Dear Kin Lian,
I would like to share my opinion on an issue with you.
One of the points mentioned by Mr. Ong TC was "That the Accountant-General had informed him it would take 52 man-years to provide him with a list of the Government's physical assets".
Even if this is true, then we should in my opinion just spend the 52 man-years to get it listed. Besides the president, don't the government of the day need to know the list of assets it has in its control so as to deploy them for the maximum benefit to the people?
Furthermore, we have spent many orders of magnitude more than 52 man-years on lesser or even frivolous things. Think of the man-power and resources used for the YOG or building a meandering "river" at Bishan. Do we sincerely think these are more important things for the government to spent resources on?
HHW
Friday, June 10, 2011
What is a Plutocracy?
Read this article about what is a plutocracy and see if it also fits Singapore.
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1417.htm
Where America now stands she has stood many times before where the forces pitting its citizens against its moneyed elite have clashed in titanic battles that defined what that country was all about; either aPlutocracy giving all political control of the state over to an oligarchy of the wealthy, or a Republic giving supreme control over the government to its citizens.
Song: Born again America
Does the sentiment of this song also apply to Singaporeans?
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1417.htm
Where America now stands she has stood many times before where the forces pitting its citizens against its moneyed elite have clashed in titanic battles that defined what that country was all about; either aPlutocracy giving all political control of the state over to an oligarchy of the wealthy, or a Republic giving supreme control over the government to its citizens.
Song: Born again America
Does the sentiment of this song also apply to Singaporeans?
To dare mighty things
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of The United States
Ministry of Law statement on Elected President
Several journalists have asked for my response to the Ministry of Law's statement:
REPLY
Please read this statement:
http://www.tankinlian.com/
Quote
I also like to focus on another matter, namely the investment policy adopted in the investments of our financial assets. Should our two wealth funds (i.e. GIC and Temasek) adopt an active investment approach (to increase the return on our assets) or to adopt a conservative approach (i.e. avoid speculation on market timing and asset selection)?
My personal preference is to adopt a conservative approach in the investment of our assets and to use the influence of the President’s office to achieve this goal. I recognize that there may be limitation in the power of the President on this matter.
Unquote
I have no further comment.
Tan Kin Lian
Is the President merely a rubber stamp?
http://maverickbuzz.blogspot.com/2011/06/is-presidency-merely-rubber-stamp.html
Ultimately, I believe that Singaporeans are clear about their expectations of the role of the President. We know that the President has limited powers, but I also believe that we would like the President to be able to counsel the government through a process of engagement with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet and active deliberations of government decisions.
This engagement and deliberation would be predicated on the President having a good feel of the pulse of the ground, which should be the case since the President is after all elected by the people for the people.
And only if he can truly do that, can we honestly say that we have our next people’s president.
Beyond guarding the reserves
Dear Mr Tan,
I live away from Singapore but have been following recent events especially the Elections and also now the Presidential Elections. I have read your statement and see much to be heartened by it. In particular, I entirely agree that there is a need to recover the sense of public service that has been lost in the kind of 'unbridled' meritocracy that has led to frankly quite obscene ministerial salaries especially when the ordinary working citizen is struggling and trying to cope with the cost of housing and generally the cost of living.
I go back to Singapore for about two months every year and cannot fail to notice that in the last 5 years in particular even hawker centre food prices have risen very noticeably and on the low income of those at the bottom strata of society this is a real struggle as I gather from the taxi drivers who often hold two jobs to keep their families going. For a country that seems so economically successful it is quite shameful that the elderly, the less fortunate and the socially-burdened should have to live the way they do.
I know that you have been active in championing the cause of ordinary people (like those who have lost money in the recent financial scandal) and it certainly appears as if you genuinely do care for the people. I share your principles of honesty and integrity and public service (indeed i think the idea of a 'vocation' or 'calling' is not amiss when thinking about being an MP or being the president of a country; they are 'elected' to REPRESENT the people.
In this regard I would urge you to consider carefully what the 'reserves' of the country is really all about. Whilst I do not disagree about the need to very conservatively 'guard' these reserves I also think that a small proportion of it should be deployed to enhance the wellbeing of the most needy in society and especially the elderly. After all, was it not they who with their thrift, sacrifice and hard work in the 60s, 70s,and 80s especially that has made possible the success that Singapore now is? Should society not now repay them in some small measure for their contribution to its success?
In Britain where I live, people who retire have a small 'state pension' and various allowances (like heating allowance for winter, free healthcare etc.) to help them cope with the cost of living so they can live a modest but dignified life. After all, even those who are not considered 'talent' have still a right to live a dignified and fulfilling life.
So, Mr Tan, should you be elected to the role of President, and I wish you well in this endeavour, would you please consider how to not just safeguard our national reserves but also to wisely deploy it to meaningful use. After all, the accumulation of wealth is not a goal in its own right but a means to fulfilling the average Singaporean dream of living a sufficient, meaningful and fulfilling life in an economically vibrant, gracious, self-confident, well-balanced, and caring society.
In closing I would like to share with you a quote which has inspired me all these years since living away from home. It reminds us that being successful alone is not enough.
‘The motive of success is not enough. It produces a short-sighted world which destroys the sources of its
own prosperity…A great society is a society in which its men of business think greatly about its function. Low thoughts mean low behaviour, and after a brief orgy of exploitation, low behaviour means a descending standard of life’ (Alfred North Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas,1933)
I live away from Singapore but have been following recent events especially the Elections and also now the Presidential Elections. I have read your statement and see much to be heartened by it. In particular, I entirely agree that there is a need to recover the sense of public service that has been lost in the kind of 'unbridled' meritocracy that has led to frankly quite obscene ministerial salaries especially when the ordinary working citizen is struggling and trying to cope with the cost of housing and generally the cost of living.
I go back to Singapore for about two months every year and cannot fail to notice that in the last 5 years in particular even hawker centre food prices have risen very noticeably and on the low income of those at the bottom strata of society this is a real struggle as I gather from the taxi drivers who often hold two jobs to keep their families going. For a country that seems so economically successful it is quite shameful that the elderly, the less fortunate and the socially-burdened should have to live the way they do.
I know that you have been active in championing the cause of ordinary people (like those who have lost money in the recent financial scandal) and it certainly appears as if you genuinely do care for the people. I share your principles of honesty and integrity and public service (indeed i think the idea of a 'vocation' or 'calling' is not amiss when thinking about being an MP or being the president of a country; they are 'elected' to REPRESENT the people.
In this regard I would urge you to consider carefully what the 'reserves' of the country is really all about. Whilst I do not disagree about the need to very conservatively 'guard' these reserves I also think that a small proportion of it should be deployed to enhance the wellbeing of the most needy in society and especially the elderly. After all, was it not they who with their thrift, sacrifice and hard work in the 60s, 70s,and 80s especially that has made possible the success that Singapore now is? Should society not now repay them in some small measure for their contribution to its success?
In Britain where I live, people who retire have a small 'state pension' and various allowances (like heating allowance for winter, free healthcare etc.) to help them cope with the cost of living so they can live a modest but dignified life. After all, even those who are not considered 'talent' have still a right to live a dignified and fulfilling life.
So, Mr Tan, should you be elected to the role of President, and I wish you well in this endeavour, would you please consider how to not just safeguard our national reserves but also to wisely deploy it to meaningful use. After all, the accumulation of wealth is not a goal in its own right but a means to fulfilling the average Singaporean dream of living a sufficient, meaningful and fulfilling life in an economically vibrant, gracious, self-confident, well-balanced, and caring society.
In closing I would like to share with you a quote which has inspired me all these years since living away from home. It reminds us that being successful alone is not enough.
‘The motive of success is not enough. It produces a short-sighted world which destroys the sources of its
own prosperity…A great society is a society in which its men of business think greatly about its function. Low thoughts mean low behaviour, and after a brief orgy of exploitation, low behaviour means a descending standard of life’ (Alfred North Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas,1933)
Very best regards
Robert Chia
Professor Robert Chia, PhD FRSAProfessor of Management
Strathclyde Business School
University of Strathclyde
SCOTLAND
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