I just saw this article online on one of the MSM sites. In it, the former speaker of parliament, Mdm Halimah Yacob is being interviewed as a potential candidate for this year’s presidential elections. Let […]

So, we are now in the silly cycle of “electing” the next president. This year’s election is very controversial. The parliament approved a change in the rules for election of president and added a clause […]

It would appear that ESM Goh Chok Tong is indeed telling the truth that “checks and balances are a seductive lie”. He says in that article that: “the check comes from the “integrity of the […]

I am reading the Candidate Handbook for Parliamentary Election 2015 for the first time. I don’t have any of the earlier versions so I cannot tell what the changes are (yes, no edit history/change log; […]

I used to head up the Internet SIG of the Singapore Computer Society back in the 1990s. When the then Singapore Broadcasting Authority (now known as the Media Development Authority) issued a directive that they […]

[This was originally written on March 26, 2013, but kept as a draft giving the powers that be time to revert. Looks like nothing is moving for a country that prides itself on efficiency and […]

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein It is a mockery of the Parliamentary process when a Member of Parliament fails to exercise her right to vote on issues […]

I just love the heading of this post.  It is from John Maynard Keynes who wrote it in his The General Theory (New York, Harcourt Brace and World, 1964), p. 383.  I was prompted to check it […]

Before my comment, I found this picture on a walled garden site and thought I should share it here: How appropriate the headline is and the accompanying photo. I can’t find where this appeared and […]

These two questions have been asked before and I am sure my two sons will ask them again: “Do I have to do NS?” “Is Singapore worth defending and dying for?” My answer had been […]

Congratulations to Ms Lee Li Lian in winning the Punggol East seat on January 26, 2013. With 16,038 from 29,832 votes cast, she commanded a lead that was not assailable by the incumbent party’s candidate […]

The Punggol East by-elections will be on Saturday, January 26 2013. Let’s look at the choices Punggol East residents have: a) PAP’s candidate. I think the good doctor probably has his heart in the right […]

The Punggol East by-elections are underway with the polling happening on Saturday January 26, 2013. Today, January 22, at the Worker’s Party rally, the WP chairman, Ms Sylvia Lim, spoke about the AIM related issues. […]

For the record, I will defend the right of anyone to engage in any discourse anonymously. Anonymity is a very potent and powerful tool that, as participants in a society, it serves to empower people […]

On Thursday, September 27 2012, the Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE in short) will commence.  Over a period of 4 days, students in primary six the public school system will sit for a common nationwide […]

I am deeply disappointed with the announcement that the Media Development Authority has asked Google/YouTube to block access in Singapore to the absolutely worthless “Innocence of Muslims” trailer.  Having watched it, I realized that I […]

This Hougang by-election was a foregone conclusion as far as I am concerned. I was only looking to see an increased victory margin. But even though the WP percentage went down 2%, I think it […]

Now that the by-elections for Hougang has been called, it is interesting to see how the ruling party is trying to down play this by-election by characterizing it as a “local election, about local stuff“. […]

It’s just over a year and a day since the Singapore General Elections 2011. Many things have been said about how we are in the “new normal” and that the PAP-led government has seen the […]

Indeed, why bother? The President of the Republic Of Singapore is 95% ceremonial and 5% custodial. Does it matter who then the president is? Does it really matter that for the 5%, the person has […]

Tomorrow, August 9 2011, Singapore celebrates 46 years of independence. The fact that we’ve been able to have 46 years of economic progress going from a relatively impoverished island of about 1.5 million people in […]

With the elections for the next Singapore president due any day now, my decision making process will include the following considerations: That the candidate opposes the death penalty and that he would do something about […]

I was part of the Roundtable until it was disbanded in 2004. Given what has happened in this year’s parliamentary elections, I think it is useful to publish an article some of us from the […]

If the PAP leadership is serious about reforming their thinking, they need to first change the fact the the cabinet is PG-rated. The Prime Minister has his father in cabinet allegedly as a “mentor” but really. […]

Note that I have signed a Secrecy Declaration that would require me to not mention who were at the polling station and anything about who voted for whom. The latter one is near impossible to […]

I’ve signed up with the Singapore People’s Party to be their polling and counting agent for the elections on May 7th. I got back from Hanoi, and went straight to 108 Potong Pasir and waited […]

I am very, very pleased to see such an explosion of thought, care, concern, commentary and general love for Singapore pouring out in the social media. The last time I voted was in 1997. It […]

I am sure that the PAP will use the Osama factor to frighten Singaporeans into voting for them this Saturday.  What they’ll say is that there is uncertainly now and that only they can help […]

I got some interesting SMSes from friends about a whole lot of misconception about how the country works. First, no matter who wins the election and forms the government, the underlying commonality is that the […]

Thank you Workers’ Party, Singapore Democratic Party, National Solidarity Party, Reform Party, Singapore People’s Party and the Singapore Democratic Alliance for rallying concerned and committed Singaporeans to stand for the Parliamentary Elections 2011. It is […]

By noon Singapore time April 27, 2011, we will know who is standing where and how the electoral layout of the land will be. All the GerrymandeRing and self-serving attempts of the ruling party will […]

The PAP is repeatedly used the phrase “freak election result” when referring to them losing seats in the general election. How is that freak? Yes, history is written by the victors and anything that does not […]

I have a lot of respect for Mr Goh Chok Tong. He makes mistakes and shows that he is human after all (unlike his predecessor and successor). But this comment attributed to him: Mr Goh explained: […]

Now that the Singapore General Elections will be held on May 7th, the traditional political mudslinging has started in earnest. The first salvos was fired by the ruling party who, for the first time in […]

This came in via an email.  Shows that the GerrymandeRrd Constituency (GRC) scheme was rotten from day one. =========== Mr Koo Tsai Kee, Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC is retiring. I would like […]

I was reading some rather interesting arguments against continuing National Service as we have today. While I think there are some nuggets of compelling reasons to discontinue the conscript army, we do have NS in […]

I was reminded when I read the Papsicle post about how we now will have two individuals who were apparently members of parliament but were never VOTED in.  Their entire ride into parliament was via […]

We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress […]

If you want to run for parliament you need to fulfill the following requirements (all from Parliamentary Elections Act 218): is a citizen of Singapore; is 21 years old and above on Nomination Day; is […]

Perhaps the only useful nugget out of last night’s “Political Forum on Singapore’s Future”, was that all the participants agreed on the need to increase productivity. So what do we do about increasing productivity? The […]

I watched with disappointment the “Political Forum on Singapore’s Future” on TV. I think the format was so contrived that it did not offer any real opportunity for debate to ensue. Added to it, the […]

I was reviewing the information at the Elections Department site on what are the terms and conditions for standing for election. If you look at the section entitled “Registers of Electors“, it says: “The register […]