Aku: Lagi satu *TAN* ...>> “I have not been asked by any party to come out and contest”

“I have not been asked by any party to come out and contest” – Presidential hopeful Tan Jee Say

Posted by theonlinecitizen on July 15, 201124 Comments

Joshua Chiang/

Mr Tan showed up at the Elections Department at 10.15am with his wife Patricia

Even though Mr Tan Jee Say has contested Holland-Bukit Timah GRC under the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) banner in the recent General Elections, he is confident that the public will not see him as partisan if he were elected President as he had only been with the SDP for 3 months.

On the other hand, the three other presidential hopefuls – Dr Tony Tan, Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Tan Kin Lian had been with the People’s Action Party for 10 to 20 years.

“The PAP DNA is still very strong in them,” the former principal private secretary to then DPM Goh Chok Tong told the press outside the Elections Department when he went to collect the forms for the presidential eligibility certificate on Friday morning.

In his press release, Mr Tan wrote that many Singaporeans want a non-PAP President whose independence of the PAP is clear, obvious and cannot be in doubt: “Only such a person can have the moral authority to fulfill the mission of Elected President which is to provide checks and balances on the PAP Government.”

Mr Tan formally resigned from the SDP this morning. He told the press that Sec Gen Dr Chee Soon Juan was ‘supportive’ of his decision but clarified that he had not been asked by any party to come out and contest the Presidential Elections.

“I just made the decision in the quietness of my bedroom in my house, and with my wife of course, “ he said. Mr Tan further revealed that he only arrived at the decision on Thursday night.

Among the handful of supporters who turned up, two – Ms Michelle Lee and Mr Fazlur Yusof were members of SDP. Another, Mr Bentley Tan was the Master of Ceremony for the SDP rallies during the General Elections.

President the ‘moral conscience of the nation’

On what he would do as President if elected, Mr Tan said that he would want to know how much there are in the reserves and if they had been put to good use, and if more money is needed to invest in the people, to use the second key to open up the reserves.

“I have a national regeneration plan that required 60 billion dollars – 12 billion every year for five years – so if they (the government) wants to invest in it, why not?”

He also stressed that he won’t make the Presidency is not another centre of power, instead, it will be the ‘moral conscience of the nation’. If elected, he will work with the government because he has to honor the wishes of the people who elected the government, but at the same time, the government cannot be right all the time. Mr Tan mentioned the building of the two casinos as an example where the government got it wrong.

“Why do you compromise your morals just to create jobs and then cry over it?” he asked rhetorically.

As such, even though it is up to the government to decide on which policies to implement at the end of the day, the President can nonetheless speak up on those issues.

“They will be moral pressure,” he emphasized.

--
Be part of the community! Join our Facebook Page!

5 Share

HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!

If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.

24 Responses to ““I have not been asked by any party to come out and contest” – Presidential hopeful Tan Jee Say”

Brendan15 July 2011
TAN…TAN…TAN…TAN!! (tune)
Time for elections, but not before the thick mud from the smearing.
Desirée Wu15 July 2011
Tan Jee Say is the best candidate so far.
He is completely independent of the PAP.
He is sincere, honest and of the highest integrity.
His Economic Regeneration Plan for Singapore is one of the clearest road maps proposed to date, that aims to get Singapore out of the morass that the PAP’s misguided policies have landed us in.
In terms of stature, he is as good as TT.

Having observed him during GE 2011, I can safely say that Tan Jee Say is as comfortable walking down the corridors of power as making his rounds in the heartlands with the touch of the common man.
As President, his ability to keep raising relevant issues with the PAP government will keep PAP on their toes. Keep rattling the PAP, exposing their fallacious arguments. This is vital.
Tan Jee Say is our best choice, period.
andrew leung15 July 2011
Vote for Tan Jee Say. PAP lost their way.
Hip Hip Hurray.
Duh15 July 2011
Desirée Wu 15 July 2011
Tan Jee Say is the best candidate so far.
*****************
I agree!!
JR15 July 2011
Mr. Jee Say, may the FORCE and all the BLESSINGS be with you.
PB Kuan15 July 2011
Yes,finally Singaporeans have a REAL choice. Someone who is totally decoupled and untarnished by the PAP in any form.
His Press Statement shows his grasps of the issues of the common man, his concern for speaking out for them, to be the moral conscience of the people.
What’s more, he understands how government policies work. People can launch any number of smears or criticisms against TKL or TCB, but it would be hard to seriously damage TJS’s credibility and eligibility to be our next President.
Ong Teng Chong15 July 2011
A person with previous links to PAP may be able to be a very independent-minded President. Ong Teng Chong was a PAP Cabinet Minister but he was also the President who gave the most challenges to PAP.
We should study other aspects of each candidate for to assess their ability to be independent instead of relying only on their past links with PAP.
yeoman15 July 2011
now,this is the son of SINGAPORE every true blue singaporean has been waiting for.
mr tan jee say,my best wishes to you and to your family.
if my one vote counts at all,you’ve already gotten it!
cheerio!
rachel15 July 2011
quoted by tjs :On the other hand, the three other presidential hopefuls – Dr Tony Tan, Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Tan Kin Lian had been with the People’s Action Party for 10 to 20 years.
(was he not from PAP for couple of years too)
xlandjy15 July 2011
To Mr Ong Teng Cheong,
You said, “”A person with previous links to PAP may be able to be a very independent-minded President. Ong Teng Chong was a PAP Cabinet Minister but he was also the President who gave the most challenges to PAP.”"
NOT TRUE. Mr Ong was NOT VERY INDEPENDENT.
From media report, you would have noticed that Ong wanted to contest the President after his first term was due. PAP was not quite happy with him and had expressed their concern over his health.
To prove that he was fit for 2nd term, Ong went of to Kun Ming, China to play golf. When interviewed by the media, he claimed that he was very fit and he had played 54 holes (that is 3 rounds of 18 holes) of golf.
Despite the above, PAP still refused to endorse his efforts. He quietly left Istana and went home to die a unhappy man without a state funeral. So much for OTC.
Black Hei15 July 2011
I think Tan Jee Say sincerely meant what he said so I think he should be deserving of consideration.
I am not confident about his Economic Regneration Plan though, but as candidate for President he has stressed that his role is not in this area and will act more like a moral compass.
So good for him; his point on the Casino has backing among the PAP old timers as oppose to the young guard. If he was president instead of Nathan, he might have tipped the decision for the Casino over to the old timers instead.
Linda15 July 2011
D’ont be duped by the PAPies telling you that the President is a ceremonial figure, or that he is not supposed to raise issues, etc. This is irrelevant.
What is critical is you want a President who dare raise relevant questions i.e. on reserves transparency (GIC/Temasek), etc. You want a President who will doggedly persist in querying the PAP government on national issues. You want a dispassionately vocal President who can keep the PAP government on its toes. You want a President who will critically examine the slate of candidates recommended by the PAP government to sit on the Presidential Council, to ensure no conflict of interests.
In short, you cannot have a PAP-linked candidate there. Of the four Tans, it is clear beyond a shadow of doubt that Tan Jee Say is the only CREDIBLE candidate.
ex-PPS knows the system inside out15 July 2011
Tan, who was ex-PPS, knows the system inside out. finally we will have someone who knows how to play by the rules they set,
and finally help us turn the rules BACK in OUR FAVOUR, SINGAPORE CITIZENS !!
Wendy15 July 2011
Tan Jee Say is without doubt the best candidate positioned to grill the PAP government on the issues that citizens have been demanding an accounting of for years i.e. how have the reserves been spent?, why has the CPF withdrawal age been suddenly extended? and many others.
Your impassioned Press Statement have won my heart and my vote already!
notanotherspinstory15 July 2011
If Tan Jee Say comes out won’t he have to quit SDP? I’d rather he win a GRC under SDP than be a President.
That said, I respect his choice and I will vote for Tan Jee Say instead of TKL.
FanaticD15 July 2011
All Tans? so now we got 4 Tans going to fight for president. which Tan is next? LOL
any Tan in WP or NSP?
PT15 July 2011
At last!
Couple of weeks ago, I was pondering if it’s TKL or TCB.
With this news, confirmed I will vote for TJS
iVOTEahMENG15 July 2011
whether any party(as long as it NOT the rulin pap party) 1st or don’t 1 to support a presidential candidate..its ALL right afterall it still POLITICs…
i also 1st to become presidente..butt afraid i only hav a pair of mountain climbin sandle..no overmann shoes nor girgio armani suit or a mrs marco looked alike…
Hq15 July 2011
The gov cannot be right all the time.. tons of failed policies exposed in the GE.
LKY takes more than 15 yrs to come out the system. His motive is to set obstacles for non-PAP gov in case there’s ‘freak’.
LKY calculated that few outsiders can get COE from the committee packed with pro-PAP or PAP-linked members.
It’s time to vote in a new EP who has guts to say “no” to the PAP, and esp reject new PAP gov when PAP win elections via gerrymandering, pork barrel, threatening voters by withholding flats upgrading, etc, and also to disapprove Lee family-link officers to senior appointments in SAF/SPF and top ministries, etc.
Coco15 July 2011
I fully agree with Mr Tan Jee Say that the PAP govt has “lost its moral compass” by taking the easy road in the building of 2 casinos.
During GE 2011, Mr Tan Jee Say has shown that he is claim and collected even when PAP engaged in smear campaign against him. Therefore, he would be a perfect president because he would not be afraid of speaking up when the situation warrants it.
lim15 July 2011
imho the COE will likely be rejected.
Company does not qualify for $100 capitalisation and MAS rules does not restrict it from doing so. Tenuous argument at best.
Even if crossable, another hurdle is arguing that director can become CEO.
Looks like its going to be another application and KBKB effort thereafter.
Mad med15 July 2011
This is really interesting… now this presidential election is really all about “tan” (wait in hokkien).
LOL
Beat Me15 July 2011
Last two weeks, I did not ponder and my choice is tony tan who is a better candidate than TCB, TKL.
- Now my choice is Tan Jee Say. :)
tiredsingaporean15 July 2011
TJS for EP is a must and lets us all singaporeans give him the thumbs up so he can and will open up all the rest of those hidden books in GIC/TH and get those to be accountable for into the open.