Thoughts abt The (Elected) Presidency

Been reading Today and New Paper... as i do everyday. A summary, especially from today's Today:

When Mr. Andrew Kuan announced his intention to run, gahmen ppl started casting doubt and displeasure:

- warning of a less-than-desirable election result... implying that getting a qualified person would be more impt than a fair contest. does that mean getting such a person by other means is not out of the question? guess not, as shown by today's "election result".

- questioning his qualifications from the start, before the Presidential Elections Committee even said anything; asking him to open up his resume for scrutiny (which he did to disasterous results)

The commentary on this highlighted that the media also had a hand in casting doubt by emphasising on Kuan's previous employers' gripes abt him, and the PEC rejected him without disclosing the details for such a decision. The writer remarked that with such intense scrutiny, in the future ppl with high calibre and worthy qualifications wld be discouraged from trying to serve the country unless endorsed by the powers that be, thus the gahmen's over-cautious behaviour is actually detrimental to our long term well being.

(From "A price too high to pay" by Siew Kum Hong)

A forum letter writer also brought to task the fact that JTC, being a "kind employer" paid taxpayers' money to keep someone, whom JTC itself identified as not up to the job, in that job; a job which handled even more taxpayers' money. since the TT fiasco, it seems singaporeans are more wary of the spending of public money.

While I hv faith in and agree with the PEC's decisions, i join many others in asking them to reveal the factors that led to those decisions.

While I do not think Kuan would be suitable for President, I salute his ambitions... he must have been planning this for some time; as well as his hopefully well meaning intentions. But i do think he was a little naive to not think that his past wld come back to haunt him, and he does come across as being a little conceited and smoke-blowing on his website (www.andrewkuan.com) and as portrayed by media.

I am rather disappointed at the gahmen's defensive reflex... very quickly casting doubt on an unendorsed contestant, undermining support for him very early on. They mean well, but hopefully, less hand holding and parental cajoling next time. also, hopefully just a bit of encouragement for those who do not wear the same colours but want to serve the nation all the same. please, let me vote at least once in my lifetime?

but i do not blame the media for playing its role, however sensationalised. there wld be no headlines if there were nothing sensational in the 1st place... so far, (maybe partly thanks to SG being the no.1 defamatory law suit capital of the world) news reports have been accurate, telling the ppl wat we want/need to know. otherwise, why all the hue and cry abt the TT fiasco? kudos. (wish i could be an investigative journalist...)

And i reiterate my opinion that singahporeans hv been to spoilt by the gahmen... now ppl will blatantly reject anyone who is less than sparkling white for a seat in gahmen... thankfully, there are some mild exceptions... like the "No Clothes Member of Parliament". Next time not enuff clean and capable peepur how? take incapable but clean or capable but unclean? i can't answer that myself.

after all this has happened, guess who's going to join good ol'TT in SG's list of "Famous People Who Can't Get A Job"?