Event report – “What do you do, Mr President?” forum on 20 August 2011

28 August 2011


The forum, organised by Singapore human rights Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) aimed to provide clarity on the role of the Elected Presidency before citizens go to the polls on 27th of August 2011 to vote for a new president.

Dr Kevin YL Tan, one of Singapore’s constitutional law experts, gave a concise review of the role of the president, culminating in a list of possible grey areas arising from the said presidential functions within the Constitution. Next, Mr Alex Au, blogger at Yawning Bread, analysed 2011 – the year of watershed elections and what could possibly be on the other side.
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Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (23 August 2011)

28 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.) Note: Zaobao coverage is unavailable for 23 August.

Our findings on 23 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (22 August 2011)

28 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.) Note: Zaobao coverage is unavailable for 22 August.

Our findings on 22 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (21 August 2011)

28 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.) Note: Coverage for 21 August includes Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu, and also photos from the media coverage of candidates on 24 August.

Our findings on 21 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (20 August 2011)

22 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.) Note: Coverage for 20 August includes Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu.

Our findings on 20 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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Media reports on MARUAH public forum on Presidential Elections 2011

21 August 2011

Yahoo News and Lianhe Zaobao reported on a public forum organised by MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore), held on 20 August 2011, on the upcoming Presidential Elections.

The links to the reports can be found below.
Yahoo News – ‘Voters’ expectations could shape President’s role’
Lianhe Zaobao – 宪法专家:民选总统职权 有许多“灰色地带”


Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (19 August 2011)

21 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.) Note: Coverage for 19 August includes Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu.

Our findings on 19 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (18 August 2011)

21 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.) Note: Coverage for 18 August includes Berita Harian.

Our findings on 18 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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Media monitoring of Presidential Elections (17 August 2011)

19 August 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) is conducting an election watch project on the Presidential Elections. This follows a similar project conducted by MARUAH during the General Elections in May 2011.

We will monitor the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY, New Paper, and Lianhe Zaobao. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.)

Our findings on 17 August 2011 are set out below. You can also download all of the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each candidate (in column inches)

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“What do you do, Mr President?” – Forum on the Presidential Elections (Note: change of venue)

2 August 2011

Join our discussants, Dr Kevin Tan and Mr Alex Au, as we review the presidential elections this August.

Date: 20th August 2011, Saturday

Time: 3.30pm to 5.00pm

Venue: 9 Penang Road, #13-15 Park Mall (map)

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) has put together this public forum to continue our key role in increasing public awareness of Singapore’s election processes and our country’s constitutional matters.

We strongly believe that information is crucial to acting and voting responsibly. The Presidential Elections and the mandate it confers on the Elected President has to be clearly discussed so that the Singaporeans can make informed choices.

Our speakers, a constitutional expert and an activist blogger, have been asked to share with us their insight and knowledge on the mandate of the Elected President and how we can make decisions that is the best for Singapore.

This Forum has also been timed to take place in advance of the Presidential polling date (which at this point is yet to be announced) and we hope that through this Forum, Singaporeans will be made aware of their rights as citizens and their responsibilities as voters.

To register, please visit this link.

About the speakers

Alex Au Waipang is a well-known web commentator, writing on Yawning Bread. His cutting and insightful analysis on society and politics has not only earned him a loyal following, but the attention of opinion of policy makers from time to time. In activism, he is primarily known for his work in equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons but has also spoken out for civil liberties, abolition of the death penalty, fair treatment for migrant workers, and human rights in general. Au has contributed chapters to several books that look at politics and governance in Singapore, most recently a chapter on political parties’ performance in the general election of 2011 in Voting in Change (Ethos Books).

Kevin YL Tan has been teaching constitutional law for the past 25 years. A graduate of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and of Yale Law School, he has written and edited over 25 books on law, history and politics. He is currently Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and Adjunct Professor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.