Tan Cheng Bock to challenge High Court ruling on upcoming reserved Presidential Election
By Faris Mokhtar
Published: 12:16 PM, July 12, 2017
Updated: 12:26 PM, July 12, 2017
SINGAPORE — Former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock will appeal the High Court’s dismissal of his legal challenge over the upcoming reserved Presidential Election.
“Yes, appealing through my lawyers today,” Dr Tan said in a brief reply to TODAY via his spokesman, adding that he will share more details via a Facebook post later on Wednesday (July 12).
Last Friday (July 7), the High Court dismissed the legal challenge mounted by Dr Tan against the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) over the timing for the reserved presidential election.
In November last year, various changes were passed in Parliament to the Elected Presidency (EP) scheme, including the triggering of a reserved election for a particular race that has not seen an elected representative for five consecutive terms.
The Government, on the advice of AGC, started counting the five terms from Dr Wee Kim Wee’s presidency, forming the basis for the Government to trigger a reserved election for Malay candidates for the coming polls in September.
Filing his legal challenge last month, Dr Tan had taken issue against the AGC’s findings that Dr Wee was Singapore’s first elected President.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...ntial-election
Dr Tan don’t waste your time and money on this issue . We all know how this case will end already .
Do wrong, go soft or don’t deliver, and no party machinery will keep PAP in power: K Shanmugam
Throughout his career, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam has made a name as a straight talker on a wide range of issues. He goes “On The Record” about how politics has evolved in the almost three decades he has spent as a politician.
By Bharati Jagdish
15 Jul 2017 07:30AM (Updated: 15 Jul 2017 05:19PM)
SINGAPORE: By 2018, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam will hit the milestone of having served 30 years in politics, having first won his seat in Parliament for Sembawang GRC in the General Election of 1988.
By 1998, at the age of 38, he was appointed a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court, one of the youngest lawyers to achieve this. A decade later, Mr Shanmugam joined the Cabinet as Second Minister for Home Affairs. Since then, he has also been Foreign Minister, and now helms the Home Affairs Ministry and Ministry of Law.
Throughout his career, Mr Shanmugam has made a name as a straight talker, never shying away from strong statements on issues ranging from foreign policy to terrorism and fake news to the challenges facing Singapore as a whole.
He went “On the Record” with Bharati Jagdish about governing Singapore today, some of the legal policies he has made headlines for and maintaining the electorate’s trust.
But first, they spoke about his assessment of how politics has evolved in the almost three decades he has spent as a politician.
K Shanmugam: I think the basics do not change. What is politics about? It is about representing the people, having a system of governance and government that ultimately leads to a better life. This does not change. Politics is about understanding the people’s needs, projecting ahead the challenges, the opportunities, trying to make sure that the systems, processes are in place, get it done, and also communication.
Communicate with the people to get them to buy into what you see as a vision and the future, and provide a secure environment for people to achieve their full potential. So that does not change.
The challenges appear in different forms. The opportunities appear in different forms. The challenge of communication gets changed but the underlying central aim of what politics should be about does not change.
Read more at
Halimah ‘thinking about’ entering race to be president
By Kelly Ng
Published: 11:40 PM, July 16, 2017
Updated: 9:39 AM, July 17, 2017
SINGAPORE — Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob said yesterday for the first time that she is considering throwing her hat in the ring in the coming presidential race — but will have to consult her family members and colleagues first.
“I’ve been thinking about it (running for elected presidency) — it needs a bit of time to think (it over),” she said.
“But I must say at this moment, I’ve a lot of duties I have to perform as Speaker (and) as a Member of Parliament. Those duties are also very dear and very important to me.”
Speaking to reporters at an event in Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency, the 62-year-old stressed that the Elected Presidency (EP) was a “very heavy responsibility and important institution”.
“So it’s not something that one should take lightly. The duties are really also heavy duties,” she said.
Mdm Halimah has decided to share her “thought processes” because she has been posed the question many times by Singaporeans in and beyond her constituency, many of whom have encouraged her to contest.
“I’m really, really deeply honoured, and also deeply humbled by the many Singaporeans who have asked me on so many different occasions from all walks of life,” she said.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...e-be-president
Madam President in the making ?
Li Shengwu, Lee Wei Ling ‘surprised’ AGC is looking into his FB post criticising Singapore’s court system
By Valerie Koh
Published: 11:45 AM, July 17, 2017
Updated: 1:48 PM, July 17, 2017
SINGAPORE – Mr Li Shengwu, the eldest son of Mr Lee Hsien Yang, and his aunt, Dr Lee Wei Ling expressed surprise on Monday (July 17) that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is looking into a Facebook post by Mr Li criticising the Republic’s court system over the weekend.
On Saturday (July 15), Mr Li, a Harvard academic, posted a link to a Wall Street Journal article on the 38 Oxley Road dispute involving his father, his aunt Dr Lee Wei Ling and his uncle Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He described the article as a “good” summary, and likened the public disagreements over his late grandfather’s house as a “political crisis”.
In the same post, Mr Li added a second link to a New York Times commentary alleging media censorship in Singapore, published in April 03, 2010 and wrote: “Keep in mind, of course, that the Singapore Government is very litigious and has a pliant court system. This constrains what the international media can usually report.”
In response to media queries, an AGC spokesperson said: “AGC is aware of the post and is looking into the matter.”
On Monday, in a public Facebook post, Mr Li said he was “somewhat surprised” that his last post had triggered a response. He clarified that the post in question was set to be seen by “friends only” and not deleted as reported.
He also said: “I’m surprised that the Singapore Government is so petty. Would they also like to trawl my private Facebook feed for seditious vacation photos?”
His aunt, Dr Lee Wei Ling, also expressed surprise on Monday at the “negative reaction” from the AGC over “a private post”.
She added: “Is there a Government servant whose duty is to follow the Facebook activity of all people related to (Lee) Hsien Yang and I, including our private musings. Also, what Shengwu posted is a common topic amongst Singaporeans who are well informed. Is this not an example of ‘Big Brother government’. Perhaps it is a case of “if the hat fits, take it.”
This is not the first time that Mr Li has commented on the family dispute over the Oxley Road house.
Last month, he said on Facebook that over the last few years, his immediate family had become increasingly worried about what he alleged as a lack of checks on abuse of power.
In a subsequent post, he said that he did not intend to go into politics, adding: “I believe that it would be bad for Singapore if any third-generation Lee went into politics. The country must be bigger than one family.”
The Lee family dispute settled down two weeks ago, after Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling said that they welcomed their brother’s offer to manage their disagreement privately. This followed a two-day Parliament debate on the matter.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...s-court-system
The next generation .
SDP highlights double standard by AGC in its action with Li Shengwu and Lee Hsien Loong
Posted on 2017-07-17 by The Online Citizen
In response to the recent statement made by the Attorney-General’s Chamber on Mr Li Sheng Wu’s private Facebook post, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) calls on the AGC to show even-handedness in the matter by also looking into the allegations made against PM Lee.
On Saturday, Mr Li, who is the eldest son of Mr Lee Hsien Yang and grandson of late Lee Kuan Yew, made a private Facebook post on 15 July with a link to an article by Wall Street Journal. He wrote:
If you’ve been watching the latest political crisis in Singapore from a distance, but would like a summary, this is a good one. (Keep in mind, of course, that the Singapore government is very litigious and has a pliant court system. This constrains what the international media can usually report. -
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/opinion/04pubed.html
)
Subsequently on Monday, AGC reportedly issued a statement saying it is aware of the post and is looking into the matter in response to media queries.
SDP noted that AGC has not responded to its letter sent 10 days ago on 7 July 2017, where the party called on it to investigate charges of abuse of powers by PM Lee Hsien Loong.PM Lee had been accused by his two siblings, Dr Lee Weiling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang of abusing his authority as PM for his personal agenda and was compelled to hold a debate at the Parliament on 3 & 4 July to clear his name. But in a disappointing turn of event, PM Lee cleared his name by declaring that there is no basis for the evidence and there is no proof.
The party wrote, “In contrast, the Chambers has reacted with lightning speed to a post made by Mr Li Shengwu, Lee Hsien Yang’s son, on his private Facebook page.”
It highlights that it is crucial that the AGC treats the cases without fear or favour as the manner in which it handles the cases, will determine the level of public confidence in Singapore’s law enforcement agency.
Below is the full letter by SDP
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has not responded to the SDP’s letter sent 10 days ago on 7 July 2017, where we called on it to investigate charges of abuse of powers by PM Lee Hsien Loong.
In contrast, the Chambers has reacted with lightning speed to a post made by Mr Li Shengwu, Lee Hsien Yang’s son, on his private Facebook page. Mr Li had shared an article published by the Wall Street Journal and made a comment about Singapore’s judicial system.
continue reading here :
Halimah may be strongest EP candidate, say analysts
By Faris Mokhtar
Published: 4:00 AM, July 18, 2017
SINGAPORE — Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob will be a front-runner for the highest office in the land if she decides to throw her hat into the ring, said political analysts interviewed by TODAY.
Citing her long record of public service, they noted that voters of all races are familiar with her credentials, while the other two presidential hopefuls would have their work cut out seeking to appeal to Singaporeans outside of their community.
Nevertheless, Mdm Halimah — who said on Sunday that she was thinking about contesting in the polls — could be disadvantaged by her ties with the ruling People’s Action Party, the analysts said, should voters look for independence from the Government in a candidate. Some, like former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng, have also questioned Mdm Halimah’s financial acumen, given that the Parliament Speaker does not have the responsibility of managing “huge billion-dollar budgets and hundreds to thousands of civil servants” like a Cabinet Minister.
While Mdm Halimah has yet to firm up her interest, Mr Farid Khan Kaim Khan, 62, chairman of marine service provider Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, and Second Chance Properties chief executive Salleh Marican, 67, have in the past month declared their intentions to run in the polls slated for September, if they are deemed eligible by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC).
National University of Singapore political scientist Bilveer Singh said that among the three potential candidates, Mdm Halimah would be the “strongest” in the field because of her long track record in the public service.
Starting out as a lawyer, Mdm Halimah, 62, has spent 40 years in the public service, including over three decades in the National Trades Union Congress. Before she became Speaker of Parliament in 2013, she had served as Minister of State at the then-Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. Dr Singh pointed out that Mdm Halimah has enjoyed solid support from her constituents since she first entered politics in 2001, winning four successive General Elections along the way.
Dr Alan Chong, an associate professor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noted that Mdm Halimah’s contributions to the labour movement also placed her in good stead, and she would be seen as being in touch with the ground.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...e-say-analysts
The propaganda machine working overtime .
Did Halimah Yacob delete info about Indian descent from Wikipedia page?
July 19, 2017
Speaker of Parliament Mdm Halimah Yacob’s Wikipedia page appears to have been edited recently. Her page now does not show that she is a “Singaporean politician of Indian descent” as it previously did.
Her page may have been spruced up in anticipation of the upcoming Presidential election which Mdm Halimah is considering contesting.
The presidential election this year has been reserved for Malay candidates.
There has been wide speculation about whether Mdm Halimah qualifies since she is an Indian Muslim, whose father is of Indian origin.
This was disclosed in an ST article in 2013 when Halimah was selected to be the new Speaker of Parliament after her predecessor, Michael Palmer, resigned from politics due to his marital affair with a PA woman.
In the article, it mentioned: “Her (Halimah’s) Indian-Muslim father was a watchman who died when she was eight years old.”
In fact, news of Halimah becoming Singapore’s first woman speaker also made its way to India. The Hindu described her as an “Indian-origin politician.”
It has been revealed that despite her ancestry, Mdm Halimah has been certified as a Malay by the Malay Community Committee at least three times in 2001, 2006 and 2015 when she was fielded as a Malay minority candidate during the general elections.
It is a requirement for minority candidates contesting general elections to to be certified as a member of his or her respective ethnic community.
If she chooses to contest the presidential election set for September, Mdm Halimah will be required to certified as a Malay candidate once again, by a five-member panel that will assess whether prospective presidential candidates belong to the Malay race.
continue reading here :
PAP MP vouches for Halimah’s ‘Malaynesss’
July 20, 2017
Member of Parliament from the People’s Action Party, Zainal Sapari, has vouched for the ‘Malayness’ of the Speaker of Parliament. This publication reported yesterday that Speaker of Parliament, Mdm Halimah Yacob’s Wikipedia page appears to have been edited recently, and that her page now does not show that she is a “Singaporean politician of Indian descent” as it previously did. The last edit on Mdm Halimah’s Wikipedia page was on 18 July 2017, and it has since been made a ‘protected page’ to guard against vandalism.
Mr Zainal, a PAP MP has now vouched for the ‘Malayness’ of the Speaker of Parliament. Sharing an article which said that Mdm Halimah contested in 3 General Elections as a ‘Malay’ minority candidate in his Facebook, Mr Zainal said that to him, “beyond any reasonable doubt, she belongs to (the) Malay Community.”
In answering a question on what constitutes a Malay person, Mr Zainal said: “any person, whether of the Malay race or otherwise, who considers himself to be a member of the Malay community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Malay community by that community.”
Mdm Halimah recently confirmed that she is eyeing the Elected Presidency. Speaking after a community event in her Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Mdm Halimah said:
“I am thinking about it, of running for the presidency…The elected presidency is a very heavy responsibility and an important institution in Singapore, so it’s not something that one should take lightly… so it needs a bit of time to think. But I must say at this moment, I have a lot of duties I have to perform, as Speaker, as MP. These duties are also very dear and important to me.”
At the parliamentary debate on the Presidential Election (amendment) Bill in February, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Chan Chun Sing, accidentally referred to Madam Halimah as “Madam President” instead of “Madam Speaker”. Netizens who responded to Mr Chan’s slip then, wondered if it was a freudian one.
In his address, Mr Chan further confirmed that no by-election will be called if a minority candidate in a GRC resigned to contest the Presidential Election.
Mr Chan explained that the GRC system, which requires each team to include at least one member of a minority race, has been in place since 1988, and that it has two purposes. First to ensure enough minority members in Parliament and secondly, to ensure no political campaign on issues of race and religion.
He noted that there are 25 minority MPs out of 89 – “more than what you’d expect proportionately from adding up the percentage of Malays, Indians and other minorities”.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/pap-mp-...hs-malaynesss/
Ownself certify ownself! I would seriously vote for either one of the other 2 candidates .
Readers shout down ST’s article criticising questions over “Malayness” of would-be Presidential candidates
Posted on 2017-07-21 by The Online Citizen
In a opinion piece published by the Straits Times on 20 July, “Doubts about presidential hopefuls not being Malay enough are off track”, ST Political Editor Zakir Hussain argues that the very nature of this year’s contest has misdirected energies towards securing the ‘most authentic’ candidate instead of a Malay candidate who would make the best head of state.
He wrote that there has been some contention on social media over the “Malayness” of would-be candidates, with some asking whether any of the aspirants who have stepped up or are mulling over a bid is “truly Malay”.
Commenting that “it is as if the very nature of this year’s contest has misdirected energies towards securing the “most authentic” candidate instead of a Malay candidate who would make the best head of state.”
He notes that it is ironic for the people to file their questions in such a manner given that all three hopefuls - businessmen Salleh Marican and Farid Khan, and Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob - have been acknowledged by the community, peers and the media as prominent Malay individuals.
However, the stance that was taken by the author in the opinion piece somehow fails to convince ST’s readers on the matter.
Majority of the ST readers, including readers who are Malay, almost unanimously disagreed with the piece, voicing that it is the racial election created by the People’s Action Party that caused such scrutiny on the race of the candidates.
A commenter on ST, Zain Kazmi wrote, “This whole exercise has caused such an unwelcome awakening of a deep racial consciousness that it’s badly disappointing. Shameful.”
Another commenter, Mohammad Ammar Azhar also voiced his disapproval in the changes to the election,
“I really hate this Racial Presidency. Slowly it becomes obvious that the system is problematic. Instead of voting for the best President, we now need to think of the candidate’s race. The system is skewed and weak. We Singaporean need a President that can lead and protect us, REGARDLESS OF RACE, LANGUAGE OR RELIGION!
In a subsequent comment, he wrote,
“If any MPs or Ministers or even their staffs are reading these comments, please read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I bet most, if not all of our politicians had read it a long time ago. To our current government, please don’t be like the pigs in the book. Pre-governing they said “two-legs bad, four-legs good.” After governing for a while and the leadership changed, they said “four-legs bad, two-legs good.”
Aren’t our current government behaving like the pigs? Pre-governing our government said being racist is bad. We need to elect our leader base on meritocracy. Now, after changes in leadership, our government says, the head of state must come from a certain race. Isn’t that Racist?
We need to uphold Meritocracy. Even it means I will not see a Malay President in my life time. As long as my generation to come don’t need to go through the slip road of pre-1965 and slightly after 1965. I think you know what happened during that period.”
Zulkarnain Hassan wrote, “We didn’t make an issue, the govt did by doing this absurd reserved elections. None of the candidates is Malay. Even our ICs you have to our race, Javanese, Malay and that double barrel crap! Pot calling the kettle black.”
Sathia M Palani wrote, “It’s a bloody insult to Meritocracy and the Singapore Pledge this racially motivated President Election and even more insulting to justify non Malays as Malays…”
Dare Chia wrote, “Things are off track because the PAP based this whole Malay-only election on poor foundations. No wonder everything is crumbling. You can’t talk about meritocracy of the position if you already created artificial restrictions with no validity. I’m more worried that the idiots who came up with this are the same ones holding 93% of the seats in Parliament.”
Syafiq Iskandar wrote, " They already want Halimah. Then realized that she is not Malay. So got the other 2 to join in to make Malay-ness become a non-issue. And if they think Mdm may not win, will use all means to ensure it is a walkover. I hope I am wrong.”
continue reading here :
PE 2017: The possible scenarios
Sense And Nonsense – by Tan Bah Bah
July 23, 2017
4929
TCB watching the wayang kulit from the sidelines
Between now and sometime in September, we will have three presidents. Nothwithstanding Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s bid to stop Presidential Election 2017 from being a Malays-only affair, we do know who the first two of the trio are. Incumbent Dr Tony Tan will serve until his term ends on 31 August. Then an interim president – either the Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) or, if he is not available, the Speaker of Parliament – will stand in until the next President moves into the Istana.
Subject to the outcome of almost-elected Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s judicial challenge, who do you think will be the next (Malay) President, the third of the trio who will serve for the next six years? Who you want and what you think may not seem as important as what the powers that be would like to happen. But you must not let that happen. You do matter and must exercise your constitutional right and duty. This is how Singapore can progress – by you having your say and making a difference and not allowing an unsuitable outcome to emerge by default. So, no spoilt votes, please. I may come back to this in later columns.
For today, I just wish to offer some grist for your kopi tiam talk, lunchtime conversation and dinner tete-a-tete for the next few weeks pending Nomination Day.
There are number of possible scenarios up in the air.
First, there are no surprises beyond the current set of self-declarations of interest until Nomination Day. No one else is coming forward. We have only three candidates so far who have already announced their intention or indicated their interest – Second Chance Properties CEO Mohamed Salleh Marican, Bourbon Offshore Asia CEO Farid Khan Kaim Khan and Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob. A possible fourth candidate, Bank of Singapore CEO Bahren Shaari, has not ruled himself out of the election, saying it would be a privilege and honour to serve the nation.
The “Malayness” of some of the potential contenders? Maybe we should not dwell too much on this as they appear eligible, going by the definition already established by GRC rules on minority representation. (Madam Halimah has been a Malay MP for years). But, let’s say the first two are disqualified – because neither runs a $500 million company. No contest, straightfoward. Madam Halimah is declared our next uncontested but elected President as per the late President S. R. Nathan.
There is a variation of this scenario, which may also satisfy the establishment.
Let there be a contest. The first two are such “poor” candidates anyway that Madam Halimah is made to look far too good and HAS to be the choice for sensible voters, especially Malay Singaporeans. Same objective achieved. Better still, an election actually takes place. She comes in with a strong mandate and greater legitimacy. Two unserious candidates (one was reported to have said he would donate his presidential salary to charity, I wonder what he would do with our reserves) versus a fairly credible contender. Napshot. That is, provided everything goes or is expected to go according to script.
This leads us to the second scenario. Things can go awry. Think Chua Kim Yeow in 1993. With their ears very closely on the ground, the script masters will have to decide and act fact.
If they feel, for some reason, Madam Halimah is seen as becoming a liability among many Malays (because she is a woman or too establishment a figure), she may be withdrawn or she may say No and is replaced by someone more suitable. And you just have to look at Malaysia to understand the cultural heartland attitudes towards women leaders in the Malay world.
That someone else must truly be a substantial figure. He must qualify eminently on all fronts – race, cultural acceptability, good track record, preferably conversant with finances, being able to connect with all communities and so on. There is a growing feeling among voters that the less such a candidate has been associated with the authorities, the better because he is then seen as being the head of all Singaporeans, and not just a retired establishment figure not quite able to act or think independently. Stronger checker is the phrase we are looking for.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/pe-2017...ble-scenarios/
Abdullah TCB ?