SINGAPORE — Former NTUC Income CEO Tan Kin Lian is making a second presidential bid after an unsuccessful contest in 2011. He launched his campaign on Friday, Aug 11, at the Copthorne King’s Hotel, accompanied by two prominent opposition figures – Tan Jee Say and Lim Tean – who were introduced as his proposer and seconder, respectively. Prabu Ramachandran, a People’s Voice party member, was named his principal election agent.
With the campaign slogan ‘Bring Back Trust, Give Us Hope,’ Tan intends to play an active role should he be given the mandate as the president.
“The president has to perform two key duties set out in the constitution. To safeguard our past reserves and to protect the integrity of our public service. If elected, I intend to perform these two key duties diligently, honestly, and to the best of my ability.”
Regarding the losses reported by Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds in recent years, Tan commented, “We should acknowledge that the market values of investments will fluctuate from year to year based on the underlying conditions of the global economy.”
He added that we should not judge the performance of the past years with the benefit of hindsight and with inadequate knowledge of the actual conditions that influence the investment decisions.
“I intend to ensure these lessons are properly identified and learnt so that we can make better policy and operating decisions in the future. The actual monitoring will be the duty of the board of directors, but they will receive my advice and guidance on the approach to be taken,” shared Tan.
The former NTUC Income CEO explained that he intends to work closely with the government to ensure that the past reserves are used wisely for the benefit of the current and future generations.
Tan Kin Lian’s proposer, Tan Jee Say, was a candidate in the 2011 President Election in a multi-corner contest. Tony Tan emerged as the eventual winner with a slim margin of 35.20%, over Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s 34.85%. Tan Jee Say garnered 25.04% of the votes, while Tan Kin Lian received 4.91%.
“He (Tan Kin Lian) will make a good president. For someone who lost his deposit in the 2011 presidential election, it definitely takes a lot of courage to place himself at the mercy of the voters to contest again. No matter what, I think we all can admit that courage is commendable,” expressed Tan Jee Say during the press conference.
Besides Tan Kin Lian, three others have expressed their intention to contest in the upcoming Presidential Election. They are former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, ex-GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song, and entrepreneur George Goh.
In the 2017 Presidential Election, Presidential Halimah Yacob was elected unopposed as two aspiring candidates Farid Khan and Salleh Marican failed to obtain their certificate of eligibility.
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