All that sound and fury...

Just some points on what some of the EP candidates said today after submitting their papers.

One said the EP must be "above politics" -- how can? The EP is a political appointment! What we have to distinguish, as campaigning goes into full swing, is the empty rhetoric from the substance.

What the candidate in question probably meant was that the EP has to be "above partisan politics" ie neither publicly seen to be pro-PAP nor pro-opposition. But, then, all the candidates have declared that they will work with the Government of the Day (GoD).

Such empty rhetoric may sound appealing, but it's only that. That's why I said yesterday that the trumpeting of a "Singaporean-first" policy is both meaningless and misleading. And indeed, one EP candidate today declared that his presidency will see to it that the GoD keeps to a "Singaporean-first" policy. If, for the sake of argument, there is such a policy, what will happen in everyday life? Take queues. At the airport, the queue booths will have to open only for Singaporeans first, and only later will they be open for foreigners!

Having a ratio of more queue booths open for locals vis-a-vis those for foreigners is simply sound policy, based on numbers. Or, negatively, remember the "males with long hair will be served last" policy? That's an example of the "served first/served last" matrix that a "Singaporean-first" sloganeering evokes.

And increasing the numbers of locals in the student cohorts at our universities is simply a policy adjustment, a response to strong articulation of interests by groups that mattered, ie the voters. Now, that's in the realm of politics. My joke yesterday about the definition of politics aside (poli = many, tics = parasites), politics is a reality of organised life -- in terms of the allocation of resources -- and at its best, is materially good, at its worse, morally evil.

We are fortunate that, by and large, politics in independent Singapore has benefited the people. But there is a school of thought which argues that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". But one cannot say that Singapore has fallen into such a situation.

Which brings me to one EP candidate's pledge that he will serve as "check and balance". Again, how can? That's the job of the opposition elected to Parliament!

Finally, the fourth candidate said he will be "the voice of the people". What does he mean, given the Constitution's detailed listing of what he can and cannot do! As I pointed out in an earlier posting, we don't even know if the EP will be allowed to blog, tweet or do some friendly "poking" on Facebook. (That was not an issue with the retiring EP; he proudly claims he is "BC" -- before computers.)

So, in the end, as countless people have already noted, the name of the new president is already known: he is President Tan. About the only possible "excitement" (a sad commentary, I should add) is the buzz about whether any candidate will lose his deposit.