What has President Nathan done for our nation?


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mattlock

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Feb 28, 2004
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I find the media coverage over Andrew Kuan interesting, I thought it would be nice o know more also about what President Nathan has done for our nation in the past six years. I haven't been around for awhile so I am not too up to date with his work.
I'm looking for objective factual info so if anyone can fill me in that'll be most appreciated
 

mattlock said:
I'm looking for objective factual info so if anyone can fill me in that'll be most appreciated
This is a topic that can may be a bit politically sensitive but mattlock is looking for OBJECTIVE FACTUAL info so any OT or snide remarks will be removed and this thread locked. Otherwise pls feel free to discuss.

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other than being a fig head I don't seem to recall him doing much for SG. All those "President Star Chairty" will still be there whoever is the President. I guess most of us did not notice anything diff with President Nathan being the President
 

i am hoping to find out how he has performed as far as his constitutional role of holding second key to the nation's reserves. so far, none available as far as i what i have read.

his health condition. only read he is being monitored by doctors and under control. did he release his health report publicly?
 

He volunteered for a near-suicide mission. His past work and contribution to the Nation cannot be achieved by any Tom Mouse, Dick Dock or Harry Mouse. Recognising Nathan to the highest executive office in Singapore is a form of recognition to his past work done.

And no, I'm not joking abt the 'near-suicide mission' thing.
 

I've been checking up on the role of the president and here is what the Istana website states:

"Under the revision, the President is empowered to veto government budgets and appointments to public office. He can also examine the Government's exercise of its powers under the Internal Security Act and religious harmony laws, and in investigations into cases of corruption. The President must, however, consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before he takes a decision on some of these matters."

Is there any way of actually having factual information related to the job performance of President Nathan, relating to jobscope in the write-up above?

Maybe in lieu of the lack of information we can also compare his job performance to work done by previous Presidents like Wee Khim Wee and Ong Teng Cheong?

I'm interested also in reading personal viewpoints of President Nathan, does anyone have links to interviews with President Nathan or other Presidents in the past?
 

mattlock said:
Is there any way of actually having factual information related to the job performance of President Nathan, relating to jobscope in the write-up above?

Highly unlikely :bsmilie:
 

mattlock said:
I've been checking up on the role of the president and here is what the Istana website states:

"Under the revision, the President is empowered to veto government budgets and appointments to public office. He can also examine the Government's exercise of its powers under the Internal Security Act and religious harmony laws, and in investigations into cases of corruption. The President must, however, consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before he takes a decision on some of these matters."

Is there any way of actually having factual information related to the job performance of President Nathan, relating to jobscope in the write-up above?

AFAIK, President Nathan has not exercised any of these powers, unlike his predecessor the late President Ong Teng Cheong.
 

By the way, anyone knows who make up the Council of Presidential Advisers? Won't be surprised if M&M is in. ;p
 

zaren said:
AFAIK, President Nathan has not exercised any of these powers, unlike his predecessor the late President Ong Teng Cheong.

Yep, that is for sure.

Well, to me, our Mr. President has been safe-guarding our foreign reserves dutifully since his inception. What else? Charity shows, public event appearances, receiving envoys and guests from other countries, goodwill visits to our neighbours, always a big smile on his face, etc. He does make for a popular figure, towards the ruling party and the common folk alike.
 

tao said:
Yep, that is for sure.

Well, to me, our Mr. President has been safe-guarding our foreign reserves dutifully since his inception. What else? Charity shows, public event appearances, receiving envoys and guests from other countries, goodwill visits to our neighbours, always a big smile on his face, etc. He does make for a popular figure, towards the ruling party and the common folk alike.

All this and more is already being done by PM Lee Hsien Loong.

Why is there a need for a President?

:dunno:
 

tao said:
By the way, anyone knows who make up the Council of Presidential Advisers? Won't be surprised if M&M is in. ;p

looks like he is not inside
Copyright © 1999 President's Office, Republic of Singapore
Version 3.190, 5 April 2004
 

zaren said:
All this and more is already being done by PM Lee Hsien Loong.

Why is there a need for a President?

:dunno:

dual control as a safeguard in case PM is "tempted" to dip in reserves
 

The Persident's Star Charity was started by the late Ong Teng Cheong.

There's a book on him out in the bookshops, published by the SIngapore Heritage Society. If you want to review what President Nathan has done so far, a good yardstick would be the achievements by Ong TC when he was in office. I personally feel that Ong Teng Cheong was the best president Singapore has had so far.
 

we are in peace now, so where got things for Mr. President to do or exercise his power? Except hand over cheque to charities, or appear in charities function.

:)
 

Wasn't President Nathan the previous director of the Security and Intelligence Division (SID)? I read about this somewhere. If so, there could be information on his past roles that remain classified.
 

zaren said:
All this and more is already being done by PM Lee Hsien Loong.
Why is there a need for a President?
:dunno:

The president acts as a check. E.g. if an incompetent government comes on board and misuses the reserves, the president can exercise his veto powers. One possible scenario for example is the government using reserves to buy popular support.

You know lah, whenever the Singapore economy hits a bad patch, the first instinct for the layman is to ask for handouts from the country's reserves.

I believe (I could be wrong) the current government's policy is to only dig into the reserves during a national crisis (e.g. rebuilding after war), and not a recession.

So the presidency is a very important post.

I've always thought that the veto powers were introduced by the ruling party to safeguard the prosperity the country has achieved, in the event that the opposition gains control of the government. A prudent move.
 

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