floppy:

My wallpaper nonsense aside, I think it's important for us to understand how decisions are made at the highest level as those decisions affect me, you, our children and our children's children.


This edition of the PE is on the premise of 'race' but as it turns out, we can't even really define 'race' properly. I am sure all of us can raise some form of queries but yet, we (or rather, our elected representatives) let it pass without a whimper in parliament. While most of us would give our G the benefit of doubt that the whole exercise isn't conducted to preclude candidates (ha! who am I kidding), the end result / policy is really a sub-standard piece of work (I would have preferred to use another 4 letter word that starts with S and ends with T).

It is just one legislative act but if that's the attitude we hold, then Singapore is really finished. Think of your HDB, transport, utilities etc. All these can be controlled / manipulated by policies. Mismanagement didn't happen overnight. It's a gradual process. It's really easy to be nonchalant about it. If none of us are really interested in those boring 'political' stuff, shit (ok, I've said it) can happen. The thing is, we won't be paying for it but our children will (unless you belong to the upper classes whereby migration is a viable option).

Well-said floppy.
However, on the legislation part, I've earlier said it's beyond mere mortals like me to question simply because we are not elected lawmakers who have a say in constitutional amendments.

But as voters, we can question the 3: are you eligible to contest or not? If yes, why you and not him, amongst other queries. What can this candidate bring to the table other than shake hands with dignitaries, royalties and boy scouts/girl guides?

What can you the P-hopeful do for me to convince me to vote for you, yes you, for whom this PE is politically manouevred and reserved? Face it, you're NOT cheap even after the salary cuts, so tell me how you can be useful to this country. I don't want to frivolously vote you in just because you've been loyal to your bosses for 40 years and now due for a golden handshake, courtesy of your bosses; or you're 60+ and suddenly wake up finding that you want to do more for the country.

What are your bargaining chips: gender, religion, race, language, age, disposition, health advantage that could possibly help the cabinet and us navigate thru this Vuca (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world? Your past experience is irrelevant for this position as you'll be aided by the CPA and influenced by the powers that be.

In the past, we didn't have social media, so no one paid heed to the $4 mil annual paychecks to the late President SRN and his monthly meet N greet engagements or deliverables. Years went by, unscrutinised. But today, with the help of internet, we can do our part as voters to ask some intelligent questions before we head for the polls.

Make Singapore great again!

starlight1968sg:

janet88:

from the issue of PE, you guys even went to the extent of majapahit :salute: as good as studying history.

Too technical and complex for me to read and understand
My only concern is when and get it done soon

It's important as educated and discerning voters to have an inquiring mind. We should draw connections between the past and present by understanding how past developments explain today’s world. If you go to a supermarket and the staff there sells you a punnet of pluots when they're actually apricots, and expects you to pay a higher price, would you just take it lying down and not try to investigate further?

If you or your taxing paying spouses or kids have to contribute to this President's paycheck, then you should study the set of cast-in-stone criteria that've been shoved at you, that enable him or her to qualify for the election. Are they fair? Did someone try to pull a fast one by sneaking in seabass as barramundi? Or are they genetically reasonably the same 10,000 or 100 years ago and can be accepted by customers as substitute goods because we need to serve this dish in today's context?

floppy:

If our system allows people to write in, I'm going to vote for Fandi Ahmad.

I'll just wait for nasi lemak burger to be relaunched. dang it ...it's sold out today.

pirate:

floppy:

TL;DR.
I'm just going to pick the parts that caught my eye (and quote it out of context )

You first statement implies that the Srivijaya empire are of Indian descent... so rightfully, they should be Indian, going by descent.

One of the Srivijayan prince (probably the only one that I know of) is called Sang Nila Utama, who happened / accidentally founded Singapore (whom he named Temasek).

I'm not sure about you, but I personally think it's going to be a big problem telling everyone (especially the Malays) that Singapore is actually founded by the Indians and so, Indians, should rightfully be the bumis of this land :rotflmao:

P/S: Is there anyone out there who still doesn't think PE racial quota thingy is a mess?

Wait till they learn that the Malay language has its origin in Sanskrit. :evil:

Well, can anyone dispute the Malay Annals? Temasek was discovered by Sang Nila Utama, no? It was recorded in some Yuan Dynasty documents too. As you know, during the Majapahit era, Kublai Khan (sorry got the wrong Mongol guy just now!) invaded Java, so there should be some indigeous Javanese with Mongol/Han DNA. Guess it's Indian+Chinese+Malay - One people one Temasek! You can add some 'East Indies' DNA too, from Holland or Britain.

For the 74% Chinese here, I believe we are mostly of Han not Indian DNA, cos many of our Han forebears arrived at Clifford Pier when the civil wars or famines in China broke out in early 20th-century. There were some who came earlier during Raffles' time or even Cheng Ho's time from Penang, Melaka or Medan. Those probably mixed with the local Malay women liao by the end of 19th century.

I'm not surprised Malays plausibly have some Indian DNA in them, unless they are pure Orang Lauts who are Australoids? Impossible lah...from 13th century till 19th century, no cross-breeding meh?

If I'm not wrong, Javanese, Achinese, Sumatran, Balinese and Khmer tribes are also of Indian descent. Dr Mahathir is an Indian Muslim.

Bugis are from Sulawesi which should be from the 'Old Taiwan' strand? PM Najib is Buginese. No wonder he's happy with that Bugis plot.

There are some of Arab descent. Their ancestors came from Yemen or Oman - The Syeds, Alsagoffs, Aljunieds and Alkaffs. My Arab girlfriend doesn't don a hijab, I don't know why. She dresses like Amal Clooney.

https://s17.postimg.org/tkpxfljwv/Arabian_Sea_Trade.jpg\">

floppy:

Zeit:

Has anyone have any experience with ofo, obike or mobike?


I know I've to download an app to enter the combi to unlock the bike. But can someone else 'steal' my bike, if I park it by the roadside with some leftover minutes to buy some groceries?

Which bike is easiest to ride? I saw a mobike which was unattended by the roadside. Wanted to ride it to kopitiam after dropping my car at the workshop for servicing. Not sure if it was taken. Not sure if they'll refund me the unused minutes if I don't use up 30 minutes.

Any feedback on these free bikes?

You want to use ofo, obike or mobike? Please use my referral code :evil:
For ofo: Y00Jnw
For obike: 2056451507
For mobike: mobike51875Uns
You earn extra free rides, I also can earn free rides

To answer your question, yes, someone can 'steal' your ride if you leave it unattended. So, you either lock it back (and pray that no one unlocks it before your return) or you 'watch over' your bike lor. There is no refund of any unused minutes.

The bikes are same-same lah. The old versions are difficult to ride long distance as they don't come with gears (yet I have friends who rode from Punggol to East Coast, and back). The new versions supposedly come with gears but I have yet to see them. Notwithstanding, they are good for short distance - e.g. from home to car park, or home to MRT stations, or home to buy makan.

I find it easier to find mobike and obike due to their location maps. obike often has promotions like free 5 mins, free 15mins or free day (weekends as well as from now till 30 July).

Thank you floppy for your useful feedback! I didn't know users could share codes like some enrichment centres allow students to share referral codes!

Do you get free bike rides for that same vehicle you've choped, or any other future vehicle you find along the road?

If you lock it to stop over to buy your sundries at 7-eleven for instance, won't that vehicle be 'locked' to your assigned code, so technically no thief can steal it as he won't be able to unlock it during the 30-min rental duration you paid for? I think I need to test it out.

I wonder if the app could help me locate a stolen obike or mobike using GPS. Heard from my friends ofo is relatively easier to ride.

I've a dumber question: Will the vehicle lock by itself halfway when my 30min or free time runs out? Is it linked to your paypal or credit card so it'll keep deducting until you decide to abandon it?

I'm thinking of riding to the Civic District this Sunday. It's Car-Free Day on 30 Jul.
https://www.ura.gov.sg/ms/carfreezones/events/Car-Free-Sunday.aspx?utm_campaign=&utm_source=ura.sg&utm_medium=shortlink

pirate:

All I know is that both Salleh Marican and Farid Khan handled a lot more money before than Mdm Speaker. Which leads to my prediction that either both will be found eligible or both will be found ineligible. A 1-on-1 PE contest between Mdm Speaker and either one of them would be... problematic.


Maybe have to resort to Candidate B. But have the children renounced US citizenship?

But both handled in the region of $200million nia.

If both found ineligible, a lot of voters will be very angry. Many prefer to get in an independent candidate, not straight and fresh out from Parliament House! At least Dr TT was out of politics for some years and was working at OCBC and MOF for a period. But Mdm Halimah is merely a union lawyer.

One on one, she might lose. 3-cornered fight - got chance. A sliver.

pirate:

Zeit:

Surely biological anthropologists would beg to differ! Race isn't artificial, unless you're saying a person's race can be artificially altered by way of plastic surgery! Thinking of Dawn Yang and Michael Jackson now

I seriously doubt that anyone wants to get the biological anthropologists involved in this.

The prevailing anthropological theory is that the Malays are Chinese (Out of Taiwan model). There is a new theory that pre-historic people moved northwards instead (South East Asian Origin model). That would make the Chinese Malays!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_peoples

That's not what I was saying. Just commenting in jest lah. Who will commit political suicide by getting biological anthropologists involved in certification of eligibility. Don't be silly!

Mongoloids + Australoids?

To me, all three of them are 'Malays'. Their ancestors migrated and got assimilated here.

Indians were the first to migrate to Sumatra I think, bringing along Buddhism first. You had the Srivijaya empire.
Next Majapahit empire when Hindhuism flourished. Not surprising that many Malays are of Indian descent. Jawi Peranakans (Indian+Malays) are one e.g
Genghis Khan at one point conquered Sumatra and Java archipelogo too, am I right?
Then you have the British Indian Empire which covered the Johore-Riau Sultanate. So more mixtures for you.

https://s2.postimg.org/485gg02dl/majapahit-empire.jpg\">

https://s11.postimg.org/62ua9hc2r/10512.jpg\">


PS: Chinese also has several ethnicities. 55 in total but mostly from the Han tribe.

PAP's 'Indian' definition is not peoples solely from India. Some were from Sri Lanka like S Rajaratnam. I've a Muslim friend who's also of Pakistani descent (like Farid Khan), but he looks more Indian- Punjabi or Gujarati - than Melayu. Very tall, hairy and fair. His ancestors probably migrated to Singapore during the British colonial period, i.e. before Pakistan and India split.

floppy:

janet88:

waste time discussing this issue. just put whoever they want as President. it's not like he/she will be doing anything significant or signing any big deal.

The President is very important!

Think of your house. Do you prefer ugly looking wallpaper covering your walls?

The President's face will be on the walls of some of our offices, I want him to look nice. In addition, he/she must do a good looking wave and handshake. The rest of the stuff not so important.

And might appear on the future Sing Dollar also!

I like Salleh Marican's family. Very progressive minorities. Her wife and daughters (especially Nadia Marican) look very modern and westernised. I don't know why the netizens criticised him for not being able to speak Malay. It's rather common these days among the younger Malays I know. For the purpose of EP, Mr Marican is taking Malay tuition a few times a week now.

I also respect these Malay entrepreneurs for making it big on their own.
https://s11.postimg.org/fe7a7den7/Marican-_Family-_Photo-956x610.jpg\">

Farid Khan is also not too bad. 2 beautiful kids. Arab wifey looks too serious though.

floppy:

Zeit:

If that's the govt's thinking, there isn't a need for a reserved PE in the first place since a biracial, triracial candidate can flexibly switch races based on what he or she declares how he or she lives!

The Second Chance CEO Salleh Marican is half Chinese apparently. Hearsay his mom is a Chinese adopted by a Malay family (citation needed). The Bourbon Offshore Chairman Farid Khan is 1/4 Chinese, if I didn't hear wrongly from his press con. His mom is Chinese-Pakistani. I guess if all 3 prez-hopefuls meet the govt's criteria, some of my friends of double-barrelled or triple-barrelled races can pick and choose to run in any PE as they like then.

And Mdm Speaker is half Indian. Guess there isn't any blue-blooded 'Malay' running for PE this round then.

Whether it's the G definition or the 'right' definition or even with counting who's the first EP, etc shows that the whole exercise is a botched rush job. Too quick to action but too little that goes into the thinking, and we ended up with a policy that is leaking badly at all corners.

The easiest way to win this election would be for a non-Muslim 'Malay' to stand for election. You can't disqualify him based on religion but you can't deny him based on race. As long as he/she is not from the establishment, by canvassing for the non-Malay votes and winning enough non-PAP supporting Malay votes, someone who doesn't fit the G definition can actually win this election handily.

So complicated.

Saw Malays getting upset about the p-hopefuls' race.
Saw Indians upset about the p-hopefuls denying or renouncing their roots for political agenda.
Saw Indian Muslims upset with Mendaki for not allowing their kids to receive financial aid. Some are upset with Sinda too which didn't see them as Indians.
Saw Malay Muslims upset with Mendaki as well. Double whammy!
Saw some Chinese upset because TCB cannot contest.
Saw some people upset because OTK was not counted as the first EP.
Saw some Marsiling people upset because there's not going to be a replacement MP. Voters who voted for Mdm Halimah felt let down. Minorities in her ward felt cheated.
Saw some opp supporters upset because it's another UNIONIST and PAP pre-ordained candidate. Maciam foregone conclusion!
Saw some Malaysian Chinese who'd migrated here upset because this reminds them of Bumiputra back in Msia.
Saw some freedom fighters upset about no By-election and the farce about minority representation in GRC system.
Saw some patriots upset with the flagrant disregard for Our Pledge...

I think many Singaporeans are generally not against the rotation of races. They know it's for a larger cause (rising China in the region and terrorism), but it's the way it's been manouevred.

I was quite tired of looking at photos of belated Hari Raya celebrations MPs were attending and wayanging in batik shirts some 4-6 weeks after the public holiday was over. Did you see your RCs still celebrating Hari Raya last weekend? Wasn't Hari Raya on Monday, at the start of the school term? The Racial Harmony Wayang's begining to look like an overkill.

I'm also not happy that the EP is always reserved for a trade unionist. Why huh? Is the million-dollar Elected Presidency an unspoken retirement bonus or reward for a long-time union leader? OTC, SRN and HY were all from the trade unions. Or is it because they need the unionists to vote for their candidate? But how many union members are there in Singapore? Enough to secure a win for the candidate? Is NTUC or PAP funding Halimah's campaign and supplying manpower? Who's paying $600k for Mdm Halimah?

Has anyone have any experience with ofo, obike or mobike?


I know I’ve to download an app to enter the combi to unlock the bike. But can someone else ‘steal’ my bike, if I park it by the roadside with some leftover minutes to buy some groceries?

Which bike is easiest to ride? I saw a mobike which was unattended by the roadside. Wanted to ride it to kopitiam after dropping my car at the workshop for servicing. Not sure if it was taken. Not sure if they’ll refund me the unused minutes if I don’t use up 30 minutes.

Any feedback on these free bikes?