If i am prepared to take an annual salary of $S500K as a President, i'll still accept the S$4 mil. With the extra i'll launch a Singapore Charity Challenge of pledging to match S$1 for every S$1 donated (cap at S$3.5 mil). For 6 years, i would have donated S$21 mil x 2 to the charitable organisation of my choice with greater effect. Or i'll setup a President Trust Fund to manage & grow this money to fund all Presidential projects in Arts, Social, Charity or Sports. If only it's so simple.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
I wish to "handover" a stable Singapore to my children and their children too
As an observer, i think the political situation is irreversible.. We can just hope that any parties can deliver and make good of each 5 years when they are elected.. In the old days, people say doesn't matter who forms the government as long as the commoners can live peacefully, freely, people can afford essential goods, have some spare to go for holidays overseas and the country is secured and prosperous.. l wish to "handover" a stable Singapore to my children and their children so that they live in the same prosperity that i have enjoyed too.. I can only prayed for years of continuous prosperity for Singapore..
Tribute to MM Lee
For all the power that he had, he made sure it was passed on smoothly. For all the fortune his government has accumulated, it was protected safely and invested wisely. For all the wealth he could have amassed, he lived simply and frugally. For all the speech he made, he walked the talk and made things happened. For all the power he could hold on to, he was willing to lower his status for the good of Singapore. For all the fame and status he has, he describes himself as just a Determine, Consistent & Persistent Trier. Singapore is and still is his lifelong passion. For all he has done, he is still faulted in the eyes of many Singaporeans. To me, he is our knight and I will fight with him and ride alongside him willingly anytime. Thank you MM.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
What George Yeo's loss means for Singapore by Simon Tay
What George Yeo's loss means for Singapore
04:47 AM May 09, 2011
One of the most significant outcomes of May 7 has been the defeat of Foreign Minister George Yeo in the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC). It is the People's Action Party's first GRC loss, and Mr Yeo is the first core member of the Cabinet to be lost to the Opposition in a General Election.
Aljunied was considered vulnerable, for this was where the People's Action Party scored its lowest margin of victory in the 2006 GE. And for all of Mr Yeo's many brilliant qualities and strong presence in the new media, when the Workers' Party nominated its star team, led by secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, the contest to secure the ground was always going to be hard.
Yet the result cannot be read simply as a question of personalities and local politics. Nor should the defeat obscure Mr Yeo's many achievements - his electoral loss is a loss for Singapore.
Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2004, Mr Yeo was in many estimates possibly the best mind in this job since the late Mr S Rajaratnam. In both Singapore's emergence as a global hub and ASEAN's move to become a community by 2015, Mr Yeo has been a leading architect and a prime mover.
While foreign policy achievements are often hard to measure, Mr Yeo has overseen a sea change to make ASEAN and Asia more central, not just to Singapore's foreign policy but also, in the many connections to our society and domestic policy.
He moulded responses to critical events in the region. On the difficult issue of Myanmar, he shaped the landmark ASEAN condemnation of the crackdown on the saffron revolution led by monks, as well as the response to the tragedy of the Nargis cyclone.
Mr Yeo's work in foreign affairs built on his earlier role as Minister for Trade and Industry, when free trade agreements were negotiated to link Singapore economically and strategically to major partners - the United States, Japan and Australia. Major economies entrusted him to chair difficult negotiations in the World Trade Organization on the critical issue of agriculture.
Mr Yeo has emerged in the international community as among the best-recognised and respected of this generation of Singaporean leaders. The next Cabinet has no ready replacement for him.
NEW LIFE IN THE ARTS
Mr Yeo's domestic legacy, too, is significant. He was a star from the moment he left the Armed Forces to enter politics in 1988 at the age of 34. First appointed Minister of what was then the Ministry of Information and the Arts, he breathed life into what had previously been a marginal portfolio.
The arts scene grew strongly in his time there and he also oversaw the first liberalisation of censorship. He found support and funding for the Esplanade, museums and the National Library - key projects that are enduring foundation stones for today's far livelier arts and culture scene.
In 1991, Mr Yeo also spurred discussion of Singapore's political scene, with a speech about "pruning the banyan tree" of PAP dominance. His thinking framed the discussion through the '90s and into the new century for a more liberal politics in Singapore.
Throughout his career, Mr Yeo continued to be one of the more progressive thinkers in the establishment. He foresaw the factors now coming to the fore as demands for greater space for participation and views to be heard.
He himself pioneered the effort to reach out to wider circles through new media, with his Facebook page attracting some 5,000 friends. It is therefore an irony that he should be the first ministerial victim of these very same shifts.
In his last rally speech, Mr Yeo promised to be a voice for reform from within the PAP. While some discounted this as a last-minute tactical pledge, those familiar with his record know it to be a sincere wish. A voice for a more liberal PAP has been lost.
In his concession speech, Mr Yeo was exemplary in his gracious acceptance of the voters' decision. Throughout the campaign, he declined to make personal attacks on the Opposition. His conduct, at perhaps his most trying hour in politics, exemplified the tradition of learned and cultivated gentlemen, of which the Minister often spoke.
WHAT NEXT?
The Aljunied electoral loss should not be the end to Mr Yeo's public life. There are many avenues in which he might yet serve Singapore.
Indeed regional and global institutions would gain if he were at their helm. This includes the Nalanda University project, to revive a key educational institution that existed during the life of the Buddha. Mr Yeo has mentored this proposal as part of a larger aspiration for an Asian renaissance to accompany the region's economic rise.
Mr Yeo himself once mused that he might want a second career in business; after all, he distinguished himself by graduating from Harvard Business School with high distinction as a Baker scholar. He is too brilliant to be lost and will re-emerge in one capacity or another.
While the Workers' Party win will be celebrated by voters who want to see a democratic evolution of the political system, the loss of Mr Yeo as a Foreign Affairs Minister and a core Cabinet member is a cost of this victory - not just for the PAP but for Singapore.
Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
Aljunied was considered vulnerable, for this was where the People's Action Party scored its lowest margin of victory in the 2006 GE. And for all of Mr Yeo's many brilliant qualities and strong presence in the new media, when the Workers' Party nominated its star team, led by secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, the contest to secure the ground was always going to be hard.
Yet the result cannot be read simply as a question of personalities and local politics. Nor should the defeat obscure Mr Yeo's many achievements - his electoral loss is a loss for Singapore.
Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2004, Mr Yeo was in many estimates possibly the best mind in this job since the late Mr S Rajaratnam. In both Singapore's emergence as a global hub and ASEAN's move to become a community by 2015, Mr Yeo has been a leading architect and a prime mover.
While foreign policy achievements are often hard to measure, Mr Yeo has overseen a sea change to make ASEAN and Asia more central, not just to Singapore's foreign policy but also, in the many connections to our society and domestic policy.
He moulded responses to critical events in the region. On the difficult issue of Myanmar, he shaped the landmark ASEAN condemnation of the crackdown on the saffron revolution led by monks, as well as the response to the tragedy of the Nargis cyclone.
Mr Yeo's work in foreign affairs built on his earlier role as Minister for Trade and Industry, when free trade agreements were negotiated to link Singapore economically and strategically to major partners - the United States, Japan and Australia. Major economies entrusted him to chair difficult negotiations in the World Trade Organization on the critical issue of agriculture.
Mr Yeo has emerged in the international community as among the best-recognised and respected of this generation of Singaporean leaders. The next Cabinet has no ready replacement for him.
NEW LIFE IN THE ARTS
Mr Yeo's domestic legacy, too, is significant. He was a star from the moment he left the Armed Forces to enter politics in 1988 at the age of 34. First appointed Minister of what was then the Ministry of Information and the Arts, he breathed life into what had previously been a marginal portfolio.
The arts scene grew strongly in his time there and he also oversaw the first liberalisation of censorship. He found support and funding for the Esplanade, museums and the National Library - key projects that are enduring foundation stones for today's far livelier arts and culture scene.
In 1991, Mr Yeo also spurred discussion of Singapore's political scene, with a speech about "pruning the banyan tree" of PAP dominance. His thinking framed the discussion through the '90s and into the new century for a more liberal politics in Singapore.
Throughout his career, Mr Yeo continued to be one of the more progressive thinkers in the establishment. He foresaw the factors now coming to the fore as demands for greater space for participation and views to be heard.
He himself pioneered the effort to reach out to wider circles through new media, with his Facebook page attracting some 5,000 friends. It is therefore an irony that he should be the first ministerial victim of these very same shifts.
In his last rally speech, Mr Yeo promised to be a voice for reform from within the PAP. While some discounted this as a last-minute tactical pledge, those familiar with his record know it to be a sincere wish. A voice for a more liberal PAP has been lost.
In his concession speech, Mr Yeo was exemplary in his gracious acceptance of the voters' decision. Throughout the campaign, he declined to make personal attacks on the Opposition. His conduct, at perhaps his most trying hour in politics, exemplified the tradition of learned and cultivated gentlemen, of which the Minister often spoke.
WHAT NEXT?
The Aljunied electoral loss should not be the end to Mr Yeo's public life. There are many avenues in which he might yet serve Singapore.
Indeed regional and global institutions would gain if he were at their helm. This includes the Nalanda University project, to revive a key educational institution that existed during the life of the Buddha. Mr Yeo has mentored this proposal as part of a larger aspiration for an Asian renaissance to accompany the region's economic rise.
Mr Yeo himself once mused that he might want a second career in business; after all, he distinguished himself by graduating from Harvard Business School with high distinction as a Baker scholar. He is too brilliant to be lost and will re-emerge in one capacity or another.
While the Workers' Party win will be celebrated by voters who want to see a democratic evolution of the political system, the loss of Mr Yeo as a Foreign Affairs Minister and a core Cabinet member is a cost of this victory - not just for the PAP but for Singapore.
Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
George Yeo: A man for all seasons by Tommy Koh
George Yeo: A man for all seasons
May 9, 2011
By Tommy Koh
ONE of my hopes for the 2011 General Elections was that those who won would be magnanimous and those who lost would be gracious.
Foreign Minister George Yeo was gracious in defeat. In his concession speech, he congratulated Mr Low Thia Khiang and his Workers' Party team on their victory and wished them success. Of the other defeated candidates, only Mr Desmond Choo of the People's Action Party and Ms Nicole Seah of the National Solidarity Party were just as gracious.
A man's character can be gleaned from his conduct, both in victory and in defeat. Mr Yeo is a gentleman and an honourable man, whatever the conditions.
I have had the pleasure of working under his leadership in three of his ministerial portfolios. He was our first minister of the then Ministry of Information and the Arts, or Mita. During nine years at Mita, he changed Singapore from a so-called cultural desert to a cultural oasis.
He appointed Mr Tan Chin Nam chairman of the newly created National Library Board - and Mr Tan, together with Mr Christopher Chia, revolutionised our library system and made it one of the best in the world. Mr Yeo also appointed Mr Lim Chee Onn chairman of the National Heritage Board, and me, chairman of the National Arts Council.
It was under his leadership that the Esplanade was built, the Asian Civilisations Museum was envisioned, the Arts Festival was made an annual event, the LaSalle College of the Arts took off, and the Government agreed, for the first time, to subsidise arts education. Today, Singaporeans enjoy a rich and varied cultural life. They should not forget the person who planted the seeds that have blossomed.
Mr Yeo brought the same energy, imagination and enthusiasm to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He realised that because trade is Singapore's life blood, it should play a proactive leadership role in global trade forums like the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He quickly won the admiration and trust of his peers. They asked him to chair the negotiations on agriculture, one of the most contentious issues. WTO director-general Pascal Lamy is an admirer of Mr Yeo.
In order to enlarge Singapore's economic space, Mr Yeo championed the idea of linking Singapore's economy with other economies by way of free trade agreements (FTAs) and comprehensive economic partnership (CEP) agreements. During his watch, he launched more than a dozen FTA and CEP negotiations.
He appointed me chief negotiator in our negotiations with the United States. During the journey of two years, we encountered many difficulties. Throughout, Mr Yeo remained calm, optimistic and creative. He worked relentlessly with the different stakeholders in the US to earn their support and to find acceptable solutions to the difficulties.
In the final stage of the negotiations, there was a shortlist of issues that the two chief negotiators could not resolve. Those issues were finally resolved by Mr Yeo and his American counterpart, Mr Robert Zoellick, in a marathon negotiating session that extended through the night without dinner and ended successfully at dawn. Members of the Singapore delegation were deeply impressed by the cool and masterly way in which Mr Yeo had negotiated with Mr Zoellick.
Mr Yeo has been Singapore's Foreign Minister for nearly seven years now. He inherited a ministry in good order as a result of the legacy of Mr S. Rajaratnam, Mr S. Dhanabalan, Mr Wong Kan Seng and Professor S. Jayakumar. What contributions did Mr Yeo make to that heritage? I would single out three.
First, he taught us to think strategically and to prioritise. He constantly asked his staff to ensure that our most important bilateral relationships were in excellent order. He scanned the horizon for new opportunities - such as in the Middle East and Latin America.
Second, he was the first foreign minister to use history and culture as instruments of diplomacy. He persuaded the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to restore the Sun Yat Sen Villa and to turn it into a historic site linking Singapore, China and Taiwan. He requested that the National Heritage Board restore the memorial to Subhas Chandra Bose, who is celebrated in India as a nationalist and independence fighter. It was due to the leadership of Mr Yeo, a Roman Catholic, and of former Indian president Abdul Kalam, a Muslim, that the ancient Buddhist university at Nalanda, Bihar is being reincarnated.
Third, Mr Yeo believes in the importance of friendship in diplomacy. He often invited his foreign guests to his home to have dinner with him and his family. He went out of his way to show warmth and friendship to his foreign interlocutors. When Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar was Malaysia's foreign minister, Mr Yeo visited him in his constituency in Malaysia to pay his respects during Hari Raya.
Mr Yeo is blessed with high IQ, EQ and CQ - cultural intelligence. He is an exceptionally gifted man. Although an engineer by training and a soldier by profession, he is also a philosopher and historian. Although a devout Roman Catholic, he is a champion of inter-faith dialogue and understanding.
Mr George Yeo is ideally qualified to play a leadership role on the global stage, and I sincerely hope he will do so.
The writer is special adviser to the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore.
Singapore Politics has cancer
All is not well. I think we've just pressed the self-destruct button. Mark my words.
The anti-PAP sentiments, like cancer cells are growing and divide at an unregulated, quickened pace. Yes, am pessimistic about it.
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua said she was also surprised by the depth of resentment felt by citizens towards the government, which surfaced during the campaign.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
How MM Lee wants to be remember by Singaporean Youth
I do not consider myself as a statesman, i'll put myself down as a Determine, Consistent and Persistent Trier. - MM Lee in Hard Truth
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