this as there is an old Chinese saying "If we are sick, we need to solve the root of the problem instead of just scraping the surface." That's what I think we should have in 2011 GE. ROCK the boat :). And there's a few reasons why.
1) Economy is sound at the moment. Osama was shot dead too so we are technically in a very stable situation for a change.
2) PAP made lots of blunder in the past 5 years. Its a good platform to battle and the oppositions have enough ammo to argue why we need oppositions in the camp.
3) Poor selection of new candidates. *enough said
4) A lot of 1st time (virgin) voters who are politically apathetic and willing to vote to try something new.
5) Better selection of new opposition candidates *enough said oso
In short, we have the 天时，地利，人和。(Time, Resources and the people) to give the current Government a good wake up call. But I guess Singaporeans just love to play safe and I have no choice but to respect their decision.
I am also dissapointed as I am 35 this year. Which means I am over my prime (physical) and its going downhill from here onwards. I might not have the chance to see radical changes to the electoral of Singapore. Please don't kid yourself that PAP will scrap the GRC system. They will retain it as its still the most powerful tool in winning elections as it has proven again on 7th May. Almost 40% people voted against the PAP but only 6 seats are won by the opposition. This proofs that the system is still workable and will be here to stay. They would only consider changing it if they lost more than 2 or 3 GRCs. Which means by that time, the people are already not afraid of losing a minister in the team. So that's why I was very particular of winning more seats rather than the actual voting %.
I wrote on my facebook that this is one of the good excuse for me to be a real "quitter" and return back to Thailand. Some friends question my loyalty and love for Singapore. Well, I sincerely do love Singapore. I was born here, I grew up here, I studied here, I served my NS here and I worked here. All my relatives and friends are here too. But sincerely, I am not a saint or a great person to induce change in my country. Majority Singaporeans have spoken through their votes and they want Singapore to continue to be such a country I do not want to be part of, so what can I do? I don't want to hurt it so my only choice is just to leave it as it is :) For those who want to ask me what I want in Singapore, I think my friend's blog entry is exactly what I wanted. Feel free to read it and be inspired :)
Of course I am not going to renounce my citizenship. Its also near immposible for me to get a citizenship in Thailand. I will most probably return once and a while to look here and there (and cast my vote every 5 yrs of course!). But finding work and staying long term in Singapore is not an option for me anymore. I did my part this GE and I pledge that I will continue to do so until my vision of Singapore could be fullfilled in my lifetime, so this is not really farewell but a new beginning for me. Thanks again for all the concerns and encouragement. See you in Thailand! :)
Wife's BFF and her daughter is leaving for Bangkok (they came back here for Songkran) tomorrow so the missus and the 2 kids are staying overnight at her house. Which means I have the whole night to myself to pen this "little" entry on politics in Singapore. I was wondering should I write political stuff on my blog as this is more of a family and photography blog. In the end, I think I still need to write some entries down as I thought it does affect my family and future.
First of all, let me declare that although I am anti-establishment since Day 1. :P I am not those that oppose for the sake of opposing. The reasons of being anti-establishment is because of my parents (who says education does not play a part :P), especially my father hated the PAP party because of the anti Chinese educated policies in the 60s. My late father, who although hated the PAP but still respect them as they did managed to get Singapore to the world stage. I rarely spoke to my father about politics (as per normal with Singaporean families) but during the 1997 elections. I remember I curiously asked my parents who would they be voting for. Mum says oppositions at the first go. My father kept quiet and later after I kept pressing him more, he said voting is secret so I never really know the answer till this day.
But its interesting as I also vaguely remember my father said this casually to me too during the 97 or 2001 election (can't exactly remember when but he did). "If only Ong Teng Cheong took over as the PM instead of this Goh Chok Tong!"
I never realised or think about it what he meant till recently the election fever came again. I started to ponder and look at the old cabinet lineups of the PAP. So interested with our cabinet ministers and their acheivements, I started searching for pass cabinet ministers that served our country. Then I realised something. Mr Ong Teng Cheong held the same position as Deputy Prime Minister together with Mr Goh Chock Tong in the same year! see Wiki link here
I fondly remember H.E Mr Ong Teng Cheong as our first elected President and his contribution to Singapore. Especially the fallout with PAP gahment part on our national reserves. I guess it was because I was in my prime so I took interest in politics. But I never really knew what he had did during his term as a PAP minister. So again, I googled it and I was surprised to find this excerpt from wiki
In January 1986, Ong sanctioned a strike in the shipping industry, the first for about a decade in Singapore, without telling the cabinet. He said that he did not inform the cabinet or the government because they would probably stop him from going ahead with the strike. There was a major corporate and cabinet backlash against his decision; however, the strike lasted only two days, and a deal was struck.
During his tenure as the Minister of National Development, Ong was a proponent and advocate of the Mass Rapid Transit system. He later became the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister in 1985.
What balls he have that he dares to ignore the PAP's party whip by sanctioning a strike! This is true leadership and character! Can you find such PAP candidates in the current lineup?? No way man! Now I really understand why my father said that he would have made a better PM of Singapore then Mr Goh Chok Tong. It's because he cares about us, the common people, the working class and put himself before any (PAP) party interest.
I really regretted that I did not attend his funeral (no state funeral because he humbly did not want it as stated in the media and I believe it) and pay my last respect to this great man. Here's a video made by someone as a rememberance of him. Do turn off the music.. its a bit too cheesy for my taste but the message is there.
And my favourite quote from him as the President of Singapore
"My loyalty is first and foremost, to the people of Singapore. It has always been so, and will always remain so". - President, H.E Mr Ong Teng Cheong
![A Singaporean [Quitter] in Maesai](/storage/Banner.jpg "A Singaporean [Quitter] in Maesai")
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:55PM 
Nowadays, I tried not to write too much about politics or social issues in SG but the recent major COCKUP of SMRT in our country's rail system really shows how a lot of Singaporeans missed the point. I have this conclusion when I read the comments and posts online and it pisses me off. 