Make reasons for decision on eligibility of candidates public: Analysts
By Wong Pei Ting
Published: 4:00 AM, August 29, 2017
Updated: 6:34 AM, August 29, 2017
SINGAPORE — Following the issuance of the writ of election Monday (Aug 28), the two private sector presidential hopefuls reiterated the importance of a contest, while political analysts said the committee determining their eligibility should explain its decision although the Constitution does not require it to do so.
This is because next month’s Presidential Election, besides being the inaugural reserved election, will be the first using revised criteria for private sector candidates, said analysts.
The Elections Department told TODAY that successful applicants will be handed a certificate of eligibility by Sept 12, the eve of Nomination Day.
Whichever way the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) decides, it should explain in adequate detail why Mr Farid Khan Kaim Khan and Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican do or do not qualify to run for president, said analysts. Both helm companies that fall significantly short of the S$500 million minimum shareholders’ equity criterion.
Dr Gillian Koh, deputy director (research) at the Institute of Policy Studies, said: “Unfortunately, because of the very explicit criteria, the two hopefuls who do not meet the automatic qualification criteria will have to make up for the stark shortfall by proving they have the qualities that are demanded by the deliberative track of qualification.”
In all previous Presidential Elections, where a person’s application for the certificate of eligibility is turned down, the PEC issued a statement “giving broad indicators as to why a particular person was not granted a (certificate)”, said Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan. For example, it might explain that a person did not meet the paid up capital requirement.
Mr Tan Jee Say’s and Mr Tan Kin Lian’s applications in the 2011 Presidential Election were approved after deliberation, noted Assoc Prof Tan. Mr Farid and Mr Marican will thus likely have to show that they have the necessary experience and expertise, “notwithstanding their falling short in terms of running a company of the requisite financial size”.
“That’s where it would be a tall order for these men. On paper, they fall short by quite a significant margin, and I think the likelihood of there being a contest is quite low,” Assoc Prof Tan added.
To National University of Singapore political scientist Bilveer Singh, this election is a show of how much the PEC is willing to “bend backwards so that the other two candidates can be brought in” for a contest.
While a contest will ascribe “all the legitimacy” to the winner, Dr Singh said it “does not matter” if there is no contest, citing how the late S R Nathan “did superbly well”.
Ultimately, the “temperament of the office holder is crucial”, he added.
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Presidential hopeful Halimah Yacob unveils campaign slogan and team
By Monica Kotwani @MKotwaniCNA
29 Aug 2017 10:51AM (Updated: 29 Aug 2017 11:09AM)
SINGAPORE: Presidential hopeful Halimah Yacob on Tuesday (Aug 29) unveiled her campaign slogan and introduced the members of her campaign team.
The former Speaker of Parliament, who stepped down earlier this month to contest the Presidential Election, said at a press conference held at the NTUC Centre that her campaign slogan is “Do Good, Do Together”.
“It allows us together as one people to come together and do what is good for the community and the country – I think that is the most important part of it,” she said of her slogan.
“We ‘do good, do together’ regardless of race, language or religion, and we come together to make Singapore a home we can all be proud of.”
Mdm Halimah also introduced key members of her campaign team - “good friends” who volunteered to help, she said. They include Sheng Siong’s chief executive Lim Hock Chee, Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Chia Yong Yong, former NMP Mary Liew and Singapore Institute of International Affairs chairman Simon Tay.
Mr Tay will also be one of Mdm Halimah’s nominators come Nomination Day on Sep 13.
If she becomes President, her goal is to unify the nation, Mdm Halimah said.
“A president should unify the nation and channel our shared values into doing good for the country. And wholeheartedly serve Singapore and Singaporeans," she said.
“The President serves as one who unites the people, promotes social cohesion and has a huge capacity to do a tremendous amount of good.
“I know that Singaporeans see the Elected President as somebody who represents them and Singapore, and somebody they can identify with. I hope to be the kind of President that Singaporeans want, and look up to.”
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...an-and-9166308
So fast she start caimpaining ?
Has Halimah Yacob infringed election laws?
Protected August 28th, 2017 | Author: Contributions
Mdm Halimah Yacob
According to the rules by ELD ( LINK ), candidates can only start campaigning after close of nomination.
Halimah has launched a website with the campaign slogan “do it good, do it together”.
She wrote “A President should unify the nation… blah blah blah…”, and “this is the kind of President I would like to be”.
Straits Times also reported the launch of her campaign website ( LINK ) on 25 August, well before close of nomination.
Has Halimah Yacob infringed election laws?
Phua Chao Wan
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Presidential hopeful Halimah Yacob submits papers for upcoming reserved election
30 Aug 2017 11:05AM (Updated: 30 Aug 2017 11:45AM)
SINGAPORE: Former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob on Wednesday (Aug 30) submitted her application forms to contest the upcoming presidential election, the last of the three people who have declared their intention to run for the position.
“I hope to receive a favourable response,” Mdm Halimah said, speaking to reporters outside the Elections Department (ELD) after submitting the papers. “As I have said repeatedly, my goal, my objective is to serve Singapore and Singaporeans with all my heart and all my passion. So I will just wait for the outcome from ELD.”
On Tuesday, ELD said candidates should campaign in a way that befits “the dignity and role of the President”.
In response to a question on this, Mdm Halimah said she thought it was a very “timely reminder” to all candidates because “this is obviously an election for a very important position, and this is a very respected position so we do have to conduct ourselves properly”.
In this regard, she said she thought that the election process had been “pretty good” so far.
The presidential hopeful on Tuesday held a press briefing to unveil her campaign slogan, as well naming her key campaign members such as Sheng Siong chief executive Lim Hock Chee, Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Chia Yong Yong, former NMP Mary Liew and Singapore Institute of International Affairs chairman Simon Tay.
Chief executive of Second Chance Salleh Marican was the first to submit his papers on Aug 23, while chairman of marine sector company Bourbon Offshore Asia Farid Khan did so a day later.
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...coming-9169380
I hope there will be no walkover .
Vote for best person to serve country, says presidential hopeful Farid Khan
By Valerie Koh
Published: 7:00 PM, September 1, 2017
SINGAPORE — Presidential hopeful Farid Khan called for Singaporeans to vote for the best person to serve the country in the reserved Presidential Election (PE) this month.
Speaking to reporters after morning prayers at An-Nur Mosque on Hari Raya Haji on Friday (Sept 1), Mr Farid, one of three aspirants to have publicly indicated interest in running for the highest office in the land, said: “When you vote, vote for the best person … vote for the guy or the lady, whichever, who is good for the country.”
The 62-year-old added: “I would prefer those who vote for me … for who I am, what I stand for.”
Mr Farid, the chairman of marine services provider Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, submitted his application forms last week to stand in the Presidential Election — the first to be reserved for the Malay community. The other two presidential hopefuls — Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican, 67, chief executive of Second Chance Properties; and Madam Halimah Yacob, 63, former Speaker of Parliament — have also submitted their forms.
Nomination Day has been fixed on Sept 13. Should there be more than one eligible candidate, the country will vote for the Republic’s eighth President on Sept 23.
Asked for his views on his competitors’ performance thus far, Mr Farid said: “As you can see, the three of us, we did not attack each other. I like this. It’s a good system in place. Let the voters decide.”
Going into personal attacks would not be right, he added. “We don’t want to rock the boat or anything like that. A proper, clean and fair election process is already in place. Just follow it. Don’t have personal attacks. I don’t like that,” he said.
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Presidential election 2017: Five people applied for certificate of eligibility
04 Sep 2017 06:25PM (Updated: 04 Sep 2017 07:10PM)
SINGAPORE: By the close of application for the Certificate of Eligibility and Community Certificate at 5pm on Monday (Sep 4), the Elections Department (ELD) received a total of five applications for the Certificate of Eligibility, it said in a news release.
Of these applicants, three people applied for the Malay Community Certificate, one person applied for the Chinese Community Certificate; and one person declared that he does not consider himself to be a member of the Chinese community, the Malay community, or the Indian or other minority communities, ELD said.
It added that as the Presidential Election is reserved for the Malay community, the Community Committee must reject a community declaration if the declarant does not state that he considers himself to be a member of the community to which the election is reserved.
The Presidential Election is due to take place on Sep 23
if there is a contest
. Nomination Day is on Sep 13.
At least three presidential hopefuls have submitted their applications to contest in the reserved election: Former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob, businessman Salleh Marican and Mr Farid Khan, chairman of marine sector company Bourbon Offshore Asia.
Madam Halimah, 63, a long-time Member of Parliament, was Singapore’s first female Speaker of Parliament. She has since stepped down from those positions. If elected, she is set to be Singapore’s first female President.
Mr Marican, chief executive of Second Chance Properties, 67, has said that he will donate his salary as President to charity. His company was the first Malay-owned firm to be listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1997.
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There will be no mandate or respect for the President if there is a walkover
Published on 2017-09-04 by The Online Citizen
by Lim Tean, lawyer and political activist
Over the weekend , the Mainstream Media was suggesting that perhaps there is no need for a contest in the upcoming Presidential Election and that the reserved Election promotes multi-culturalism.
What utter nonsense!
This reserved Election has already gone down as the most despised, ridiculed and discredited election in Singapore history. It has set back the Singapore identity and race relations by 50 years. It has laid to waste all the efforts at Nation building for the past half a century, all for the sake of political expediency by the establishment.
The Singapore identity meant amongst other things, that when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility , what counts is not membership of a particular class but the actual ability which the man possesses . That Singapore identity has been totally shredded by this reserved election.
The Establishment uses euphemisms such as promoting multi-culturalism to camouflage the racial ugliness of their stratagem . Multi-culturalism is always inclusive and never exclusive , which sadly is what the reserved election is all about .
Halimah Yacob says that the reserved election is still meritocratic because all the candidates have to meet the same qualification criteria. No Madam. A meritocratic system is one where other races are not excluded from being elected President . You are participating in a “handicapped” election where other races are excluded in favour of a particular race. It is comparable to the US Masters Golf tournament being reserved only for Black golfers in a particular year. Tiger Woods did not require such a handicap competition to win the Masters in 1997 or 13 other major championships, and countless other tournaments throughout the world. Neither did Barack Obama require a reserved Election to become the first Black American President in 2008 , an achievement which was thought well-nigh impossible just 2 years earlier.
continue reading here :
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...is-a-walkover/
It will be a sad day for the Office of the President and for the malay community if there is a walkover .
Tan Chuan-Jin nominated as next Speaker
By Kenneth Cheng
Published: 5:00 PM, September 5, 2017
Updated: 7:21 PM, September 5, 2017
SINGAPORE — Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, 48, has been nominated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the next Speaker of Parliament.
The announcement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday (Sept 5) came nearly a month after the post was vacated by Madam Halimah Yacob, who is contesting in the Presidential Election later this month.
Mr Tan, set to be the third Speaker in less than five years, will need to be elected by Parliament at its next sitting on Sept 11.
The Speaker’s post was vacated after Madam Halimah, 63, resigned on Aug 7 to run in the Presidential Election, the first reserved for the Malay community following changes to the Elected Presidency scheme passed by the House last year. Member of Parliament (Punggol East) Charles Chong, one of two Deputy Speakers, has since been filling in as Acting Speaker.
PM Lee, writing in a Facebook post, said it had not been easy to find a suitable replacement, noting: “While Chuan-Jin stood out as the best choice, it was a very difficult decision to nominate him, as it meant losing an effective activist at (the Ministry of Social and Family Development).”
Describing Mr Tan as having “the temperament and personality for this role”, PM Lee added: “Chuan-Jin remains an important member of my team, though in a different role. I have asked him to maintain his interest in environmental and social issues, and his concern for the needy and disadvantaged.”
Mr Tan, in accepting PM Lee’s nomination, said: “Good ideas can come from both sides of the House, as does good intent. In fact they abound throughout the length and breadth of our society.
“Our duty must be to harness these for the common good – so as to put them to the service of fellow Singaporeans, and to build a better society.”
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...d-next-speaker
Looks like somebody got demoted . But then how come Charles Chong not nominated as speaker of Parliament ? Another Lee got promoted to full minister .
Reserved Presidential Election part of Singapore’s multiracialism policy: ESM Goh
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at a dialogue session at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy on Sep 8, 2017.
08 Sep 2017 08:13PM (Updated: 08 Sep 2017 08:20PM)
SINGAPORE: Reserving a Presidential Election for candidates from a particular minority community is part of Singapore’s multiracialism policy, said Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Friday (Sep 8).
Speaking at a dialogue session to mark the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s (LKYSPP) 13th anniversary, Mr Goh noted that the reserved election this year is “quite unpopular with a large proportion of the population because it goes against the principle of meritocracy”.
He added, however, that Singaporeans should understand why the Government is doing this.
Mr Goh said Singapore has been successful in managing race and ethnic relations because it “started very early from day one”, citing the ethnic integration policy for public housing as an example. The policy helps to ensure an ethnic mix in HDB estates to help promote racial integration and harmony.
“We have succeeded because we started very early from day one. Everybody is equal and yet you know their differences. We try and make them equal in result when we can – on a fair and just principle basis,” Mr Goh said in response to a question about how Singapore has been able to manage race relations.
When asked about the potential crises Singapore could face in the future, Mr Goh said: “Terrorism is closer than you think.”
He noted that pro-Islamic State (IS) militants are already in Marawi in the southern Philippines, and IS “may have a chance to establish itself in Rakhine state in Myanmar”.
In Singapore, it was announced on Thursday that two Singaporeans were arrested in July under the Internal Security Act for terror-related activities. “Those whom we have arrested - a handful - but how many are out there, we don’t know,” said Mr Goh who is also chairman of the governing board of LKYSPP.
“The Government is already passing the message – more or less trying to condition all of us – (that) it’s not a question of if a bomb or truck will be driven into some crowded place in Singapore, it’s a question of when.
Read more at
Reserved Presidential Election part of framework to build national identity: K Shanmugam
By Monica Kotwani @MKotwaniCNA
08 Sep 2017 10:59PM (Updated: 08 Sep 2017 11:12PM)
SINGAPORE: The upcoming reserved Presidential Election is part of Singapore’s overall framework to create a strong national identity, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said.
Whether it be ethnic quotas in public housing estates, or the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system during general elections, the Government has taken an active approach to promoting racial harmony, Mr Shanmugam said at a forum organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) on Friday (Sep 8).
Mr Shanmugam compared Singapore’s efforts to strengthen racial relations to that of countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom.
“This is my position, and I accept that people can disagree … If you leave societies on their own and if the government does not intervene … you will get the conclusions that (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel and (former UK Prime Minister David) Cameron put up - because the natural order is centrifugal, moving to segregated communities and not integration,” he said.
Social inclusion and an environment in which everyone gets the same opportunities does not happen automatically, but because of policies that “seek to foster and encourage it”, Mr Shanmugam said, adding that this approach has been fundamental to the thinking and the workings of Singapore’s Government for the last 50 years.
He was the first to speak in a three-part session on the reserved Presidential Election, which also involved Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing and Senior Minister of State for Information and Communications Janil Puthucheary.
PRESIDENT AS UNIFYING FIGURE
Mr Shanmugam said having multiracial representation is important in the Elected Presidency, as the symbolic function of the President as a unifying figure remains core to the state.
“If the President, term after term, comes from a single race, would everyone feel that he or she symbolises the entire state, entire nation?” Mr Shanmugam asked.
Read more at