TR EMERITUS

Tharman Has Been Long On Rhetoric But Always Short On Action! Can Tharman be the “President for a new era” as he boldly claimed yesterday at the launch of his presidential campaign? I suggest not. Tharman has always been good at presentation but he does not possess the independent streak in him to go against the establishment,of which he has been part of for many years. His attempt to distinguish between an independent mind and being an independent is a fallacy and should be seen through by voters and rejected comprehensively. I cannot think of a single occasion in his long career in government where he had the courage to stake out his position in public which was different from that of his colleagues in the PAP. In fact,he became very much the silent stalwart of the PAP in his later years as a PAP politician. Churchill said that he judged a man not by his words but by his deeds.Voters should apply the same test when they judge whether Tharman can really be ”independent” from the PAP as President. My conclusion is that he sadly cannot. In the immortal words of Thucydides, the great Greek historian, human nature does not change. It is the one great constant. And nothing in Tharman’s nature suggests he can be that “independent” President which Singaporeans crave for. The candidates which have come forward for President have all been disappointing. It is not too late for other more worthy candidates to step forth to serve our Nation as Head of State. One thing is for sure- No more PAP President.   * Facebook post by Lim Tean      Read More →

If he gets elected, Ng Kok Song (NKS) says he will be the teh ko-song president (comparing to George Goh’s description of himself as the Mao Shan Wang president). He said: “I’d prefer to be characterised as teh ko-song, you know, Kok Song - ko-song. Teh kosong is tea without sugar, a healthier, better option than Mao Shan Wang.” Well, if it is a matter of taste, then the flavour of the coming presidential election would depend on the taste of the people. And the current swirling flavour to beat seems to be Typhoon Tharman. He came in and caused a storm. George and NKS will have to raise the tide in order to overpower the tsunami. Like what NKS said: “Mr Tharman is very well known in Singapore…I am relatively unknown because all my life, I’ve stayed out of politics. I just concentrated on my work in the GIC. I was an investment professional; I didn’t want to be in the limelight. That’s the way it was.” But that may be what the people want right? “I’m an underdog,“ added NKS. “It is a good situation to be in.” Though an uphill climb, NKS, at 75, is not letting the mountain before him stop him. In terms of qualification, well, he said it is not clear cut. He is currently the chairman of his own firm Avanda Investment Management, which he founded in 2015. Bloomberg’s estimation of the firm’s worth is around US$10 billion (S$13.3b). What’s more, he had dedicated more than forty years of his life to public service as GIC investment head, building and preserving our reserves. That should put him in good stead. He may be an underdog, but this is his comeback line: “…the president is not a toothless tiger. The president can bite - and should bite at certain times.” He is referring to unifying the people, protecting the reserves, and intervening at the right time to “uphold the integrity of key public service holders.” The president is not just a titular head. And this is one tireless dog that is determined to bite when it counts, and not let go until the goal is secured. Behind the scenes he has done just that, to grow what the people have painstakingly saved, and now, he is determined to do more in the public limelight. If he becomes president, the concern is, will he be another Joe Biden? Age has always been a challenge because the bias for younger candidates is understandable, even natural. NKS is more than one decade older than the other presidential hopefuls. Is he then over the hill or on top of it still? Mm…I think one thing about age that is forever golden is that the past accomplishments becomes your trailblazing credentials, and NKS doesn’t lack any. And with that locked in, you can always rely on the experiences and wisdom embodied over the decades to lead. Stripped of all complexities, every public office is about making the right choice at the right time for the sake of the people. And choices are always better made with the experience one has gained. As an added bonus, it also commands respect from the people serving under you. And that respect engenders trust and hope with every decision made. So, age for the presidency may just be a sublime advantage making the fragrant difference. What’s more, if elected, NKS will be a meditating president. He does it 25 mins a day. He said: “A lot of stress comes from our concerns about people’s opinions of us, what people think of us. A lot of our stress comes from our desire to control things, to have power, to have money.” He said meditation helps him to find direction amidst the storm, to anchor him against the restless pull of what is unimportant, and it “(shapes) his decision to stand for the presidency by helping him to examine and “purify” his motives.” He said that the benefit of meditation is that “I’m at peace” - elected or otherwise. I guess the final hurdle, in my view, is Sybil Lau, his fiancée. His late wife, Patricia, passed on due to stomach cancer in 2005. It was a marriage of 33 years built upon the enduring covenant of love and commitment. Now, the challenge is the image people may have with Sybil. There are two factors here to address when running for that presidential golden ticket; first, remarriage, and second, age gap. I guess the latter is more complicated than the first in our conservative society, with a certain fixed view about the pristine image of certain public offices, especially the presidency. They are 30 years apart. She is younger than his eldest child, 50. It was quite a whirlwind courtship of about 6 months before he proposed - and she agreed. He was overjoyed. And both are also financial juggernauts; NKS said, “…the reality is that she’s got more money than me,” in reply to talks that Sybil may be a gold digger. The reality is, Sybil sits on several boards including Well Health Technologies Corp, Canada’s largest owner and operator of outpatient health clinics. So, it’s not about the money. In fact, if combined, he may just be the wealthiest head of state if he wins the highest office in the land. I guess it’s true love then. While NKS said that he has experienced so much love from Patricia that it is enough to last him a lifetime, he is forgetting that the depth of the human heart is much deeper than a lifetime (or a few lifetimes). At times, when it comes to love, some people live a few lifetimes in a lifetime. That is why he quoted Pascal: “The heart has its reason and reason does not know.” Tbh, while I don’t know whether the heart of the people pinning for a president has reasons that are that inscrutable, I do however believe that NKS has a heart for the people. This is clear from the price he paid (or will be paying) for coming out at his age with a less than pristine recent past to run this race. He doesn’t need this, but saw the need and desired to bridge the gap. I thus wish him and family well in this gruelling race for the most unimpeachable office in the nation. And with so much exotic flavours in his cup, he may just be less of a teh ko-song president, if elected, and more of a teh si-gao, but siew dai.   Michael Han * The author is a Director at Hoh Law Corporation and blogs on Facebook.      Read More →

Not surprisingly, the Americans are outpacing the Chinese when it comes to buying properties in Singapore. According to Ms Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics, “Mainland Chinese were the largest group of foreign buyers in Singapore from 2017 to 2022 and in the first quarter of 2023. However, this changed in the second quarter of 2023 as 56 condo units were bought by Americans, surpassing the 51 units purchased by mainland Chinese buyers.” The reason it is “not surprising” is because Americans, along with citizens of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are exempted from paying Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 60% applicable to all other foreigners, due to the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) we have signed with them (US-Singapore FTA and the European FTA). The Americans and these Europeans are thus enjoying a huge discount compared to other foreigners. The ABSD is meant to prevent foreigners from chasing prices up and thereby making property unaffordable for Singaporeans. However, the exemption as stipulated in the two FTAs compromises our ability to manage our own affairs and thus our sovereignty. As it is, despite the 60% ABSD, it will have no effect on the Americans and some Europeans. Of course, property developers, banks and other related businesses here, will be happy with the ABSD exemption as they are good for business, but for Singaporeans in general, it is a sell-out. The state press is keenly aware and tries its best to gloss over the inconvenient fact. Instead of stating “Americans and some Europeans are exempted from ABSD”, it states that they are “subjected to the same ABSD as Singaporeans” (Bear in mind Singaporeans are not subjected to ABSD for their first property). I believe using the latter phrase is the standing order, from way up, because the same phrase was used in a previous Straits Times article by another reporter. These treaties legally bind all Singaporeans and, once signed, are extremely difficult to extricate. Some segments will lose out, while others will gain. In this case, homebuyers will lose out, but property developers, banks and other related businesses here will gain, as well as the Americans and the Europeans. In the long run, the differences do stack up. Given that they are legally binding and have long-term consequences, treaties have to be ratified by parliament, ie, studied, debated and voted on. Did they take place? Did any MP ask what has housing stamp duty got to do with Free Trade Agreements? But alas, even if they did, it would have been moot; parliament would have to agree regardless, given that the ruling party controls more than two-thirds of the house. I hope people still remember the India – Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which let in hordes of Indian professionals to the delight of businesses and is still displacing many Singaporeans in white-collar jobs. Given that our government is pro-business to a fault and that parliament is generally toothless in fighting for the interests of the people, I shudder to think how many treaties have been signed that benefit big business but disadvantage the people and are slowly but surely sucking their blood dry.   Foong Swee Fong      Read More →