President? George Yeo Yong-Boon

Papers had reported 15 representatives of former Foreign Minister George Yeo, between the age of 16 and 41, were at the Elections Department at about 1pm yesterday, to collect forms for a certificate of eligibility for him to contest the Presidential Elections. 

The supporters said they are hopeful Mr Yeo will run for the Presidential Election.
The youths are very comfortable with Mr Yeo's brand of leadership as he has devoted a considerable amount of time interacting with young people.
He had often speak and listen to them in informal groups and organised dialogues.  
Thus, they believe Mr Yeo is the type of leader the younger generation will rally around, since he had made an earlier promise to engage the younger generation. 

The promise had made him more appealing to them, and these youths really wish for a free-spirited Mr President who will be able to communicate openly and very open to new ideas when meeting new people, from all walks of life. 
Mr Yeo is known to have attended and supports many youth driven community projects and events.
He is said to be "energised" by the younger generation and "constantly learns from them". 

Mr Yeo is known to be close to the people on the ground, the very most important essence to these youths, someone who is able to have a sense of the people.

A 36-year-old Lien We King said he received a phone call from Mr Yeo on Sunday evening, asking him to help collect the forms on his behalf.

Mr Yeo had left for Taiwan yesterday morning, to offer his gratitude and thanks in person to the Tzu Chi Stem Cell Center for saving the life of his leukemia patient son. 
The stem cell centre had given his son a bone marrow transplant.

He is expected to return to Singapore in 10 days time. 
The forms will then be passed on to him. 

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Mr Yeo was the first Singaporean Minister to start blogging, and he had blogged since August 2006
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He then moved on to Facebook and is one of the most active Singaporean politician on it, with over 85,000 friends and supporters. 

On Sunday, on his Facebook page, Mr Yeo wrote,
'In case the presidential election writ is issued while I'm away, some young friends will collect the eligibility forms for me.
'It is a big decision which I hope to make two weeks from now after taking in views n advice from many people. I ask for your patience n understanding.'

Mr Yeo had earlier ruled himself out as a presidential candidate, despite numerous calls for him to run after he lost his seat in Parliament in the recent General Election.
His People's Action Party (PAP) team was defeated by the Workers' Party in Aljunied GRC.

After 23-years in politics, and following his intended exit, Mr George Yeo finally spoke the unspoken that there is a deep resentment among Singaporeans towards the ruling party.
He called on the PAP to listen harder, and to take into account people’s unease over the pace of change driven by globalisation.

Mr George Yeo is considered one of the more liberal-minded ministers in the PAP.
He feedbacked the ground sentiments to PM Lee that not just the question about policies, not just the minds, but the hearts needed address too.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong then frankly apologise publicly for the regime’s mistakes during a lunchtime rally at UOB.

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Earlier, when asked about running for president, Mr Yeo told a press conference on May 10 that he did not think he was 'temperamentally suited for such a job' as he considered himself 'a free spirit'.

However, he sparked off online discussion after announcing on Wednesday, June 1, that he was 'thinking hard' about reconsidering running for President.

His just two short lines posted,  
'Many Singaporeans from different walks of life, young and old, have asked me to reconsider my decision on the Presidency, some impassionately,' he wrote.

About reconsidering running for President, 'Thinking hard about it and praying for wisdom.' 

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If Mr Yeo does contest in the Presidential Election, he would be the second candidate from the PAP to do so.

His Facebook post had attracted more than 2,000 'likes' and more than 700 comments from netizens, most of whom supported him being a candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
He is set to be the more popular choice for President.

His experience in different ministries will be useful in carrying out presidential duties, since he had established diplomatic foreign relationships with important politicians of other countries.

Mr Yeo was part of the People's Action Party (PAP) team which contested in the recent May 7 General Election.
PAP team lost the Aljunied GRC constituency to The Workers’ Party team, with 54.71% of the votes.

In the recent General Elections, many voters has shown unhappiness with the ruling party, but this negative sentiment does not seem to extend to Mr Yeo.
The former Foreign Minister is still very popular and many have lamented that he is a victim of the Group Representative Constituency (GRC) Scheme.

In a twist of an event, now, Mr George Yeo Yong-Boon has a very definite advantage of he running for President. 

The first person to contest in the presidential Election is the former MP Tan Cheng Bock. 
Unlike Mr George Yeo who is still a member of the ruling party's central executive committee, Dr Tan has since resigned from the PAP. 

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George Yeo: A Man Of All Season  

As Singapore’s Foreign Minister of nearly seven years, Mr George Yeo will leave a legacy of strategic thinking, cultural diplomacy and friendship, writes Professor Tommy Koh

ONE of my hopes for the 2011 General Elections was that those who won would be magnanimous and those who lost would be gracious.
Foreign Minister George Yeo was gracious in defeat. In his concession speech, he congratulated Mr Low Thia Khiang and his Workers’ Party team on their victory and wished them success. Of the other defeated candidates, only Mr Desmond Choo of the People’s Action Party and Ms Nicole Seah of the National Solidarity Party were just as gracious.
A man’s character can be gleaned from his conduct, both in victory and in defeat. Mr Yeo is a gentleman and an honourable man, whatever the conditions.
I have had the pleasure of working under his leadership in three of his ministerial portfolios. He was our first minister of the then Ministry of Information and the Arts, or Mita. During nine years at Mita, he changed Singapore from a so-called cultural desert to a cultural oasis.
He appointed Mr Tan Chin Nam chairman of the newly created National Library Board-and Mr Tan, together with Mr Christopher Chia, revolutionised our library system and made it one of the best in the world. Mr Yeo also appointed Mr Lim Chee Onn chairman of the National Heritage Board, and me, chairman of the National Arts Council.
It was under his leadership that the Esplanade was built, the Asian Civilisations Museum was envisioned, the Arts Festival was made an annual event, the LaSalle College of the Arts took off, and the Government agreed, for the first time, to subsidise arts education. Today, Singaporeans enjoy a rich and varied cultural life. They should not forget the person who planted the seeds that have blossomed.
Mr Yeo brought the same energy, imagination and enthusiasm to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He realised that because trade is Singapore’s life blood, it should play a proactive leadership role in global trade forums like the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He quickly won the admiration and trust of his peers. They asked him to chair the negotiations on agriculture, one of the most contentious issues. WTO director-general Pascal Lamy is an admirer of Mr Yeo.
In order to enlarge Singapore’s economic space, Mr Yeo championed the idea of linking Singapore’s economy with other economies by way of free trade agreements (FTAs) and comprehensive economic partnership (CEP) agreements. During his watch, he launched more than a dozen FTA and CEP negotiations.
He appointed me chief negotiator in our negotiations with the United States. During the journey of two years, we encountered many difficulties. Throughout, Mr Yeo remained calm, optimistic and creative. He worked relentlessly with the different stakeholders in the US to earn their support and to find acceptable solutions to the difficulties. In the final stage of the negotiations, there was a shortlist of issues that the two chief negotiators could not resolve. Those issues were finally resolved by Mr Yeo and his American counterpart, Mr Robert Zoellick, in a marathon negotiating session that extended through the night without dinner and ended successfully at dawn. Members of the Singapore delegation were deeply impressed by the cool and masterly way in which Mr Yeo had negotiated with Mr Zoellick.
Mr Yeo has been Singapore’s Foreign Minister for nearly seven years now. He inherited a ministry in good order as a result of the legacy of Mr S. Rajaratnam, Mr S. Dhanabalan, Mr Wong Kan Seng and Professor S. Jayakumar. What contributions did Mr Yeo make to that heritage? I would single out three.
First, he taught us to think strategically and to prioritise. He constantly asked his staff to ensure that our most important bilateral relationships were in excellent order. He scanned the horizon for new opportunities - such as in the Middle East and Latin America.
Second, he was the first foreign minister to use history and culture as instruments of diplomacy. He persuaded the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to restore the Sun Yat Sen Villa and to turn it into a historic site linking Singapore, China and Taiwan. He requested that the National Heritage Board restore the memorial to Subhas Chandra Bose, who is celebrated in India as a nationalist and independence fighter. It was due to the leadership of Mr Yeo, a Roman Catholic, and of former Indian president Abdul Kalam, a Muslim, that the ancient Buddhist university at Nalanda, Bihar is being reincarnated.
Third, Mr Yeo believes in the importance of friendship in diplomacy. He often invited his foreign guests to his home to have dinner with him and his family. He went out of his way to show warmth and friendship to his foreign interlocutors. When Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar was Malaysia’s foreign minister, Mr Yeo visited him in his constituency in Malaysia to pay his respects during Hari Raya.
Mr Yeo is blessed with high IQ, EQ and CQ - cultural intelligence. He is an exceptionally gifted man. Although an engineer by training and a soldier by profession, he is also a philosopher and historian. Although a devout Roman Catholic, he is a champion of inter-faith dialogue and understanding. Mr George Yeo is ideally qualified to play a leadership role on the global stage, and I sincerely hope he will do so.

The writer is special adviser to the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore.

Source: News Today - May 11, 2011

Java's Merapi And Its Green Lady

Merapi is being associated with Mbah Marijan. But to associate Merapi with Nyai Gadung Melati too? Who is Nyai Gadung Melati? 

Channel News Asia did interview Mbah Marijan and I happened to watch the programme when it was shown - on October 26, the Tuesday that he was found dead, buried under Merapi's ash.
His life is believed to have been snapped instantly by the 1,000-degree Celsius cloud of gas and ash.  
His responsibility as Merapi's gatekeeper led to his refusal to evacuate the October 26 eruption and his body was found in a praying position. He died still honouring his words as Merapi's gatekeeper - with responsibility well intact. 
As he had said in 2006, "Everybody has their duty. Reporter, soldier, police, they have their duty. I also have a duty to stand here".
The Yogyakarta Palace, where he was a chosen palace servant (hamba dalem) there, was said that the palace had 'known long before it happened that Mbah Marijan would be taken by Merapi'.

The late Mbah Marijan is a well respected man who lived only about 5 kilometres (3m) from Merapi's peak in his home village of Kinahrejo.
The Merapi's folks believe the late Mbah Marijan had the ability to communicate with the Merapi's 'unseen beings'.
They believed he would be warned in a vision if an eruption was imminent.

The late Mbah Marijan is known for his dedication and loyalty to the king.
He was a chosen palace servant (abdi dalem) for the Yogyakarta Sultanate in 1970 by Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and was named Mas Penewu Suraksohargo by the sultan.
His duty was, as an assistant to his father who was the then Merapi's gatekeeper until the father's death on March 3, 1982, when Mbah Marijan became the official Merapi's gatekeeper.
He spoke using refined 'palace' (Kraton) language - always soothing to the ears.

For Yogyakarta Sultanate, Merapi holds a significant cosmological symbolism, because it is forming a sacred north-south axis line between Merapi peak and Southern Ocean (Indian Ocean).
Merapi peak is a sacred axis - according to Javanese ancestral belief - the axis runs along Malioboro street to Northern Alun alun (square) across Yogyakarta's Kraton, and to the southern Alun-alun, all the way to Bantul -  Bantul's batiks  had been considered as world heritage by the UN.
The Sultan of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX for now, is the leader of the Javanese kingdom.

Because of the history that goes way back before Islam came to the country, even though Indonesia is acknowledged as a republic country, Yogyakarta , or Solo to some, is always a 'special state' (D.I.Y - Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) to the Indonesians, especially the Javanese.

Mount Merapi

Merapi, which elevates on the main Java island, plays a great role in Javanese way of life, beliefs and livings - its more than just a volcanic mountain - Merapi is a special Javanese heritage and the heritage is a living thing too - it breathes - smoke can be seen emerging from the mountaintop almost all year round.
Merapi, being the youngest in a group of volcanoes in southern Java, is growing.
And as any growing human, a massive lava dome 'formed its height' near the tip of Merapi's crater.

As human who has to be look after, and whose body temperature undergoing subtle changes when not feeling well, so is Mount Merapi - It breathes, it grows, it sneezes, it coughs, it clears its phlegm, it sleeps and now it has awakened! - Not eruption -  Experts monitoring Merapi's awakening were reported as being 'baffled' despite earlier predictions that the earlier eruptions following the initial blast in the earlier weeks would ease pressure of building up behind a magma dome.

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Mbah Marijan was surprised when Nyai Gadung Melati did appear in his dream. 
Something BIG is going to happen???
Only GOD knows, but it is not a good sign as Nyai Gadung Melati would occasionally appears in dreams of some 'selected' Merapi's villagers - to warn them of the coming Merapi's eruption. 
Mount Merapi and all mountain that matter, need to be pleased, need to be look after. 

Nyai Gadung Melati is fourth in line to Merapi unseen monarchy headed by King Kiyai Merapi. 
These 'unseen beings' to the naked eyes, made of fire by THE CREATOR, has its palace (Kraton) in Merapi's crater.  
Kiyai Merapi's main man, Kiyai Sapu Jagad, holds the key to the volcano and its pending eruption - but all eruption is not without its own mystical origins - mankind contributed to the factor too.  
Third in line is Kiyai Megantara, in charge of weather and the surroundings.  

Merapi has nine 'unseen guardians' and Nyai (Lady) Gadung Melati ( Leaf Green), the fourth, is in charge of merapi's environment - vegetations and animals - with staff of hundreds of ladies, are said all dressed in green - and their main duty is to look after Merapi's greeneries and fertility. 

Nyai  Gadung Melati is assisted too by Ada Kartadimeja - overseeing livestocks and always appear in common Merapi villagers' dreams about the coming eruption and steps that need to be taken.
The villagers living on Merapi's slopes rely on natural signs rather than official orders - usually they heeded not government warnings of evacuation, but the advice of the mountain’s official 'gatekeeper'. 
Or, they dream of Ada Kartadimeja, or some fortunate ones would dream of Nyai Gadung Melati.
Beside dreams, the villagers too, will always be on the look out for lightning around Merapi's peak, thundering clouds and days of ash raining down, or animals unusual activities and these animals' moving down the Merapi's slopes.

All mountains in Java islands are the dwelling places of the 'unseen beings' - so is Mount Merapi.
Their dwelling places and the surroundings need to be acknowledged, should not be disturbed - and the local folks knew that pretty well.
Unnecessary forest clearing is strictly forbidden!!!
Shifting or looting of forests' possessions have its consequences.

Javanese folks are known for their choicest of words, lest these words are offending to the ears, not only to mankind, but to the 'unseen beings' too - These 'unseen beings' hear and understand the conversations of human beings around them, and they just know how it is to be hurt.
These 'unseen beings' live with mother nature, appreciate mother nature, and they expect the same harmony living with us, human beings - not relieving ourselves - anywhere human beings assumed all-right, no eyes seeing them.
Not anywhere, any place in the forest is a relieving place. Some places up the mountain is sacred too. 

Local folks know and understand what should and should not be done, but not outsiders - and this seemed to anger Nyai Gadung Melati.
She feels ashamed, she feels hurt with them, seeing their abhor characters.

In 2004, the Ministry of Forestry declared a 6,410 hectares national park around Mount Merapi - the local residents were baffled.
During the 2006 Merapi 'awakened', local residents were reluctant to leave fearing their residences would be confiscated for further expansion of the national park.

Despite the devastation, lives lost and homes destroyed, Merapi's dwellers accept their fate - it's DIVINE retribution. 
The spate of recent disasters are warning signs to those who are out of touch with nature and not keeping and honouring their positions which they had promised to shoulder.

Indonesia, with 220 million people, which Muslims being the majority, greatly believe the 'unseen beings' - either in religious context or by way of ancestral belief: The spiritual past and an unseen kingdom that exists in Merapi's crater.

After thousands of years living dangerously, and Islam being the religion of most Javanese, it is hard to shed off the mythology and belief alongside the majority's religious believe.