- Orange is the new Black
- H, H, H everywhere
- The president’s coming and going will be scrutinised by the whole estate
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By insisting on staying in your flat in Yishun, you are causing a major inconvenience toy our neighbours. Already, 2 parking spots downstairs have been reserved for police vehicles, as well, the constant stream of reporters, and other members of your presidential entourage complete for parking space in an already scarce parking lot. Look at the size of the parking lot, you can see how small it is, it’s not a multi storey parking structure. How and where are we going to park our vehicles? We as locals are being flooded by a deluge of non resident parking in our area, much akin to our locals being flooded by a deluge of FTs.
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Please dignify the Presidential appointment by residing in the official residence. This is the highest office in the land. All our prior Presidents have accorded it the respect it deserves by residing in the official residence where they easily entertain foreign guests and dignitaries. The residence of the President lends prestige and honour to the position. A HDB flat does not. There is a multimillion $ budget created for the upkeep and maintenance of the Istana. If you are not planning to reside there, then it’s just taxpayer money that is wasted, or do you care at all? Obviously, you are not going to entertain foreign VIP guests in your flat, which means you have to commute every day in your entourage of police outrider bikes and police cars to fulfill your duties at the Istana. For a govt that is harping on productivity and for a supposed Union chief, this does not sound to productive to me, versus staying in the Istana and walking to your appointments. Is this a case of “You can take the Makcik out of the kampong, but you cannot take the kampong out of the makcik?”
President-elect Halimah Yacob’s Nomination Day was over before it started
Here are some things we observed though.
By Martino Tan |Chan Cheow Pong |Tan Xing Qi |Jeanette Tan | September 13, 2017
It’s all happening so fast that it’s hard to take in — on Monday, we learned that there would be no presidential election, and on Wednesday, as the only qualifying individual, Halimah Yacob was declared President-Elect of Singapore at the People’s Association (PA) headquarters.
Come tomorrow (Thursday), Halimah will be sworn in as Singapore’s eighth president — and also our first female, as well as our first elected Malay-Muslim head of state.
The hours of Wednesday morning passed as a blur for us — we were there, encountering the 300-plus supporters from various unions, women’s organisations, and residents, listening to her wave, speak and bow to them in hot sun, many shielded by bright orange umbrellas bearing her campaign H-shaped logo.
But what actually happened? It all moved by really quickly, but here’s what we stepped back and noticed:
Orange is the colour of choice for most of Halimah’s supporters this hot Wednesday morning.
It also happens to be, we understand, the overall campaign colour for her — it came with orange umbrellas, polo T-shirts with silver collars and badges, all of which were emblazoned with her logo (see point 2).
We noticed some supporters were wearing white and blue tops — they were not supporting the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) or the opposition Workers’ Party though.
According to an NTUC spokesperson, an estimated number of 500 unionists from more than 45 unions pledged to turn up to support Halimah.
In other words, those decked in blue and white represented the various unions and were there to mark attendance and show their union bosses their might.
There is another layer of significance to the colour orange, though.
Orange is used by One.People.sg, the body that supports multi-racialism and strong race relations in Singapore, in their annual run. One.People.sg termed it the “Orange Ribbon Run”, a race against racism.
Maybe the first race-elected/selected/nominated President can be its guest-of-honour this year?
There are much memorabilia in circulation that were created to support Halimah in her Presidential election campaign.
There is an “H” badge, an “H” polo T shirt, an “H” umbrella,
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A Halimah Yacob presidential residence in Yishun Ave 4 will be like this. For 6 years.
If you live anywhere near her, fun times to come.
By Belmont Lay | 14 hours
The mainstream media in Singapore has so far avoided publishing the exact HDB block number that newly-crowned Singapore president Halimah Yacob resides at.
This is perhaps due to privacy reasons or out of respect for the first woman president of Singapore who lives like 85 percent of the population.
All that has been mentioned so far is that Halimah’s flat is at Yishun Avenue 4, on the sixth floor, a corner jumbo unit, and she has lived there for the past two decades.
But not as if the block number cannot be easily found online with some googling.
Perks and downsides
There are perks and downsides to this arrangement of allowing Halimah to continue to live in Yishun — with some of these downsides downplayed.
Other than the fact that the block will become the safest place in Singapore and how all of this is so very novel, here are some other consequences of a Yishun presidential residence that have yet to be addressed:
Past presidents of Singapore have all chosen not to stay in the Istana as they remained in their own private property residences (except Yusof Ishak).
But comparing staying in an HDB estate and a cocooned landed property estate is vastly different. A HDB estate is highly public, while a private property accords privacy by virtue of having fewer neighbours around.
For one, the number of people who can witness first-hand the coming and going of the president is much larger in an HDB estate, owing to the officious congregation of the security detail and the presidential motorcade below the block that takes up a lot of car park space.
You can see it for yourself: Before Halimah was even sworn in, plenty of photos have already been taken by the public of how it is going down in the Yishun estate as security has been stepped up.
And since this is a high-rise estate, there are plenty of vantage points.
This high visibility can be a sore point if one’s job is to keep the president safe.
Knowing the exact schedule of a president is not a big deal, because at the end of the day, the president is a public figure.
But being able to keep tabs and chart down precisely the movements of the president on a day-to-day basis is troubling from a security perspective, because that information becomes predictive.
There is a reason why you cannot directly look into the Istana from Plaza Singapura.
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On a lighter note :
Will the properties in that block of flat will see a rise of values since there is a president staying there ?
Is this what the 70% voted for ?
ANGRY NEIGHBOUR WRITE OPEN LETTER FOR HALIMAH YACOB TO MOVE OUT
Submitted by farhan on Sun, 17/09/2017 - 12:44pm
Open letter to Halimah Yacob from your Neighbours
Dear Halimah,
Ok, thank you very much, the show has been fun, but please move on now. We are quite upset that you have indicated that you will stay in your Yishun flat instead of moving to the Istana. Please consider the following points:
- More at AllSingaporeStuff.com
https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/ar...yacob-move-out
FB:
Residents hardly inconvenienced by President Halimah Yacob’s continued stay at her HDB flat
Published on 2017-09-17 by Terry Xu
A complaint letter that is circulating online which is allegedly written by a resident at Yishun, claims that residents are inconvenienced by the security arrangement for the newly elected President, Mdm Halimah Yacob who has chosen to continue to stay at her HDB flat of over thirty years.
The letter wrote that Mdm Halimah is causing a major inconvenience to the neighbours and asked that the President to kindly pack up as soon as possible and vacate the premises.
The claims made in the letter are:
•2 parking spots reserved for police vehicles
•Constant stream of reporters
•Members of your presidential entourage competing for parking space in an already scarce parking lot
•Police and other assorted SOs stopping everyone around the area to ask for their IC and their business
•People living in the neighbouring blocks have to go through police questioning every time they leave and return home.
This afternoon, I made a trip down to Mdm Halimah’s HDB flat in Yishun to take a look at the claims made by the letter and to determine whether is there any truth in it.
What is obvious from sight, is a shelter constructed to ensure Mdm Halimah is protected from the elements while boarding her allocated vehicle and two red signs which writes, “Reserved for police vehicles.” But other than that, there is no other obvious security installation such as a gantry post or additional security cameras. Even at the lift or stairwell, there is no additional checks imposed upon residents.
Speaking to the people who so happened to be around the area, they say that the police will conduct a throughout security screening around the area before Mdm Halimah comes in and out of her HDB flat with little inconvenience caused to the residents.
While one will assume that vehicles would be thoroughly checked by security, it is observed that the vehicles entering the carpark are not subjected to any security checks and taxis could enter without restriction.
Residents are seen going about their daily life at the park and the nearby coffeeshop. There is little observable security presence other than a sighting of an uniformed police officer making his rounds around the block.
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DPM Tharman said S’poreans aren’t fools who read mainstream media blindly. He’s right.
Singaporeans are watching and taking notes.
By Belmont Lay | 15 hours
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was engaged in a dialogue at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on Wednesday night, Sept. 20.
The session was NTU’s inaugural Majulah Lecture, a new initiative by the university that aims to tackle topics relevant to the development of Singapore.
Tharman spoke on the key shifts in Singapore’s education system needs and then took questions, which he responded to with his usual candour and thoughtfulness.
Tharman doesn’t agree with gutter politics tactics
One of the things Tharman said at the dialogue has stood out.
He was asked to comment on a lack of independent media in Singapore and whether he agreed with the “gutter politics” employed by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) leaders who resorted to mudslinging opposition candidates.
The perception was that the PAP had undermined an opposition candidate by bringing up past run-ins with the government.
This was perceived to have happened during the by-election in Bukit Batok in 2016, which was contested by Singapore Democratic Party’s Chee Soon Juan and PAP’s Murali Pillai.
In response, Tharman said candidly that he does not agree with the actions of his colleagues all the time, even as Singapore has become a more liberal place:
“The sense of fear, the sense of constraint is far less now. Yes, you get pushbacks and sometimes you may not like it. It doesn’t mean I agree with every tactic by every one of my colleagues.”
He also said the PAP is defined by its honesty and remaining true to Singaporeans, and falling short comes with sanctions:
“That trait of the PAP shows up almost all the time. Sometimes the PAP itself falls short, and action has to be taken on individuals and it is taken.”
DPM Tharman invents a new phrase to talk up the importance of the arts as well as science
He calls it disciplinary fracking - drill down but also spread out.
Singaporeans are no fools as they consume media critically
Tharman also said he has “great faith” in Singaporeans as they judged what happened during the Bukit Batok by-election and would judge the PAP at the next election.
Singaporeans also know how to read what the Singapore press produces and are more expressive owing to social media.
“I don’t think Singaporeans are fools. Even when they read what we call the mainstream media, they don’t read it blindly.”
“They know some things are more likely to come up on page four than on page one; the headlines may be a slightly different size, but they read things. They have the social media as well. People talk more openly, they exchange views more openly, and they make judgements.”
ST covered Tharman’s more controversial comments but did not share it
To a large prophetic extent, Tharman’s comments on the mainstream media and Singaporeans’ nuanced reading of the hot button issues of the day in the press, rang through within a day.
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DPM Teo: Reserved presidential election needed for maintaining racial, religious harmony
THAM YUEN-C, THE STRAITS TIMES
Sep 27, 2017 06:00 am
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean is the latest Singapore leader to weigh in on the issue of reserved presidential elections, explaining yesterday that it was a necessary move to maintain racial and religious harmony in Singapore.
Singaporeans have questioned the need for the reserved election, as well as for the group representation constituencies (GRCs) and ethnic integration rules in Housing Board estates, since the country already enjoys racial and religious peace and harmony.
But the reason Singapore enjoys such harmony “is because we have been far-sighted enough to put in place these provisions”, said DPM Teo at the 100th anniversary dinner of Lorong Koo Chye Sheng Hong Temple in Paya Lebar.
He added: “It is particularly important that the Chinese community supports these provisions, so that our minority communities will always feel assured.”
In 1988, the GRC system was introduced to ensure Parliament will always have minority MPs. A year later, the Government put in place the Ethnic Integration Policy which mandates a quota for all communities in HDB estates, to prevent racial enclaves from forming.
Most recently, changes were made to the Constitution to reserve presidential elections for a racial group not represented for five continuous terms.
In making the various changes, DPM Teo said, Singapore has avoided situations in which HDB estates are segregated by race, or where minority communities worry about representation in Parliament or the presidency.
“These provisions have helped us achieve the precious harmony that we have.
“We all hope that one day we will not need them,” he added.
But not right now, he indicated.
“In the face of growing racial and religious strife in our region and the world, it is wiser to have these provisions in place to maintain our harmony,” he said, reiterating a point he spoke about earlier in the day at the National Security Conference.
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Reserved Presidential Election would cost votes but ‘right thing to do’: PM Lee
29 Sep 2017 06:43PM (Updated: 29 Sep 2017 07:44PM)
SINGAPORE: PM Lee Hsien Loong knew that the reserved Presidential Election would be unpopular but went ahead with it, as he strongly believed it was the “right thing to do”, he said in a dialogue session held last Saturday (Sep 23).
“Did I know that this subject would be a difficult one? That it would be unpopular and cost us votes? Yes, I knew,” he said at a People’s Association Kopi Talk held at Ci Yuan Community Club.
“If I do not know that these are sensitive matters, I cannot be in politics. But I did it, because I strongly believe, and still do, that this is the right thing to do.”
Mr Lee acknowledged that there was “some unhappiness” following the reserved election. “I can feel that; you do not have to tell me,” he said.
Three Malay candidates came forward to contest this year’s reserved election. while all of the candidates in the 2011 election were Chinese. Although businessmen Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican and Mr Farid Khan did not qualify, resulting in a walkover, they would not have come forward in an open election, Mr Lee said.
“So why didn’t they come? Because they knew that in an open election – all things being equal – a non-Chinese candidate would have no chance,” he said.
MULTICULTURALISM IS RESULT OF “HARD WORK”
The Prime Minister reiterated that Singapore’s multiculturalism is the result of “very hard work”, citing policies such as the Group Representation Constituencies and the Government’s strong stance against extremists.
“There is nothing natural about where we are – multiracial, multi-religious, tolerant and progressive. We made it happen, and we have got to protect it, nurture it, preserve it, and never break it,” he said.
Having multi-racial presidents in Singapore is an important symbol of what Singapore stands for, he added.
“It is a reminder to every citizen, especially the Chinese majority race, that there is a role for every community in Singapore.”
MINORITIES WOULD HAVE FELT LEFT OUT
Mr Lee added that while people criticised the move as regressing towards “racial politics”, the opposite was true. " We are making necessary changes to strengthen our multiracial system, in order to continue to progress as one united people.
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...-thing-9263632
So can an Indian Muslim become a President reserved for Malay ? Your voters are not stupid . She is #NOTMYPRESIDENT .
President Halimah Yacob to move out of Yishun HDB flat due to security ‘challenges’
By Faris Mokhtar
Published: 5:09 PM, October 2, 2017
Updated: 6:46 PM, October 2, 2017
SINGAPORE – President Halimah Yacob will soon move out of the jumbo Yishun flat where she and her family have stayed for over two decades, due to challenges in ensuring her security and protection.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Monday (Oct 2) that it had conducted an assessment after Madam Halimah expressed a wish to continue living in her family’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat, which is made up of two adjacent four-room and five-room flats bought on the resale market.
But the security agencies found “several challenges” in ensuring the President’s security in her current home, the ministry added without giving details.
“MHA has therefore strongly advised the President to consider moving to another place. This will enable the agencies to ensure her safety and security with greater assurance,” said the MHA.
“President has accepted MHA’s security recommendation. She will make arrangements to move to a new place soon.”
The ministry gave no indication as to where Mdm Halimah and her family would move to, or when they might vacate their Yishun home.
She had expressed her desire, on several previous occasions, to continue living in her HDB flat, saying that “it is a very nice, comfortable place”. Mdm Halimah’s husband, Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee, a retired businessman, had described their flat “as huge as a penthouse”.
In a Facebook post on Monday evening, Mdm Halimah wrote: “Thank you for everyone’s concern with regard to my residential arrangements. MHA has just issued a statement about the security challenges they face if I continue to stay in my current home. Therefore, as much as I would like to continue living in my current home in Yishun, I have accepted MHA’s recommendation and will make arrangements to move to a new place soon.”
Although, the Istana serves as the official presidential residence and office, no President since the late Yusof Ishak has resided there.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
ravindrain
She’ll move out sooner or later, just another wayang show put up by those bastards
You are spot on bro .