The Presidential Election is coming!
I'm not going to tell you explicitly how I'll be voting. At least not as explicit as telling you that I love trees. Palm trees.
To me, the President is really a very ceremonial role. The Constitution has spelt everything clearly, that the top office will have no executive role. Although the Constitution is not dead and it certainly has rooms for changes, I don't foresee that the Parliament will pass any major changes to it, if there's any in the first place.
Judging based on that ceremonial and custodial role, I actually think that all 4 candidates are able to carry them out well, assuming that they act in accordance to the Cabinet and the President's own council.
So what guided me to make my choice, is really my impression of the candidates. I chose my preferred candidate because I know he's a thinker and is a rational one. He knows the constraints of the role and does not over-promise. He has got many examples of how he had spoken up for Singaporeans successfully, and I'm sure he'll do his best to reunify the country, as a capacity of a President. I welcome his idea of giving an annual report of some sort--I don't require him to disclose any accounts transparently but at least he must be accountable and impartial. I can understand his desire to make the President's role an independent figure but I believe that he is not seeing it as a top priority, as what many people thinks.
Endorsements or not, it will never influence how I vote. In fact, I dislike the entire idea of endorsements, as it only serves the sole purpose of influencing. I think endorsements are undermining the sacredness of an individual's vote. I don't endorse this.
I might be disappointed on the 27th Aug, but at least I'll do my part to support the candidate with principles. I'm pro-Singapore.
人生是黑白的.
11:35 PM <3
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I read about something that Mr Chen Show Mao posted on his Facebook page.
Again, it's the issue between the People's Association and its seemingly unnecessary involvement in Politics.
Back then in May 2011, at the WP's rally in Bedok Stadium, Mr Low Thia Khiang had already highlighted the realities in his Hougang ward that he had held for 20 years. Apart from the realities of not being able to conduct the Meet-the-People Sessions from the comfort of the office that the previous ruling party's MP enjoyed, there was also another issue that involved the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCCs), under the People's Association. There had been many events spearheaded by CCCs in Hougang, and they were purely community in nature. However, the elected MP of Hougang was unable to grace those events. Instead, the guest-of-honour was usually the ruling party candidate who stood but lost in the constituency, hence ensuring a continued exposure of the losing candidate within each 5-year term in the area.
The same thing's happening right now in Aljunied GRC, under Mr Chen's Paya Lebar Ward. I don't think it is restricted to just the Paya Lebar Ward in the GRC anyway. The latest issue is that once again, purely community events seem to be politicised by the CCCs, by having imposed that Opposition MPs shouldn't be invited to the events if the venues are under the purview of PA, like hard courts. So who can be invited: The advisors to the CCCs, who are actually the ruling party candidates that had stood (and lost) in the constituency during the election.
The event organisers are the average Singaporean, who organised events at the community level, perhaps to encourage bonding or to hold religious events, etc. They should have the right to decide who they genuinely want to invite to grace their events. The venue might be owned by PA--they can decide whether or not to lease the venue. But do they really have the right to interfere in matters as private as whether or not to invite the MP? In the first place, why should PA be political? What was the initial objectives of an association like PA? Even if it had meant to be politicial rather than community-based, shouldn't its relevance today be reviewed again?
Serving the people or serving political agenda? The line seemed to have been blurred over the years and it's certainly high time to relook into it and educate the people, both inside and outside the association. RC, CC, CCC. The day they can find themselves truly serving the People and not some Political agenda, is probably the day we mature further.
人生是黑白的.
12:49 AM <3
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