It is up to Singaporeans to decide if we are ready for non-Chinese PM: Janil Puthucheary

[micromachine]

Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health Janil Puthucheary, speaking at an Institute of Policy Studies panel entitled Singapore Politics in 2030, on Monday 25 January, 2021. (PHOTO: Jacky Ho, for the Institute of Policy Studies, NUS)

SINGAPORE — It will be up to the people of Singapore to decide if the country can have a non-Chinese Prime Minister, said Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health Janil Puthucheary on Monday (25 January).

He was responding to a question from the audience on the prospect of a non-Chinese Prime Minister, while participating in an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) panel entitled Politics in Singapore 2030, alongside Aljunied Member of Parliament Gerald Giam and Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa. The panel was moderated by Dr Gillian Koh of IPS.

“It will be up to the people of Singapore to decide, ultimately, about this matter,” said Dr Puthucheary, who is from the ruling People’s Action Party. “And I do hope that our racial harmony progresses, to the point where, when people talk about a non-Chinese Prime Minister, it's not about an icon of resetting or an icon of reimagining, but on the basis of that person's ability to do the job right, and that will be for Singaporeans to decide.”

Echoing Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who had suggested in March 2019 that older Singaporeans are not ready for a non-Chinese PM, the 48-year-old added, “Race continues to matter, and surveys done by IPS themselves suggests that that is so. So well, I think I would fully subscribe to the idea that I wish it were not so.”

In response, Giam pointed out that unlike the president, the PM is not directly elected by Singaporeans, but by a political party. “So, it is really the decisions of the individual parties, whether they want to...field a non Chinese as the party leader, as a secretary general.”

He noted that the Workers’ Party’s current leader Pritam Singh is a non-Chinese, and not the first one either. Furthermore, its Aljunied team comprises three non-Chinese and two Chinese who “don't speak Chinese very well,” he quipped.

More at https://sg.news.yahoo.com/it-is-up-...n-chinese-pm-janil-puthucheary-073224209.html

 

[Xisiqomelir]

I'm not ready for any Janil Muthuswamies that's for damned sure

 

[Annunaki]

God bless my Pink dot darlings Kirsten han, kokila and Sir jolovan wham for calling out all the sinkie chink racists!

 

[a_korusawa]

guys!
the main reason for a puppetry president + a minion finance minster for so many years . . . . its to secure "NO QUESTION ASKED" full authoritarian in national funds ie. temasek & gic plus rest of agencies! it will probably take another 2 elections to buy time for pappy to cover the gigantic loss or huge unaccounted bad investments!

but recent pandemic has opportuned pappy in 'camouflaging' this accountancy as if $$$ has returned into the country instead!

so, this in turn sped up the laundering exercise from 10-20years to 3-5years!

this means pappy's eunuch can no longer requires puppetry presidency or spineless financial ministry to keep ppl away from questioning against his dowager anymore!!!

 

[knnccb]

good have a cakeleng kia to bring in more cecas

 

[mudhatter]

View attachment 102461View attachment 102464

stinkies are a fugly lot

unbelievably fugly

won't believe it until you see it
that's how fugly stinkies are

that said
why is ah neh not charged for sedition inciting racial acrimony or other bollocks they might call it?

while workers party MP got questioned and warned by pap-pigs' eunuch vigilantes over 2 year old tweet



is it not because workers' party member is partial paki+partial melayu and supposedly Muslim?

if not what is excuse?

 

[Hypocrite-The]

What I do know is that singkieland should never allow those that do not serve NS to be political office holders and hold government jobs..even betterer,,no NS...no shitizenship



S’poreans to decide on whether the nation ready to have non-Chinese PM, two-party political system: Senior Minister Janil Puthucheary
by Aldgra F.
25/01/2021
in Politics
Reading Time: 4min read
12



It will be up to Singaporeans to decide on whether the country is ready to have a non-Chinese Prime Minister and two-party political system, said Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health Janil Puthucheary at an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) panel on Monday (25 January).
Dr Puthucheary was speaking in the IPS panel, entitled “Politics of Singapore 2030”, which was also featuring Aljunied Member of Parliament (MP) Gerald Giam and Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa.
The panel took place at Marina Bay Sands and was moderated by Dr Gillian Koh of IPS, as reported by Yahoo! News Singapore.
During the panel, an audience raised a question on the prospect of a non-Chinese Prime Minister, to which the Senior Minister replied: “It will be up to the people of Singapore to decide, ultimately, about this matter.”
“And I do hope that our racial harmony progresses, to the point where, when people talk about a non-Chinese Prime Minister, it’s not about an icon of resetting or an icon of reimagining, but on the basis of that person’s ability to do the job right, and that will be for Singaporeans to decide,” he continued.
Previously in March 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said in a forum at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) that the older generation of Singaporeans is not ready to have a non-Chinese Prime Minister.
“Race continues to matter, and surveys done by IPS themselves suggests that that is so. So well, I think I would fully subscribe to the idea that I wish it were not so,” Dr Puthucheary added.
Mr Giam pointed out that the Prime Minister is not directly elected by Singaporeans but instead was elected by a political party.
“So, it is really the decisions of the individual parties, whether they want to field a non-Chinese as the party leader, as a secretary-general,” he said.
Citing the Workers’ Party’s (WP) current leader Pritam Singh, Mr Giam noted that the leader of the opposition is a non-Chinese and also not the first non-Chinese to hold the position.
He added that the WP’s Aljunied team comprises three non-Chinese and two Chinese who “don’t speak Chinese very well”.
“If race and language was such an important factor for such an important constituency, we would have made sure that we field an all-Chinese state, or at least four Chinese in the slate.

“But we made our calculations and therefore we chose that slate of candidates, regardless of race,” said Mr Giam.
Ms Poa, NCMP from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), opined that Singapore is “already ready” for a non-Chinese Prime Minister.
She noted that the “only reason” that the country is not having a non-Chinese Prime Minister is because the ruling party People’s Action Party (PAP) is “not ready”.
Is S’pore ready for a two-party political system?
Back in 2011, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong remarked that a two-party political system is “not workable” in Singapore due to “not enough top talent”.
In view of this, former Nominated MP Janice Koh questioned if the PAP remains with such a belief, to which Dr Puthucheary noted that it would be up to Singaporeans to decide.
He believes that it depends on how people make their vote and what are the proposals made by the political party.
“I don’t know that that there is or there isn’t [enough talent], but yet I would say, our job is to try and bring in as much of that talent as possible. And we should compete for that talent just as hard as anybody else,” said the PAP member.
Ms Koh also raised a question – directed to Mr Giam and Ms Poa – on the PAP’s argument that a two-party system could lead to more racial and religious divisions in Singapore, as well as ways to prevent this in the current political landscape.
In response, Mr Giam emphasised the need for every political party and candidate to make a conscious effort, act responsibly and in the interest of the country.
“I don’t think just having multiple parties is automatically going to make sure that everything balances out. There will be good parties, there will be bad parties, and the ultimate judge of this would be the people of Singapore,” he said.
Ms Poa, on the other hand, opined that a one-party system only worked in the past.
“But when we are faced with a climate where the choices are not so clear, the way forward is uncertain, then it is too risky to continue to rely on a one-party system. That is the same as putting all our eggs in one basket,” she noted.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

When will Singapore have a non-Chinese prime minister? It's up to Singaporeans, says Janil Puthucheary
Senior Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary (second from left), Workers' Party MP Gerald Giam and Progress Singapore Party NCMP Hazel Poa at a Singapore Perspectives Conference panel discussion moderated by Dr Gillian Koh (first from left), deputy director of research at the Institute of Policy Studies. (Photo: Jacky Ho for IPS)

By Chew Hui Min
25 Jan 2021 11:51PM (Updated: 26 Jan 2021 12:02AM)
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: It will ultimately be up to the people of Singapore to decide whether the country is ready for a non-Chinese prime minister, said Senior Minister of State (SMS) Janil Puthucheary on Monday (Jan 25).
Dr Puthucheary, who is SMS for Health and for Communications and Information, was answering questions from the audience at a panel discussion on Politics in Singapore 2030 organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).

On the panel with him at the Singapore Perspectives Conference 2021 themed "Reset" were Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament Gerald Giam from the Workers' Party (WP), and Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
The hybrid online and in-person session held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Monday afternoon was moderated by Dr Gillian Koh, who is deputy director of research at IPS.
READ: COVID-19 pandemic could last 4 to 5 years: Lawrence Wong
"It will be up to the people of Singapore to decide ultimately, about this matter," said Dr Puthucheary, who is from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) and heads the party's youth wing.

"I do hope that our racial harmony progresses to the point where when people talk about a non-Chinese prime minister, it's not about an icon of resetting or an icon of reimagining ... but on the basis of that person's ability to do the job.
"And that will be for Singaporeans to decide."

Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary in a panel discussion at the Institute of Policy Studies' Singapore Perspectives Conference 2021 on Jan 25, 2021. (Photo: Jacky Ho for IPS)

The issue has been brought up multiple times in recent years, and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, the frontrunner to be Singapore's next PM, had said in 2019 that the older generation of Singaporeans is not ready for a leader from a minority race.

"Race continues to matter ... Surveys done by IPS themselves suggests that that is so. I think I would fully subscribe to the idea that I wish it were not so," said Dr Puthucheary.
PAP IS NOT READY FOR NON-CHINESE PM: HAZEL POA
PSP's Ms Poa disagreed, saying that she thinks Singapore is ready for a non-Chinese prime minister.
"The only reason we are not ready is the PAP is not ready," she said.
Mr Giam agreed that Singaporeans are open to the idea, saying that he has not come across views that they are not ready for someone who is "capable, honest and able to be a good leader" to assume the role of prime minister.
He pointed out that in Singapore's parliamentary system, the PM is not directly elected by the people, but selected by the party.
WP chose Mr Pritam Singh as its secretary-general in 2018, and it fielded three non-Chinese and two Chinese candidates "who don't speak Chinese very well" in Aljunied GRC in this year's election, he said.
Besides Mr Giam, the Aljunied GRC MPs are Mr Singh, WP chair Sylvia Lim, Mr Faisal Manap and Mr Leon Perera.

Aljunied GRC MP Gerald Giam from the Workers' Party in a panel discussion at the Institute of Policy Studies' Singapore Perspectives Conference 2021 on Aug 25, 2021. (Photo: Jacky Ho for IPS)

"It is really the decisions of the individual parties ... whether they feel that in their electoral calculations ... that they want to field a non-Chinese as their party leader," said Mr Giam, the policy research team head of WP.
"I think we've had a relative credible degree of electoral success with our current party leader who is not a Chinese."
WILL MORE PARTIES LEAD TO DIVISIVENESS?
The three panellists also debated the pros and cons of a multi-party system in Singapore, following questions from the audience.
Mr Tan Keng Soon, chairman of the Tan Ean Kiam Foundation, asked if more opposition in the political system might reduce the effectiveness of the Government. Ms Janice Koh, an actress and former Nominated MP, asked whether a multi-party system in Singapore could result in more division in society, and how any negative effects could be mitigated.
Dr Puthucheary said that how Singapore's political system turns out in the future is also up to the people.
"Whether it's a multi-party, a two-party, dominant and a less dominant, an alternating revolving door - and we've had examples of this all around the world - that outcome will be decided by our people," he said.
"I think that is ... like democracy, the least worst possible way of doing it."
Mr Giam said that each political party and each political candidate has to make a conscious decision to act responsibly and act in the interest of the country.
"I don't think just having multiple parties is automatically going to make sure that everything balances out. There will be good parties, there will be bad parties. The ultimate judge of this will be the people of Singapore."

NCMP Hazel Poa from the Progress Singapore Party in a panel discussion at the Institute of Policy Studies' Singapore Perspectives Conference 2021 on Aug 25, 2021. (Photo: Jacky Ho for IPS)

Ms Poa, a PSP central executive council member, said that she did not see more divisiveness in Parliament even with more representation from different parties.
"I think we should keep an open mind and evolve our own model," she added.
"When we are faced with a climate where the choices are not so clear, the way forward is uncertain, then it is too risky to continue to rely on a one-party system ... it would always make sense to have a backup plan."

 

[laksaboy]

Nope, it's up to the Familee. Sinkies decide nothing.

The Familee had already decided who would be the President.

 

[Tarkett]

Malaysian teaching sinkies how to choose president

 

[glockman]

Who the fuck does he think he is? To even dare talk on this subject.

 

[sweetiepie]

He was responding to a question from the audience on the prospect of a non-Chinese Prime Minister, while participating in an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) panel entitled Politics in Singapore 2030, alongside Aljunied Member of Parliament Gerald Giam and Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa. The panel was moderated by Dr Gillian Koh of IPS

KNN my uncle say KNNBCCB KNN if my uncle is 1 of the audience he is finished KNN luckily all the audience were just puppet dummies KNN

 

[Cottonmouth]

Is it up to Sinkies to choose a fake Malay president?

 

[Loofydralb]

This pundek, appears to harbour ambitions to be PM.
Anyway the pundek doesn't realise there is an anti discriminatory law in the constitution, so the people don't get to decide.

 

[millim6868]

CB, 61% better wakeup

 

[tanwahtiu]

U ahneh fucker go get yr flithy dirty ahneh PM... go fuck back to India...

Who the fuck does he think he is? To even dare talk on this subject.

 

[knnccb]

good lah like that means more cecas can flood in, song boh?

 

[pvtpublic]

we are not ready for Malaysians to become our PM. they have a stink about their character.

 

[knnccb]

ramesh can be pm boh?

 

[bobby]

That is in fact a very racist statement from a Minister...