Just something to get off my chest before cooling off day. We now have a “fight” between the two “establishment” figures. To me, it’s all wayang.
Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song said it’s “dangerous” for a former finance minister, who established the rules on how the country’s reserves can be used to be president. Of course, we know who he’s talking about. It’s almost equivalent to “ownself check ownself”.
“You need somebody who knows enough about the subject, but who is not biased. It’s very difficult for someone who set up the system to question the system,” said the former chief investment officer of GIC.
He added: “It is very difficult for someone to be president when the people that he has mentored come to him to make a certain request. I think it is very difficult for an individual to, in other words, challenge the work that he did shortly before he entered the presidency.”
Well said, Mr Ng. I guess heaping too many praises on the PAP and not bothering with campaign posters had caused people to suspect that he’s there merely to split Tan Kin Lian’s votes. Realising that he might end up splitting Tharman’s votes instead, he had to show himself as Tharman’s opponent. Only then can he split Tan’s votes by attracting those not voting for Tharman.
We live in a world of paradoxes and contradictions. Presidential candidate Tharman has been trying very hard to promise independence while distancing himself from the PAP. Actually, I’m not even sure if Mr Tharman is promising us anything. Paradoxically, his supporters don’t believe it but prefer it that way. They’d rather not have a president who could throw a spanner in the works of “their party”. Who cares about independence? It’s not about what they believe. It’s about what they want.
Mr Tharman made a very interesting point about disqualifying candidates because of political links in the following video. I’ll come back to it later.
So it’s rare indeed to come across a supporter who actually believes that Mr Tharman is independent. There’s no need for him to convince those who are voting for him anyway. Obviously, Mr Tharman’s claim of independence is actually targeted at opposition and “unwilling” PAP supporters – those who don’t like them but still vote for them. Nice try, but will Mr Tharman convince many people in that camp? I doubt it. But make no mistake, Tan Kin Lian is the real underdog in this election. No matter what Tharman does or fails to do, he is likely to win.
Tharman on Facebook: 107k followers
Ng Kok Song: 5.3k followers
Tan Kin Lian: 68k followers
Tan’s lack of “composure” and media savviness will make him lose supporters even in the opposition camp. As it stands, his candidness didn’t sit very well with our feminists. Of course, he also got a lot of unwanted “help” from our mainstream media like Channel News Asia which we all know, is also “independent” and “objective” when it comes to putting up unflattering pictures.
Those who vote for him are people who truly want an independent president no matter how goofy and mawkish he is. Even Chee Soon Juan’s support for him is wavering and truth be told, it would be far easier for me to choose between Tharman and George Goh than between Tharman and Tan Kin Lian. Isn’t it a pity?
Nevertheless，
明代学者张岱曾在《陶庵梦忆》中写道： “人无癖不可与交，以其无深情也。人无疵不可与交，以其无真气也。”。
If a person does not have any idiosyncrasies, he cannot be an affectionate person. If he behaves perfectly and has no flaws, he cannot be regarded as a feeling person.
Now, let’s get back to that seemingly magnanimous “great pity” remark.
Hmm… was Tan Cheng Bock ever given an opportunity to challenge Halimah? Isn’t it a pity that Tharman was part of the party that made that happen? I think it’s an even greater pity that the more media savvy and personable George Goh is not here to give Tharman a harder run for his money in this election.
New Book!
