The President of Singapore.
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To be the president of Singapore is not an easy task. To become one is actually a more herculean task than the actual job itself.
You need to pass through an eligiblity screening. The Presidential Elections Committee is responsible for determining the eligibility of the candidates. The committee comprises of:
Andrew Chew Guan Khuan, Chairman of the Public Service Commission
Lim Siong Guan, Chairman of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority
H R Hochstadt, a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.
The Returning Officer had the responsibility of declaring the single qualifying candidate as the elected President. The Returning Officer is Tan Boon Huat who is the Chief Executive Director of the People's Association. [2]
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What happens is, the only person tasked with the job of being a watchdog on the government is actually amongst the elites too.
Why? The credentials you need to process must be rather impressive. With such credentials, there is a high chance that you are in the elite inner circle. Thus there is a high chance that only those with connections with the MIW will actually get the top job since most companies here are actually affiliated with the government body one way or another.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_presidential_election,_2005
The unopposed nature of President Nathan's candidacy has sparked debates in Singapore about the country's political system, where no candidate was judged eligible to run against a candidate endorsed by the People's Action Party (PAP) government. However, there was little media coverage given to this debate and no polls been conducted on the public opinion regarding this matter.
On the other hand, there are consistent endorsement of Presidential Elections Committee's decision by political, trade union and business organisations. There are little media coverage on opposing views or interviews with rejected candidates.
A factor contributing to the lack of eligible candidate is the stringent requirement placed on the person who can be elected as President, as spelled out in the Constitution of Singapore. There are only a few hundred people in the country who can be qualified and many of whom are in the rank-and-file of the People's Action Party and therefore unlikely to challenge the candidate endorsed by the PAP.
President Nathan's unchallenged return to the Presidency underscores that although the policy of Elected Presidency was introduced by the government in 1991 as a watchdog of the government and a custodian of national reserves, the position is opened only to a small group of people in the country.
A portion of populace felt that the presidency had been undermined as an institution. This is reflect by the online discussion amongst Singaporean bloggers[8][9][10] and some articles published in Today [11][12], a free newspaper. However Singapore's national newspaper, The Straits Times [13], and Channel News Asia [14] had come out firmly to back Mr Nathan on his re-election as Singapore's President. -
it's the worst kept secret......and a national disgrace at the same time too.....
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....duh.... -
Any pro-government guys got anything to add?
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hey, its not an easy job to shake hands n pose for peektures u noe.
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Originally posted by monoslayer:hey, its not an easy job to shake hands n pose for peektures u noe.
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Originally posted by monoslayer:hey, its not an easy job to shake hands n pose for peektures u noe.
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not easy just sitting down there for the next 4-8 years thinking of what to do actually just shaking hand and getting 200k+++ pay a month.. Sure is hard work
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el presidente attended smu last week to witness 2 sailing gold medalists, also undergrads there donate $10k from their winnings to the school's scholarship fund.......it was hard work watching others contributing their money.......
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the singapore president is nothing more than a trained monkey that is wheeled out for ceremonial use. and for that get paid millions. its the best job in Singapore
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and here i thought ah meng was doing such a swell job...........bananas anyone?
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Maybe the payrise for the "president" of Singapore is for him being a good rubber stamp?
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x1000. So easy job yet so high pay.Originally posted by av98m:the singapore president is nothing more than a trained monkey that is wheeled out for ceremonial use. and for that get paid millions. its the best job in Singapore 
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I notice the pro-MIW cronies have nothing to add once again...
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i fit the bill, so long as they pay me the 2 million smackaroos at the end of each year i promise i'll turn a blind eye to their policies and shake hands with any tom dick and harry on istana-visit day
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Originally posted by vito_corleone:i fit the bill, so long as they pay me the 2 million smackaroos at the end of each year i promise i'll turn a blind eye to their policies and shake hands with any tom dick and harry on istana-visit day
I am not greedy.. I just want $200,000 -
Take a queue number old boy!Originally posted by vito_corleone:i fit the bill, so long as they pay me the 2 million smackaroos at the end of each year i promise i'll turn a blind eye to their policies and shake hands with any tom dick and harry on istana-visit day -
Damn the queue so long already huh? So I guess everyone agrees that the president is just being paid to act pretty huh?
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like that president's job and orang utan got what difference?
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you finally got the point, you need to be pretty.Originally posted by bigmouthjoe:Damn the queue so long already huh? So I guess everyone agrees that the president is just being paid to act pretty huh? so look at the mirror first. -
wah...TS. are u one of the spies sent my the government???
*examine closely at TS.... -
I saw him sleeping like a pig in a car at East C park when the Gods r sucking my C!!!!!Originally posted by TYING:wah...TS. are u one of the spies sent my the government???
*examine closely at TS.... -
Will we be able to see him in the zoo performing eating bananas in front of foreign tourists?Originally posted by av98m:the singapore president is nothing more than a trained monkey that is wheeled out for ceremonial use. and for that get paid millions. its the best job in Singapore 
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You all so rude to the President. No respect for your head of state ar?
He only got ceremonial duties... and its not as if he got no qualifications. His background is outstanding!
But there you people talk like he is a nobody. -
How outstanding?Originally posted by mhcampboy:You all so rude to the President. No respect for your head of state ar?
He only got ceremonial duties... and its not as if he got no qualifications. His background is outstanding!
But there you people talk like he is a nobody.
You mean as a translator for the Japanese during the dark days of Japanese occupation? Well, that is surely "outstanding".