Tan Kin Lian says he will be “a president who is truly independent of the ruling government”

SINGAPORE: During his speech on Nomination Day (Aug 22) Speech, Tan Kin Lian said that he wants to give the people of Singapore a “chance to vote for a president who is truly independent of the ruling government”.

A three-way contest for the presidency is officially underway between former GIC investment chief Ng Kok Song, 75, former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, and former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian, 75.

“If I am elected I will carry out my duties as set out in the constitution diligently, honestly, and to the best of my ability. These duties are to safeguard the reserves and to uphold the integrity of the public service. I ask for your support so that I can do my best for the people”, Mr Tan Kin Lian said before delivering his speech in Mandarin and Malay.

 

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Midway through his Malay speech, the audio was cut off as each candidate was only given two minutes to speak.

Mr Tan later told the media that he hoped his supporters would elect him to be an “independent president”, so he could do his best to use the influence of the President’s Office to make life better for all the people in Singapore.

More than 2.7 million Singaporeans will head to the polls on Sept 1, which has been declared a public holiday.

The three candidates had all successfully filed their nomination papers on Tuesday, with Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui officially announcing the trio as candidates at 12.39 pm.

All three had arrived at the nomination centre at the People’s Association headquarters in Jalan Besar, ahead of the noon deadline.

Mr Ng was accompanied by his fiancee Sybil Lau, Mr Tharman was with his wife, Jane Ittogi, and Mr Tan was with his wife Tay Siew Hong. /TISG

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