Sunday, May 8, 2011

Who says politics in Singapore is boring?

Today is Mother's Day. The myth is that Hallmark "invented" it. The link below claims otherwise:

http://www.santabarbaraview.com/index.php/2011/05/history-of-mothers-day/

Post-election day here in Singapore, strange things seem to be happening. On one hand, some people in Potong Pasir were urging others to sign an online petition for a by-election to get Mr Chiam See Tong a fresh crack at reclaiming the single-member seat he gave up to contest in a GRC. There was even a bizarre claim that if the petition had at least 8,000 signatures, the Constitution allowed such a by-election to take place!

On the other hand, coming from another direction, are online calls for a way to get the just as popular  George Yeo back in Cabinet in his job as foreign minister (note: technically, he can still be FM at least until the new Parliament is called, which can be as late as November, it seems). The bizarre twist here comes from calls for the removal of new PAP MP Tin Pei Ling from her place in Marine Parade GRC, on an allegation that she violated the Cooling Off Day rules by posting a comment on her Facebook page (it has since been explained that an admistrator, not Ms Tin, posted the said comment).

Anyway, as part of the call to get Mr Yeo back as FM, Ms Tin's stepping down would result in a by-election in Marine Parade GRC, in the course of which Mr Yeo can stand as a candidate -- and presto, get his job back!

Meanwhile, defeated Marine Parade opposition candidate Nicole Seah seems to keep getting her act right, post-election, by saying she has already started work on serving the people of Marine Parade. No wonder she is rated the most popular politician in this electoral campaign.

For a summary of the George Yeo/Tin Pei Ling/Nicole Seah nexus, see this link:

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/05/08/tin-pei-ling-facebook-petition/

Who says politics in Singapore is boring?

Hmmm, since the Presidential election is due by this August, why not have the popular Mr Chiam, the equally popular Mr Yeo, and the immensely popular Ms Seah (at least online) "face-off" for that election? Pity, the onerous rules attached don't qualify them -- except Mr Yeo, I think -- for this S$4 million-plus a year job.

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