Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Election Errata!

It turns out I was terribly mistaken! The Tans ARE easy to tell apart. On the ballott sheet, not only are there black and white pictures, but also symbols!! That's right, the presidential candidates each have their own symbol. I was quite confused (glasses? But they all wear glasses. And is that an aboriginal headpiece?), but I found the answer:
The heart stands for conscience and empathy (I thought love, but I was again wrong).
The hand-bubble stands for the Voice of the People. But there's more! The five fingers, (consistent with chinese reflexology), represent honesty, fairness, a positive attitude, courage and public service. However I'm not sure if these are features of the Tan or of the People...
Anyway the headdress palm leaf represents: "the multiracial society, the trunk represents them coming together (the races?), and the roots represents (sic) people taking root in Singapore" (roots however not shown).
The glasses represent, well, glasses. However, Mr. Tan adds: "No one has ever ruined his or her eyesight by taking a long-term view".