SINGAPORE: Tan Suee Chieh, the former chief executive officer of NTUC Income, posted on social media what is tantamount to an endorsement of the Workers’ Party (WP) candidate for Punggol GRC, Harpreet Singh Nehal.
Mr Tan, who explained that he is a longtime supporter of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and thinks well of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, underlined that his political allegiance has not shifted, but added that “like many, I recognise that Singapore’s political culture must change”.
He explained that he personally knows Mr Singh, who was his lawyer in 2022, and believes that “strengthening diverse, capable voices in Parliament — like Harpreet Singh Nehal’s — will serve our nation’s future”.
Interestingly, Mr Tan tagged a number of political leaders in his April 30 Facebook post, namely PM Wong, Ministers K Shanmugam, Tan See Leng, Josephine Teo, Edwin Tong, and Vivian Balakrishnan; Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chair and former PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock, and Mr Harpreet Singh himself.
In the past few days, Mr Tan wrote two open letters that have received a lot of attention. In the first one, published on April 27, he appealed to voters in Jalan Kayu SMC, urging them to hold NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng accountable for the aborted Income Insurance-Allianz deal. Mr Ng is hoping to return to Parliament through a win at Jalan Kayu.
In a second open letter on April 28, Mr Tan publicly called on Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong to address unresolved concerns surrounding the blocked deal. He said that the issue is a matter of leadership, governance, and public trust.
In a rally that night, Mr Singh asked if the Deputy Prime Minister would answer Mr Tan’s questions.
Mr Tan wrote on April 29 that “Singapore stands at an important crossroads” and added that he has been “offering reflections on how we can renew our resilience.”
He attached a two-page document to his post, explaining his political views and relationship to the WP candidate.
While he wishes PM Wong success “in leading a transformational national reset”, he recognises that there may be fewer PAP MPs — but he believes that “if handled well”, this will be to Singapore’s advantage.
Regarding Mr Singh, he wrote that the latter had been his lawyer when he raised private objections regarding the corporatisation of NTUC Income, because he wanted to make sure his representations were “legally sound and appropriately framed”.
Last July, Mr Tan engaged Mr Singh again at the beginning of the Allianz-Income deal, though he was unaware at that point of Mr Singh’s political interests.
“The Allianz-Income issue was about integrity and public trust, not politics.
“From my professional dealings with Mr. Harpreet Singh Nehal, I can say:
“1. His professional standards are high, and his strategic thinking is excellent.
“2. He has maintained strict confidentiality and professionalism at all times.
“3. He had no prior knowledge of my recent public postings about Jalan Kayu or Punggol, nor this current one.
“4. He has never sought my endorsement for his political activities in any way.
“I believe that someone of Harpreet’s calibre, Parliament would strengthen, not weaken, professionalism and ethical standards serving Singapore’s governance, resilience, and adaptability,” wrote Mr Tan. /TISG