My view on the Presidential Election

Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian

Tan Kin Lian tried too hard to be popular. He also made pledges that people know can’t be fulfilled. Having spoken out for some investors who lost their money doesn’t make him Voice of the People. That he wants to be Voice of the People makes him appear egoistic.

Tan Jee Say is confrontational. His supporters and team-mates re-in-forced that impression. He should have told his supporters to behave themselves. At his rally he should also have told the speakers to tone down the rhetoric and not to spread untrue rumours about another candidate. Most of the people at his rally were his supporters and there was no need to appeal to them. He only needed to persuade those who had not decided and had come to see whether they should vote for him. I guess they went away with a negative impression.

If either of them had dropped out of the contest, I think Tan Cheng Bock would have won.


Tan Cheng Bock and Tony Tan

Now, don't assume that supporters of Tony Tan are against Tan Cheng Bock and vice versa. I think many of them support both but it is just a matter of their order of preference.

If one of the Tans dropped out of the contest, I think the other Tan would have obtained at least 60% of the votes.

MPs are the voice of the people

The MPs are the voice of the people. The president is elected only for its role and entrusted with the tasks as stated in the constitution.

Tan Kin Lian and Tan Jee Say talk as if they have the right to tell the Government how to run the Country. They behave as if they know more about law than the Law Minister or the experts in constitutional laws.

The two of them who have never even been an MP before think they know more about the governing of a country than the ministers or MPs.

The President should also be a good and able diplomat, enhancing our image abroad. He should not be quarrelsome and confrontational.

If either of them were to be president, I think he would only bring disrepute to himself. Even people who had supported him would be disillusioned when they realized they had been fooled by empty promises in the campaign. Even foreign leaders would not respect him.

This is what I think:

Tan Jee Say has a personal agenda – to further the opposition’s cause, particularly the SDP.

Tan Kin Lian still feels sore about having to leave INCOME. He didn’t want to join an opposition party as an ordinary member to contest the general elections in May because he considered that below his status. An ordinary MP also gets little attention from the media.

Contesting in the presidential election under the slogan ‘Voice of the People’ boosts his egoism - the people give feedback to him instead of the MPs. He is more powerful than all the MPs combined.