SINGAPORE: Opposition leader Tan Cheng Bock has congratulated former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for winning the presidential election held on Sept 1 (Friday). Dr Tan had last week endorsed another candidate, former chief executive officer of NTUC Income, Mr Tan Kin Lian.
In a Sunday afternoon (Sept 3) Facebook post, the Chairman of Progress Singapore Party commended Mr Tan and former chief investment officer of GIC, Mr Ng Kok Song, for “stepping up and giving Singaporeans a chance to vote”, adding that “they were very courageous to step forward as underdogs.”
Dr Tan praised Mr Tharman for his “well-organised and dignified campaign, embodied in his motto ‘Respect For All’.”
He recognized that the former Deputy Prime Minister “is the people’s choice by an overwhelming margin and has received the people’s clear mandate to serve Singapore”.
Dr Tan ended his post by writing that “the next presidential term now belongs to Tharman Shanmugaratnam. He is a good man with high levels of competence and character.
I want to wish him every success as our 9th elected President.”
Dr Tan served as a Member of Parliament under the People’s Action Party from 1980 to 2006, which means that he and the President-elect overlapped in their time in Parliament.
Mr Tharman was also a longtime PAP MP, representing Jurong GRC from 2001 till he resigned from the party to stand for election as president in July 2023.
Last Sunday (Aug 27), Dr Tan voiced support for Mr Tan Kin Lian, appearing with him at a walkabout at People’s Park Food Centre as well as 2011 presidential contestant Tan Jee Say.
He said in a Facebook post that day that he was endorsing Mr Tan in his personal capacity “because Singaporeans want transparency and accountability. Having another establishment endorsed candidate as president will not provide this”.
/TISG
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