He says many Singaporeans want president with no PAP links
By LEE U-WEN 16 July 2011
In a surprise move, former civil servant Tan Jee Say yesterday announced his decision to contest the upcoming presidential elections, which must be held by Aug 31 this year.
The 57-year-old - who resigned from the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on Thursday - turned up with his wife Patricia at the Elections Department to pick up his forms for the certificate of eligibility.
He said that he was entering the race because he felt that many Singaporeans wanted to ‘have a choice to elect a distinctly non-PAP (People’s Action Party) candidate whose independence of the PAP government is clear’.
To date, four people - all former PAP members - have publicly announced plans to run for the state’s highest office. They are former deputy prime minister Tony Tan, former PAP member of parliament Tan Cheng Bock, former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian, and former JTC Corporation group chief financial officer Andrew Kuan.
Mr. Tan Jee Say was most recently in the spotlight as part of the five-member SDP team that lost to the PAP in Holland-Bukit Timah group representation constituency at the May 7 general election. He was a high-flyer in the Civil Service and rose to become the principal private secretary to former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
‘I am stepping forward because many Singaporeans want a non-PAP president whose independence of the PAP is clear, obvious and cannot be in doubt,’ he said. ‘Only such a person can have the moral authority to fulfil the mission of elected president which is to provide checks and balances on the PAP government.’
He added that he was aware of the constitutional limitations of the position, although he stressed that it was up to the person himself to make the most of the job as president.
‘He can be as quiet and inactive as he chooses to be or he can be active. I want to be an active president, engaging the nation on issues of conscience and promoting worthy causes,’ he said, noting that only a person with ‘moral courage and conviction’ could step up to fill this role.
‘As president, I will be the conscience of the nation and I will speak up, speak out and speak for Singapore - speak up internally with the government most of the time, speak out externally in public some of the time and speak for the people all the time.’
As for whether he is eligible to contest in the first place, Mr. Tan Jee Say shared how he was previously chief executive officer with the title of regional managing director of AIB Govett Asia, a Singapore-registered asset management firm that managed total assets of more than $100 million. He held the position for just over four years from Feb 1997 to Mar 2001.
Among the many ways that a person can be deemed eligible is that he has to be the chairman or CEO for at least three years at a company with a paid-up capital of no less than $100 million.
The Constitution makes a provision that a person who has held a comparable position elsewhere at a firm of similar size and complexity could also qualify. Mr. Tan Jee Say said that his company did not have a paid-up capital of $100 million then, as it was not required to do so by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Both Dr. Tony Tan and Mr. Tan Kin Lian, meanwhile, welcomed his candidacy, saying that it would give Singaporeans a wider choice at the polls.
Speaking at a business lunch on Friday, Dr. Tony Tan said that it was crucial for the president to be somebody who is ‘steady, experienced with a background and knows the issues and limits of what the president can do’, as well as be fair and neutral.
‘The president also has a role in representing Singapore overseas where he will meet diplomats. This is very important because people judge a country based on the calibre of the president.’
Dr. Tony Tan added that for the president to be effective, he had to have ‘the respect of the government and ministers and be able to work with them’.
Both Dr. Tony Tan and Mr. Tan Kin Lian submitted their papers for the certificate of eligibility last week. Dr. Tan Cheng Bock wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that he would be doing likewise sometime next week.
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Tan Jee Say decides to run for presidency
He says many Singaporeans want president with no PAP links
By LEE U-WEN
16 July 2011
In a surprise move, former civil servant Tan Jee Say yesterday announced his decision to contest the upcoming presidential elections, which must be held by Aug 31 this year.
The 57-year-old - who resigned from the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on Thursday - turned up with his wife Patricia at the Elections Department to pick up his forms for the certificate of eligibility.
He said that he was entering the race because he felt that many Singaporeans wanted to ‘have a choice to elect a distinctly non-PAP (People’s Action Party) candidate whose independence of the PAP government is clear’.
To date, four people - all former PAP members - have publicly announced plans to run for the state’s highest office. They are former deputy prime minister Tony Tan, former PAP member of parliament Tan Cheng Bock, former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian, and former JTC Corporation group chief financial officer Andrew Kuan.
Mr. Tan Jee Say was most recently in the spotlight as part of the five-member SDP team that lost to the PAP in Holland-Bukit Timah group representation constituency at the May 7 general election. He was a high-flyer in the Civil Service and rose to become the principal private secretary to former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
‘I am stepping forward because many Singaporeans want a non-PAP president whose independence of the PAP is clear, obvious and cannot be in doubt,’ he said. ‘Only such a person can have the moral authority to fulfil the mission of elected president which is to provide checks and balances on the PAP government.’
He added that he was aware of the constitutional limitations of the position, although he stressed that it was up to the person himself to make the most of the job as president.
‘He can be as quiet and inactive as he chooses to be or he can be active. I want to be an active president, engaging the nation on issues of conscience and promoting worthy causes,’ he said, noting that only a person with ‘moral courage and conviction’ could step up to fill this role.
‘As president, I will be the conscience of the nation and I will speak up, speak out and speak for Singapore - speak up internally with the government most of the time, speak out externally in public some of the time and speak for the people all the time.’
As for whether he is eligible to contest in the first place, Mr. Tan Jee Say shared how he was previously chief executive officer with the title of regional managing director of AIB Govett Asia, a Singapore-registered asset management firm that managed total assets of more than $100 million. He held the position for just over four years from Feb 1997 to Mar 2001.
Among the many ways that a person can be deemed eligible is that he has to be the chairman or CEO for at least three years at a company with a paid-up capital of no less than $100 million.
The Constitution makes a provision that a person who has held a comparable position elsewhere at a firm of similar size and complexity could also qualify. Mr. Tan Jee Say said that his company did not have a paid-up capital of $100 million then, as it was not required to do so by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Both Dr. Tony Tan and Mr. Tan Kin Lian, meanwhile, welcomed his candidacy, saying that it would give Singaporeans a wider choice at the polls.
Speaking at a business lunch on Friday, Dr. Tony Tan said that it was crucial for the president to be somebody who is ‘steady, experienced with a background and knows the issues and limits of what the president can do’, as well as be fair and neutral.
‘The president also has a role in representing Singapore overseas where he will meet diplomats. This is very important because people judge a country based on the calibre of the president.’
Dr. Tony Tan added that for the president to be effective, he had to have ‘the respect of the government and ministers and be able to work with them’.
Both Dr. Tony Tan and Mr. Tan Kin Lian submitted their papers for the certificate of eligibility last week. Dr. Tan Cheng Bock wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that he would be doing likewise sometime next week.
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