- Tan does not seem to know exactly why he was appointed
- Tan’s life approach: “I go where the openings are”
- Tan is still leading Marine Parade GRC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
I Love Boobs
The fact that Chan Chun Sing is the only one giving a prominent speech in recent times shows that he is the frontrunner for the next PM…
He can talk all he want but at the end of the day people will ask what have the 4 Gen leaders contributed to the well being of its Singapore voters ? The fact that PAP is still in power today is because of the hardwork and honest work done by the first PM and his team . For that a lot of Singaporeans are grateful for that . Without them Singapore won’t be what it is today .
Tan Chuan-Jin still doesn’t know why he was appointed Speaker of Parliament
He will go where openings are though.
By Chan Cheow Pong | 17 hours
When Tan Chuan-Jin was appointed Speaker of Parliament in September 2017, it baffled many people, especially those who had regarded him as one of the key member of the 4G leadership.
Four months later, in a wide-ranging interview with Channel News Asia (CNA), the newly-minted speaker spoke about his own political career and ambitions and what he intends to achieve in his new role.
Here’s what we learnt from a candid and reflective Tan.
Tan’s candidly admitted to wondering about the reasons for his new appointment.
“I did think about why this happened. I thought about it in my own mind, but I don’t linger on these issues.
“There will be those who feel that you didn’t do well and that’s why. And there will be those that felt it might have been health issues. There were those who suggested I stepped on some other peoples’ toes”
He said he did not ask anyone in Cabinet why he was being nominated for the post.
“No, I just pretty much embraced it. That’s pretty much how I’ve approached every single transition to every job.”
For anyone who needs a refresher on this topic, they can read PM Lee Hsien Loong’s Facebook post below.
Tan remains a core member of the 4G leadership, which we now know has 16 members, including him, from the public statement they issued on Jan. 4, 2018.
As the only member among the 16 who is not in government, Tan will not be driving government policy-making, but it was clear from the interview that he has come to terms with the change in his job scope.
He talked about how “in life, things don’t always pan out exactly as you wish”. What’s more interesting was the way he talked about how he realised passion is a state of mind.
“Perhaps you wish you could have been promoted. You wish you could have this job or that job and sometimes you don’t always have full control over it and I’ve come to realise that another perspective to look at is really to be just passionate about whatever you are doing.”
He said the thought of becoming Prime Minister did not cross his mind, even though it was a public talking point.
“I take this approach to life and my career, not just in politics but even in the Singapore Armed Forces. I go where the openings are. If I’m told that there’s this job and I’m going to be posted there, basically I take it up and then move forward. I know that certain jobs can be seen as prestigious, but I think I have a duty and responsibility to just take up where the organisation or the team feels that I’m best suited to go and I’ve embraced every opportunity.”
Tan was the anchor minister for Marine Parade GRC, and his departure from the government had led to questions about who will be leading the PAP team at the constituency level.
He revealed in the CNA interview that he “continues to lead Marine Parade GRC”.
When asked if he has considered that his political career is ending, he said:
“I don’t call the shots. If the party feels it’s time for a renewal, thanks you for your services and says it’s time to move on, then it’s time to move on and then you serve the public in a different capacity ”
“We shouldn’t be self-entitled to think that just because we enter politics, it remains in perpetuity. You serve only as long you have value-add and are needed.”
continue reading here :
More than 70 PAP MPs skip Parliament on Tueday
January 19, 2018
According to a screenshot of a Parliament session on Tuesday (Jan 9), an estimated of more than 70 PAP MPs did not attend Parliament. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was the only senior Minister present, and none of the three Prime Minister runner-ups – Minister Chan Chun Sing, Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister Ong Ye Kung – was present.
The ruling party PAP-dominated Parliament recently opposed having live recording or allowing the public to access video records of Parliament sessions. According to a PAP MP, most MPs would attend Parliament only when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is present.
All PAP MPs performed their S$192,500/year MP work part-time and work full-time as company directors or high-level executives with government-linked companies.
A Singaporean posted on his Facebook page expressing his disappointment at the ruling party:
“As I understand, one of a Member of Parliament’s (MP) primary duties is to attend the sittings of the House whenever it is in session.
I am of the view that for an MP attending the Parliament is a crucial part of parliamentary democracy as they exercise the duties and responsibility of legislature in whole. As an individual, they are accountable to the constituency they represent and to the constituents or citizens that elected them in the first place.
continue reading here :
http://statestimesreview.com/2018/01...-on-wednesday/
So where are the missing PAP MPs ???
Untrue that more than 70 PAP MPs skipped Parliament on 9 Jan
Published on 2018-01-22 by Terry Xu
In a post by the States Time Review, “More than 70 PAP MPs skip Parliament on Tuesday”, it is said that “According to a screenshot of a Parliament session on Tuesday (Jan 9), an estimated of more than 70 PAP MPs did not attend Parliament. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was the only senior Minister present, and none of the three Prime Minister runner-ups - Minister Chan Chun Sing, Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister Ong Ye Kung - was present.”
Now, the opening paragraph of the article would have informed the reader that what was true at that moment of the screenshot, might not be exactly true for the entire day.
If one were to refer to the Parliament records, one will be informed that only five MPs and the Speaker of Parliament were marked absent for the day.
But it is true that the MPs and Ministers were not present during the speech made by Minister Grace Fu as shown in the video, so why are the MPs and Ministers marked as being present at the Parliament session?
If we look back to the Parliament records, late Lee Kuan Yew was marked present on the sessions he attended even though he sat often less than five minutes on his seat, being escorted in and out by parliament staff during the mid of Question and Answer sessions. If not for this occasional turn-up, he would surely have gotten zero for his attendance in Parliament.
Using that as a benchmark, we can assume that so long the MP show face at the Parliament for a while, sit down in the Parliament for a few minutes, one can be marked as being present. But of course, few MPs do that.
After the embarrassment caused by Nominated Member of Parliament, Eugene Tan for highlighting that quorum was not met in two passing of bills, leaders of the People’s Action Party have taken steps to ensure MPs from their party are present during the passing of bills. To ensure that quorum is met, one-quarter of 101 MPs need to be present or 89 MPs for the passing of constitutional amendments.
As one who frequents the Parliament, the MPs present in the Parliament can at times drop down to 24 MPs during speeches made during debates. The Ministers might not be even present when the speeches made were addressed to them during lengthy sessions such as the debate on the Administration of Justice bill, but it doesn’t matter because the speeches are written by civil servants from the ministries on behalf of the ministers.
This is perhaps one of the reasons why the government refuses to live stream its parliamentary sessions so that people are not informed how engaged are their MPs in representing them in the parliamentary debates.
Note that there is already a live stream being broadcasted to the various media agencies in Singapore, which is why the journalists can do live-tweeting so it will take a minimum of effort to live-stream the sessions via Youtube or Facebook.
continue reading here :
Budget is more than giving ‘goodies’, raising taxes: Heng Swee Keat
By Faris Mokhtar
Published22 January, 2018
Updated 22 January, 2018
SINGAPORE — With recent talk that taxes could be raised in future, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Monday (Jan 22) that the upcoming Budget is not about taxes or handing out “goodies”.
It is about making a long-term plan to allocate resources for the country’s future needs, and there are “important questions” to ask, such as why revenue is collected, and how and why is it spent. “And are we planning for the long haul? Are we planning for a better Singapore? That is the issue I think we ought to concentrate on,” he said.
Mr Heng was giving a speech at the annual Singapore Perspectives Conference 2018, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, and he acknowledged the anxiety over the Budget statement to be announced on Feb 19, but pointed out that it “cannot just be about taxes, revenue and expenditure”.
Since government leaders spoke last year that raising taxes is a way to support the country’s future spending, there have been discussions about imposing a tax on e-commerce, or to raise GST from 7 per cent to 9 per cent.
At the conference on Monday, Mr Heng presented some figures on the country’s spending, which had more than doubled from S$33 billion in the financial year (FY) 2007 to S$71 billion in FY2016.
Social spending, for instance, had gone up by 5 per cent, while spending on infrastructure had risen to 7 per cent during that period.
The country’s reserves has been a major source of revenue, and drawing from this pool has more than tripled from 5.6 per cent in FY2007 to 17.3 per cent in FY2016.
Contribution from corporate income tax has gone down from 21.6 per cent of the revenue in FY2007 to 16.2 per cent in FY2016, while the contribution from GST has also dipped over that period from 14.4 per cent to 13.1 per cent.
continue reading here :
4G leadership team ‘very cohesive, serious-minded’: Heng Swee Keat
By Faris Mokhtar
Published 22 January, 2018
Updated 22 January, 2018
SINGAPORE – Given the growing complexity of governing Singapore, it is not enough to have good political leaders, but also those who can lead in the social and private sectors, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday (Jan 22).
His comments on leadership came during a dialogue at the Singapore Perspectives Conference 2018.
The session’s moderator Ms Debra Soon, who is the chief content officer of Mediacorp, pointedly asked Mr Heng: “How ready are you to lead the 4G (fourth-generation) leadership team?”
Amid laughter from the audience, Mr Heng sidestepped the question, responding that the fourth-generation leadership team is made up of “serious-minded people who are trying to do their best” and that they “are working together well”.
“And I really enjoy working with everyone on the team,” said Mr Heng who, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing and Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung, is touted as one of the potential candidates to become the next Prime Minister. “It is a team that is very cohesive. We discuss issues every week across a whole range of subjects, from security to social care, healthcare to education (and) economy. So, it is a very serious-minded team.”
Noting that the fourth-generation leadership needs to “function cohesively” given the complexity of the country’s future landscape, Mr Heng stressed that good leadership should cut across all sectors, and is not only applicable to politics.
continue reading here :
Application to hold by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee has “no merit”: Deputy AG Hri Kumar
January 23, 2018
Deputy Attorney General Hri Kumar said yesterday (22 Jan) that the application to hold a by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC is not mandated by the constitution. Kumar declared that the application filed by Dr. Wong Souk Yee – a resident of Marsiling-Yew Tee who serves as the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)’s assistant treasurer – has no merit.
At the heart of the matter is how to interpret Article 24 (2A) of the Parliamentary Elections Act as well as Article 49 (1) of the country’s Constitution, which reads, “Whenever the seat of a Member, not being a non-constituency Member, has become vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, the vacancy shall be filled by election in the manner provided by or under any law relating to Parliamentary elections for the time being in force.”
A seat in the Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC became vacant after then-PAP parliamentarian Halimah Yacob stepped down to contest the presidential elections. In August, ruling party politician Zaqy Mohamad was appointed to be the grassroots adviser in Marsiling-Yew Tee in Halimah’s stead.
The move drew public scrutiny at the time since Zaqy was already serving as one of the elected Members of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang GRC.
Shortly thereafter, Halimah – who had also served as Speaker of Parliament before vacating her seat – won the presidential elections by means of a walkover, after the Elections Department disqualified presidential hopefuls Salleh Marican and Farid Khan from contesting the election that was reserved for Malay candidates.
Opposition party, the SDP, subsequently called for a by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee since President Halimah stepped down from her elected role and filed a lawsuit to that effect. The suit also called on the three MPs who remain, Alex Yam, Lawrence Wong, and Ong Teng Koon, to step down as well, so that elections may take place.
When the Attorney General said that the SDP, being a political party, had no standing concerning the election at Marsiling-Yew Tee, the party withdrew their suit before party assistant treasurer Dr Wong stepped forward to be the sole applicant in the suit since he is a member of the constituency in question.
Noted lawyer Peter Low represented the applicants in High Court and argued that according to Article 49(1), there is no difference between a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and a Single-Member Constituency (SMC).
To this, Chua Lee Ming, High Court Judge answered “Where is the basis for requiring the rest of the members to vacate their seats?” Judge Chua said that there was no legal justification for this based on the text.
In Singapore’s history, the only one time a by-election was held in a GRC was in 1992, when former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong called for one in Marine Parade, his own ward. He and the three other MPs stepped down from their positions voluntarily before contesting and winning the by-election. There is speculation that one of the reasons to call for this by-election back then was to make room for current Deputy Prime Minister, Teo Chee Hean.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/applica...-ag-hri-kumar/
And we know how the court will decide on this case . Pity however the residents of Marsiling have no MP to represent them in Parliament . So still want to vote for PAP ? Why the PAP refuses to hold a by-election in this area ?
Minister Heng Swee Keat: Lee Hsien Loong is a very good leader
January 22, 2018
Catching up on his race for the next Prime Minister role, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat openly praised Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as a “very good leader and example” at the Singapore Perspectives 2018 conference yesterday (Jan 22):
“Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has set a very good example on this front, leading a very cohesive team that discusses issues every week across a whole range of topics of import to the country. I am happy that Singaporeans believed good political leadership was important for the country. In many other countries, people have lost confidence in their leaders and often mock them, creating an environment that makes it hard to govern.”
The PAP Minister drew reference to the recent US government shutdown but he deliberately omitted the fact that US is a two-party democracy while Singapore is a single-party dictatorship like Vietnam and China:
“Political contest has also exacerbated the problem, leading to deadlock and the government shutting down in some cases.”
Currently only three ministers are running for the next PM’s role – Minister Chan Chun Sing, Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister Ong Ye Kung. None of the three agree to give up their bid, resulting in a deadlock which many including former PM Goh Chok Tong criticised as “too late” to have a PM already.
There is no election for the country’s highest role, the 3 ministers need only to focus their attention on PM Lee Hsien Loong, a vainpot who basks in flattering, praises and selfies. PM Lee Hsien Loong will appoint the next PM, without consent or approval required from the voting population.
Former army general Chan Chun Sing is currently leading the race as he is more likely to carry the Lee family legacy, by reserving his seat for Lee Hsien Loong’s son, Li Hongyi who is now a senior civil servant director at the propaganda ministry.
continue reading here :
What’s more important, GDP or society’s welfare? A student puts Heng Swee Keat on the spot
If you had to choose…
By Sulaiman Daud | 9 hours
It was a moment that livened up a potentially drab QnA session at the Singapore Perspectives 2018 (SP2018) conference on Jan. 22.
Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat had delivered his speech on government revenue and expenditure, and deftly handled the obvious questions about his health and the possibility of him becoming our next Prime Minister.
He could be forgiven for thinking that the rest of the session would be plain sailing.
But one student from Republic Polytechnic stood up and threw him a curveball.
The student, who identified herself as Safrah, asked a long question that essentially boiled down to this:
“So my question would be, what would be the priority for the government to pursue from now on. Is it high GDP first, then deal with mental issues later? Or take care of (the) welfare of (the) population first?”
By “mental issues”, she seemed to refer to spending on healthcare and welfare in general.
Wrong way round?
Safrah also referred to a previous speaker at SP2018, Professor David Canning, as an inspiration for her question.
The visiting professor at the LKY School of Public Policy had earlier discussed “Longevity and Social Welfare in Singapore.”
Canning elaborated on his belief that instead of a single-minded focus on GDP, governments had looked at things the wrong way round. He said:
“One of these institutions that we’re very locked into is maximising GDP or GDP per capita. It’s a very measurable concept. But what I see around the world is that GDP growth is going to slow down because of population aging, and that it is going to be an enormous problem.
The purpose of human life is not to maximise GDP. The purpose of GDP is to maximise human welfare and the way we live our lives. You’ve got it completely the wrong way round if you’re trying to change society to increase GDP.”
GDP has limits
In his answer, Heng acknowledged that the measurement of GDP itself had its own limitations, and questioned whether GDP is a good measure for a society’s sense of well-being.
He mentioned that in order to learn more about other systems of measurement, he travelled to Bhutan. In 2008, the kingdom enshrined the concept of Gross National Happiness in its Constitution.
Heng apparently bought a few books on the subject and spent some time speaking to the Bhutanese people about how the new system has affected their lives.
continue reading here :
https://mothership.sg/2018/01/gdp-we...-poly-student/
Of course the PAP government will prefer GDP more as it is used to reward themselves if the economy does well .
Spending on seniors will go up in upcoming Budget: Indranee Rajah
Ms Indranee Rajah with two seniors at the AWWA Senior Community Home in Ang Mo Kio.
PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO UPDATED 1 MIN AGO
Toh Yong Chuan Senior Correspondent
SINGAPORE - Spending on services for the elderly will go up in the upcoming Budget, Senior Minister of State for Finance Indranee Rajah disclosed on Thursday (Jan 25), adding the Government does have to “look at the question of raising taxes”.
Her remarks gave the strongest hint so far of that the Government Budget to be presented in Parliament on Feb 19 will focus on seniors.
Providing services for the rapidly ageing population will require resources, said Ms Indranee.
“Looking ahead, our healthcare needs will rise. Healthcare expenditure will obviously increase,” she said. “That is something that we have to see how we can fund in a sustainable way. We do have to look at the question of raising taxes.”
The focus on seniors reflects the changing demographic profile, she noted. “In the past we spent a lot on education. In the years ahead, healthcare is going to be an bigger part of our budget expenditure.”
Ms Indranee, who is also Minister of State for Law, declined to give more details.
But she made it plain that the Government is not relying on increasing taxes alone to cover the increased healthcare expenditure and social spending.
“One of the most important things is the economy, you have to make sure that the economy grows,” she said. “We are going to be paying a lot more attention to the economy, how can we expand Singapore’s growth.”
With her comments, Ms Indranee joined several government leaders who have dropped strong hints, from as far back as a year ago, of an impending tax hike to provide more resources for social spending.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech in February last year that healthcare and infrastructure spending will rise rapidly and there would come a time when there would be a need to introduce new taxes or implement higher tax rates.
Social spending such as education and healthcare almost tripled to $34 billion last year over a decade, while spending on infrastructure is expected to grow to $30 billion by the end of the decade.
Talk of a tax hike intensified in November last year after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the People’s Action Party Convention that “raising taxes is not a matter of whether, but a matter of when”.
Addressing speculation of a tax increase about a week later, Ms Indranee told The Straits Times that the timing of the tax hike had not been decided. But she gave the assurance that the Government will give the public enough time to absorb the news and ensure that the poor and needy have enough help.
Speaking at the Singapore Perspectives conference on Monday this week, Mr Heng hinted that measures to support seniors will be one of the key priorities of the upcoming Budget. He disclosed that a group of leaders are pondering the challenges faced by the aged in Singapore.
There are about 500,000 people aged 65 and above in Singapore, and this is expected to almost double to around 900,000 by 2030.
continue reading here :