Former deputy prime minister Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam has become the island state's seventh president, winning the four-corner election by 7269 votes or a 0.34 per cent margin following a recount.

Tony Tan elected Singapore President

Tan Cheng Bock was in my opinion a better candidate to move Singapore forward, as he has in the past exhibited better transparency, and a closer relationship with the citizens.

The Peoples Action Party (P.A.P.) won the last election in over-all Government over The Workers Party (W.P.), but most people I talk to , in particular the younger citizens, are in favor of the W.P, and some predict that within the next 2-3 elections, the P.A.P will lose its grip-which goes all the way back to 1965 , when Lee Kuan Yew formed Singapores independance from Malaysia.
Although some will argue that Malysia kicked Singapore out, because Yew and his constiuants would not..'Go along with the Program'.

Mr. Lee was ahead of his time back in '65, and has done much for Singapore- they have passed the U.S. as 'The place' to do business, and have a higher quality of living than the States. (you dont see people along the road with signs that say "Will work for food".)

Time will tell if Mr. Bock can deliver on his promises, and keep Singapore running like the well oiled machine that it is currently.

If Tan takes heed to Mr. Lee's belief of Social Darwinism..said he >"Either you bend with the times-or you become extinct", he should do alright.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Is Singapore the most affluent nation in the region?

Is dual-citizenship or some form of stable, long-term residence by an American easy to accomplish?

Actually I would have liked to see Bock win.

But Dr. Tan is solid-just only from the Old School/old Gaurd times of Lee Quan Yew.

As of yet there is no such thing as dual-citizenship here-but it is on the drawing table-and being discussed/considered.

*In terms of 'Permanent Residency'-which I have, no-it is not easy to get.

My connection in C.I.D, who also works closely with Immigration, explains it like this> "Most of the P.R.'s (Permanent Residences) that are issued, are for women from third world country's like Vietnam,Rural China etc..who marry local Singaporean men. These men are usually over 40 yrs of age, and have discovered that the local Singaporean women are not interested in them. (The local women are looking to the West for partners).
On many, many occasions, it turns out that these outside women are prostitutes, or become prostitutes, bar-girls etc..And then we have Social problems these women bring with them" unquote.

*Therefore, not many P.R.'s are given out to Caucasions-unless of course the caucasion marry's a local.

In my case, I obtained my P.R. just as the door was closing on caucasions, and actually used a strategy when I went to Immigration to discuss my application-that I derived from consulting Aklim (not sure if I ever thanked him).

The strategy was> "It's either my town or her town. If I am approved she continues in her job-I find work-and we both pump $ into Singapores economy. If I am not approved-we get on the first thing smoking-and pump $ into another economy"

As it stands now, I can after 3 years as a P.R. either re-up my Permanent Resident status..or apply for citizenship here. But- applying for citizenship would mean that I would need to denounce my U.S. citizenship-which isnt going to happen.

Singapore , becuase of its position in the region (land wise), is now the financial hub of S.E. Asia, with the 4th highest standard of living in the world- surpassing the U.S.

So, if a person wants to do business in S.E. Asia-Singapore is a very good place to do it.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

^^^

Isn't the flip side that it's very restrictive, undemocratic, and rigid? If you want "clean and well-run", why not look at somewhere like Switzerland (if you don't need to be in Asia)?

I have no desire to live in Europe.

As far as 'rigid/restrictive' are concerned- I have no problems or restrictions of movement.

If you want 'clean and well-run'' there has to be order.

If you desire to live in a place where the Government has an extremely low level of corruption/lies...(in fact-the lowest in the world)..this is where you would want to be.

I had enough of government lies/corruption in the States. Thank you.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

You suppose they could find a way for a job-producing entrepreneur to spend time there without giving up his citizenship?

I don't think Europe is for me.

I for one would rather live in an Euro country that's fairly well-run, but isn't as heavy handed as Singapore. They may be honest about their heavy handedness, but they're still heavy handed.

For one thing, I enjoy the green herb at times, and would prefer not to be hanged or jailed for partaking in my tastes. For another, applying libel laws to suppress opposition candidates doesn't smack of honesty to me.

Entrereneur's are most welcome here, in fact, most of the caucasions here are 'Job-producing Entrepreneur's'.

While I am not absolutely sure the criteria..I believe the Government would give you a 2 year pass-provided you are operating a business, and then provideing everything goes well during those 2 years- you just re-up, and continue getting 2 year passes.

Unless of course after the first 2 year period-you decide that you want Permanant Residency status, then at that time you would more than likely be granted it.


No need to marry a local..No need to denounce your citizenship.

Just do business and come and go as you please.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Well, they do tend to frown upon drug addicts here...no use for them actually.

Drug addicts are better suited to live in the U.S. or Europe.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.

Not an addict. Just enjoy ingesting or inhaling cannabis once in a while. (Implying that I'm an addict is no different than calling someone who takes a drink once a week a raging alkie.)

Do the losers get caned?

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Yessir !!

They have their hind-ends torn up so bad, they cant sit down for quite some time.

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CHILCUTT~
The secret to a long life. Is knowing when it is time to leave.