SINGAPORE: Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian has promised to be a faithful steward of Singapore’s reserves while championing the concerns of the people if he is elected head of state, pointing to his incredible performance at NTUC Income when he was at the helm of the cooperative.
NTUC Income’s assets grew from S$28 million to a whopping S$17 billion during his 30-year tenure as CEO. Asserting that this careful stewardship is a testament to how qualified he is for the presidential office, Mr. Tan told the media this week:
“Over 30 years managing the assets has been very important, and I have certain principles about investing for the long term, investing in the secure Investments to give a good long-term return.”
Mr Tan, who contested the last open presidential election in 2011, is widely seen as the “true independent” of the four contenders who have thrown their hats into the race.
All three of the other hopefuls, ex-Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, ex-GIC chief economist Ng Kok Song, and ex-diplomat and entrepreneur George Goh Ching Wah, have all made promises of independence but Mr Tan is the only prospective candidate who has been openly critical of Government policies, championing the common man, over the years.
Mr. Tan, a regular figure at the Speakers’ Corner, has previously criticized the Government’s changes to the CPF withdrawal rule, the MediShield scheme, and the issues at SMRT. He has also spoken up for Singaporeans who lost their savings in the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008 and, more recently, the Hyflux collapse.
While Mr. Tan has said that he is contesting this year’s election to “continue to be the voice of the people” and that he wants to be “independent of the government”, he has promised to take a collaborative approach with the Government if elected.
He said, “To make a change, you cannot be in confrontation. It doesn’t produce a result. Even the government side must also recognize that you need to hear the voices of other sides.”
Asserting that he wants to be a president who amplifies the people’s concerns to the Government but does not want to descend into political power plays, he added, “I don’t intend to be involved in politics because politics does not solve problems. Even the government must also not play politics. We just want to see what is the best solution to the problems that people face. ”
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