Broadening overseas voting participation has been a longstanding passion for me as seen in my article and letter to the newspaper. I am extremely glad and applaud the government for moving in the right direction on the issue. The government may have decided that increasing pluralistic participation would mean that more Overseas Singaporeans would take a keener interests on home politics and society. The enthusiasm of Overseas residents (especially Americans, Japanese, Filipino and Koreans) in Singapore might have affected the ministry’s decision to hope for a similar effect among overseas Singaporeans.
The reduction from 2 out of 5 years to the “30 day rules” will still mean exiled political dissidents definitely cannot vote, but I sure that would not bother the majority of Singaporeans. How would political parties reach out to Overseas Singaporeans? It is interesting what the Singapore government has recently been doing has some clear resonance with what the Chinese government tried to do starting a century ago with its overseas emigrants to Southeast Asia - that is to reach out to its diaspora there in multiple ways. However, they are doing it through contemporary mechanisms such as setting up state-sponsored Overseas Singapore Clubs as well as fostering voter participation (albeit in a limited way). Btw, look out for a quote in the article =)
Relaxed – rules for overseas voting
Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg
FOLLOWING the baby steps taken in the 2006 General Election — which saw Singaporeans casting their votes from foreign shores for the first time — the Government has moved to relax the rules in the hope of giving Singaporeans abroad a greater stake in the country’s political process.
Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said yesterday the Government would “liberalise the criteria to enable more overseas Singaporeans to qualify to vote, while maintaining the spirit of the law that only those who continue to maintain their links back home should be entitled to vote”.
Previously, overseas voting was open only to citizens and their families who are sent abroad to work or study by the Government or approved international agencies, or who have lived in Singapore for an aggregate of two out of the five years before the cut-off date for voter registration.
These rules — criticised by some as favouring those who are more likely to vote for the incumbent — have been scrapped.
In their place is an encompassing rule that allows an overseas Singaporean to vote so long as he or she “has resided in Singapore for an aggregate of 30 days” in the three years preceding the prescribed date, which is usually be the first day of the year in which elections are called.
There are no official estimates on how the changes could expand the pool of overseas voters.
Still, Mr Wong said it was “reasonable” to expect them to visit their families and friends for at least 30 days over a three-year period, as most would have about 21 days of annual leave. “We expect that they will spend at least half of their leave at home in Singapore.”
(more…)Categories: Election
Clinton 08 or Obama 08?
February 22, 2008 · 1 Comment
Hillary Clinton ends with a stronger note in tonight’s debate, which should help her chances in Texas and Ohio. In addition, she seemed to have the upper hand on the health care debate against Obama. However, her border’s fence comment (and support for that previously) might hurt her among Hispanic voters, who have been backing her as opposed to Obama much more strongly in the Democratic primaries and caucuses
In any case, it appears that Obama was right in his own perspective when he refused to debate with Hillary last week. It would have lost him some points in the Wisconsin primaries if she had appeared to do better.
Would people chant “Hillary is back” just as they did with John McCain (Mac is back) when the latter put off a political miracle with his win in New Hampshire and beyond?
It is still far too early to rule out Hillary Clinton.
From CNN:
Categories: American Politics
Stagflation hits Singapore
February 17, 2008 · 1 Comment
An interesting commentary from Bloomberg News:
Quote of the day:
“Singapore’s Gini coefficient, a widely used measure of income concentration, overtook that of the U.S. in 2006 and rose further last year to 0.485, a very high level of disparity for a society with an educated workforce.”
Stagflation Hits Singapore as Inequity Grows: Andy Mukherjee
Commentary by Andy Mukherjee
Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) — Stagflation has come to Singapore.
The entire focus of the government’s annual budget, announced Feb. 15, was on dealing with the perils of slowing growth and accelerating inflation, a deadly combination as less fiscally robust governments than Singapore’s may soon discover.
(more…)
Categories: American Politics · Economy · Policy
Will politics here throw up an Obama?
February 16, 2008 · 1 Comment
A most interesting article in the Straits Times. Also see SDP’s letter to Obama. Obama actually talked about Singapore education system much earlier, as seen in my March 06 2007 post on a video of Obama talking about this issue. Also, it appears that Obama has slowly become a metaphor of political change in Singapore.
Feb 16, 2008
Will politics here throw up an Obama?
By Lynn Lee
BY 2030, will Singapore have a Barack Obama, the presidential-hopeful seen by backers in the United States as an agent of change?
It’s possible, but such an individual will come from outside the ruling People’s Action Party, according to Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong.
His reasoning last night: ‘It comes back to the PAP’s style of leadership renewal. It’s a controlled process, they look for certain traits. If you’re charismatic, it’s a bonus, but not a requirement.’
He was speaking at a forum on Singapore politics, where a student asked if a politician with the charisma of Senator Obama would ever surface.
The question was in keeping with the forum’s theme - Singapore in 2030 - and was a follow-up to an Institute of Policy Studies conference this month, where issues like the future political landscape and challenges to continued economic growth were raised.
The six panellists touched on these topics during a three-hour session. But in responding to the nearly 300 students present, they also shared their concerns about the values and sense of identity that would prevail among Singaporeans two decades from now.
For instance, NUS researcher Karyn Wang felt that people’s apathy was a problem that had to be solved. The lack of engagement would hinder them from taking an active part in national issues and helping shape Singapore’s future.
Writer Catherine Lim said the current political environment - where economic development is prized over political openness - was dampening young Singaporeans’ sense of identity.
‘If their loyalty is to the good life, then it can also shift with the good life, and it will not stay with the country,’ she said, echoing a point she also made at a Singapore Management University talk earlier in the day.
Categories: Uncategorized
High Food and Petrol prices solely due to external forces? - Accountability in the media
February 12, 2008 · 6 Comments
Quote of the day from Channelnewsasia article titled “Budget to mitigate high food prices and inflation”:
“These [the topics discussed on the Budget 2008 webstie] include high oil and food prices, caused by factors outside of Singapore’s borders. “
In the context of the article, the CNA article seemed to try to replicate exactly what the government wanted to them to say, without considering the larger picture at work. Most Singaporeans would probably understand that the hike in food prices could be attributed to both external and internal sources. Externally, it is true that both global fuel prices as well as food supply in Malaysia are factors in the rise and fall of petrol and food prices in Singapore. Yet, internal factors such as government policy and probable lack of strong bite from consumer advocacy groups play their parts too. The hike in GST from 5% to 7%, which is inherently regressive, has had an effect on the raising of prices of raw imported materials, from noodles to minced meat to vegetables. In addition, the rent of the foodcourt stalls might have increased due to the increase cost in providing air-condition, cable television and dish washing in the foodcourt due to the increase in GST. This means that your favorite fish ball noodles in the food court might have ramped up its prices to 3.50 dollars to 4 dollars due to the rise of GST, both directly and indirectly.
Categories: Accountability · Media
Super Tuesday in Minnesota (Scarlett Johansson visits)
February 6, 2008 · No Comments
winter-2008-001.jpg (Courtesy of my friend, PKS)
Scarlett Johansson just came to my school today to urge students to support Obama. Yes, the actress in “Lost in Translation”. And I missed it because I was doing some work in the library. ARGH.
On a more serious note, most Carleton students and faculty will be heading to the nearby High School to cast their votes for their nominee. It seems that Obama is the favorite among Carleton students. I prefer Hillary Clinton because I think she has specific policies on how to improve America’s image round the world, the healthcare system in America as well as to boost economic growth.In contrast, while Obama has a very strong presence in front of the crowds, I am not sure how comprehensive his governance plans are ,and what exactly he will do to improve America’s livelihood, especially among the middle and lower class. Although I suspect since a large constituency of Obama’s supporters are students, higher education might benefit more from an Obama Presidency. We just have to wait and see.
It is an exciting day right here in Minnesota - and it is great to be in the thick of things.
Categories: American Politics
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