Something Old, Something New

Although the two most senior men in the PAP recently announced their retirement from Cabinet, both as predicted remain very influential, albeit behind the scenes.

LKY is to be Senior Advisor to GIC which is Singapore's largest investment vehicle and the Goh Chok Tong has become Senior Advisor to MAS as well as being anointed as Emeritus Senior Minister, which has a distinctly academic ring to its title.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng as well as Mah Bow Tan and Raymond Lim have retired from the Cabinet.  In the case of Wong Kan Seng one presumes that he was retired, after a decent interval of time, following the debacle of the Mas Selamat escape which caused great embarrassment to the government.

I am not at all surprised by the rapid elevation of Tharman Shanmugaratnam in the PAP ranks.  His appointment as one of the two Deputy Prime Ministers is a reflection of his political presence and acumen.  I recall meeting at the launch of the ill fated UNSW Asia when he was Minister of Education.  He was eloquent, attentive and a man of considerable bearing.

Teo Chee Hean, the other Deputy Prime Minister could also be a future PM of Singapore as he too has the presence and political nous to succeed.

Someone else who impressed me in the past was Madame Halimah Yacob and I note she has been made a Minister of State for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

It will now be interesting to see how the Opposition responds as they have this term to bring their star players to the fore.  Sheer weight of numbers from the government benches will make this a difficult but not insurmountable task.

To succeed further they will need to stick to championing the issues that the people of Singapore want addressed, and not succumb to petty inter-party squabbling which has been a problem in the past.

Related articles

• PM to chair GIC, Tharman new MAS chairman (khamerlogue.wordpress.com)

The Great Seducer

Dominique-Strauss-Kahn

The Strauss-Kahn affair currently playing out in the US courts is an ugly chapter in power politics.

While no person should be presumed guilty in advance of a fair trial, this arrest appears once again to demonstrate that there is a global 'elite' who feel they can act with impunity.

It is not an uncommon occurrence for men in such positions of power or influence to behave in this manner nor to practice serial infidelity.

When this story first broke I did a quick Wikipedia search to find out more about the individual concerned.

Clearly Strauss-Kahn is no stranger to such allegations and has an entire section dedicated what are politely termed 'controversies'.

In 2002 a French writer accused him of attempted rape but dropped the charges.  In light of the New York happenings she is now contemplating resurrecting these.

The case has all the hallmarks of a serial sexual predator and the accused is known in his home country as 'The Great Seducer'.  I doubt that even France, with its more tolerant views of infidelity, will countenance the latest escapade.

I hope justice will prevail above politics and having bail refused is a good start.

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Two Less Lions In Lion City

From Left - Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew

There will be two less lions at the Lion City's top political table from this moment forward. Both MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong has decide to retire from Cabinet and focus their efforts soley on their constituencies.

According to the Straits Times they described the very recent General Election as a 'watershed' one and that 'they have decided to leave the Cabinet and have a 'completely younger team of ministers connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of Singapore.'

"We have studied the new political situation and thought how it can affect the future. We have made our contributions to the development of Singapore. The time has come for a younger generation to carry Singapore forward in a more difficult and complex situation. The Prime Minister and his team of younger leaders should have a fresh clean slate. A younger generation, besides having a non-corrupt and meritocratic government and a high standard of living, wants to be more engaged in the decisions which affect them. After a watershed general election, we have decided to leave the cabinet and have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of our Singapore.
But the younger team must always have in mind the interests of the older generation. This generation who has contributed to Singapore must be well-looked after."

While it is timely to pay tribute to both men for their stewardship of Singapore, the political tide has changed somewhat and their resignations reflect this new reality.

There is need for the PAP to reinvent itself after being re elected by the smallest margin since independence.

The younger people of Singapore do not respond to the pleas for 'nation building' in the same way as their parents once did.  They expect the government to be more responsive to their basic needs, such as housing and jobs and to listen to their criticisms.

MM Lee Kuan Yew is now 87 and SM Goh Chok Tong a sprightly 69.  Both have once again shown astute political judgement in their decision to resign from cabinet, although I very much suspect that behind the scenes their opinion will still be sought.

Related articles

• Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong to Leave Cabinet (businessweek.com)
• Singapore Founder Lee to Quit Cabinet (online.wsj.com)

Today's Print

Autumn
Roger Smith 2011
Click on the print then click again to view the larger version

Inspired by the patterns of dried grasses on the concrete pavement and the autumn colours overhead.

A Bigger Red Dot

Today Singapore has come of political age.  While it is true that the ruling PAP party was returned to power, (deservedly so in many peoples minds) with 60% of the vote (14% less than the previous election), it is equally true that there has been a very large swing towards the Opposition parties.

The very idea that 40% of the 2.35 million eligible voters would choose not to vote for the PAP would have been unheard of two decades ago.

93% of Singaporeans turned out to exercise their vote which shows the level of interest in GE2011.

The big news of the night was the Workers Party win in Aljunied GRC, a rather large 'red dot' in the heartlands, which automatically gives them five seats in the new Parliament.

Three senior Ministers of the last government lost their seats in Alujnied including a distraught Foreign Minister George Yeo, who will no doubt become Ambassador Yeo in the near future. To his credit he remained a gentleman in accepting his defeat.

Hougang too remains firmly in opposition hands.

There remain two electorates that may be subject to a recount, Joo Chiat where the PAP is ahead by 400 votes on election night and Potong Pasir where the margin is even tighter - a mere114 votes.

Thanks to social media's influence on the young and Facebook stars such as Nicole Seah, even safe havens such as Marine Parade were given a wake up call.

The NSP managed to capture 44% of the vote in this electorate although, as predicted, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's PAP team were returned to office.

Last night's results also saw the demise of Singapore's longest serving opposition politician- one of two in the last Parliament. Due to boundary changes and party swapping Chiam See Tong had to contest the Bishan-Toa Payoh electorate where his SPP party only managed to get 43% of the vote.

So behind the numbers what does this all mean?  The return of a stable government in a volatile economic environment is a real plus and the PAP's stewardship through the toughest of recessionary times should not be forgotten.

Despite this acceptance, the people of Singapore have signalled strongly to the government that they are not happy with the status quo; especially the growing wealth gap, the influx of foreign workers, rising prices and the cost of housing.

While six Opposition members is a small percentage of the total house they should be able to provide a stronger voice for the people's concerns.   If the government chooses to not address these issues we could see a very different result in five years time and true repentance.

Related articles

• What George Yeo's loss means for Singapore
• Singapore's ruling party loses multi-seat constituency - Reuters (news.google.com)
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Flying High Again

Image via WikipediaSingapore's Changi Airport is the world's favorite once again according to Airports Council International.

It is notable that seven of the top ten airports are in Asia / Sth East Asia. Only one in the UK/Europe and a similar number in the USA make the top ranking which says something for customer design and efficiency.

The article states that :
"Heathrow in London came in 99th, with travelers criticizing its long security lines and poor "ambiance." Dublin Airport placed 98th, Germany’s Frankfurt Airport ranked 126th and Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris even closer to being the worst in the world, at 137th"

My visits through Heathrow suggest no ambience at all -  even the new terminal has no soul. Changi by comparisson won 25 'best" awards in 2010 alone.

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Cooling Off Day - May 6th

The race for Aljunied seems to be getting more heated by the minute so it is probably a good idea to have a 'cooling off day' in three days time,  the day  before the vote takes place in Singapore.

Singapore netizens have not taken too kindly to reported statements that Aljunied voters will have " five years to live and repent" if they vote in the opposition and this may backfire for the PAP at the ballot box.

It will be interesting to see the election results on May 7th. and the battles won and lost between the parties.

The Inventiveness of Man

I recall making many visits to The Bath-House, Rotorua's Museum of Art and History, which as its title suggests was once a Victorian styled sanatorium and mineral spa. The opening of the Bath House in 1908 coincided with a visit to Rotorua by the American Rear-Admiral Sperry and 200 of his officers.

The Bath-House

Sited on the edge of a volcanic sulphurous vent, The Bath-House allowed local and overseas visitors to 'take the waters' as a cure for their aches and pains.

Unfortunately sulphur and and other minerals associated with volcanic activity are not conducive to the longevity of museum collections and the then directors had a long standing battle with these elements.

This was also the age of even stranger cures and health devices.  Most of the latter used electricity to deliver their curative effects. The fact that they were in most cases pseudo-science bordering on quackery mattered not a jot.

So it was with some delight that I came across online, the "Prostate Gland Warmer' which was manufactured in 1925 and promised 'healing below the belt'.

From the picture above it would appear that this 'warmer' was plugged directly into a normal lighting socket and I leave it to the reader's imagination to decipher where the other end was inserted.

According to the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices this device was originally invented in 1918 and came with the promise that it would "stimulate the abdominal brain".

This should not be confused with the The Recto Rotor, "The Latest and Most Efficient Invention for the Quick Relief of Piles, Constipation, and Prostate Trouble." Ouch!

Not all inventions of the time were for internal use.  Equally important was the promotion of good health through exercise.The Dumb-Bell Cane pictured below gave one 'the physique of an athlete without wasting a moment'.

Quackery still exists and the gullible are still taken in by promises of miracles cures.  I wrote earlier about some of these we came across in Singapore, such as the irradiated ankle socks which promised to improve circulation.

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