'No longer a remote possibility' for Singapore to have 'wrong team' in charge: Ng Kok Song in final broadcast
Singapore cannot afford to have a president who is beholden to political parties to serve their agenda, says the former GIC chief investment officer.
Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song speaks during the second presidential candidate broadcast on Aug 30, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Raydza Rahman)
SINGAPORE: Politics in Singapore has become highly contestable, and having the "wrong team" in charge is “no longer a remote possibility”, said presidential candidate Ng Kok Song on Wednesday (Aug 30).
This is why Singapore cannot afford to have a President who may be beholden to political parties to serve their agenda, he said.
The former GIC chief investment officer was delivering his message in the second and final broadcast for presidential candidates. Messages from all three candidates were aired across 19 free-to-air radio and television platforms on Wednesday evening.
The 75-year-old again stressed his position as a “non-partisan” candidate, having never belonged to any political party.
Singapore's government leadership will undergo a generational change in the next few years, said Mr Ng, adding that "there are uncertainties and risks with all transitions”.
Referring to "recent controversies" discussed in parliament, he said Singaporeans "cannot take for granted the exceptionally high standards of incorruptibility and integrity of good government".
These recent controversies include Transport Minister S Iswaran's arrest in a corruption probe and ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan's renting of state bungalows in the exclusive Ridout Road area. Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Tampines MP Cheng Li Hui also resigned over an affair.
Singapore cannot afford to have a President who is endorsed by political parties or gets elected with their help, because they may be beholden or manipulated to serve their political agenda, Mr Ng said.
Because the risks have increased, having a non-partisan President is an “urgent matter”, he added.
Recalling when founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew raised the idea of an Elected Presidency at the 1984 National Day Rally, Mr Ng noted that he warned of “silver-tongued politicians who make empty promises” and squander Singapore’s reserves.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong similarly noted: “If you have a freak election, you have the wrong team in charge, you have a rogue government who wants to raid the reserves. In one term all your life savings of generations of Singaporeans will be gone.”
It is time for Singapore to break from its past of having a President endorsed by the People’s Action Party (PAP), said Mr Ng.
“Choose a President who is competent and experienced, who is trustworthy and who has not belonged to any political party.”
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, retired from all his positions in government in July and resigned as a PAP member to run for President.
Mr Tan Kin Lian, 75, is supported by a number of opposition politicians, including two former rivals in the last contested Presidential Election in 2011 – Dr Tan Cheng Bock, chairman of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), and Mr Tan Jee Say, a member of the Singapore Democratic Party.
NO MORE "OWNSELF CHECK OWNSELF"
In coming years, there will be more reasons to draw heavily on Singapore’s reserves, said Mr Ng.
“Can we take the risk of having another government-endorsed President checking government requests to draw down our reserves? Is it appropriate for an ex-Finance Minister who set fiscal policies to then move across the table and become the President and check on the very policies that he had put in place?” he continued.
“I do not believe any person should be put in such a position of conflict, and we don’t need to. We cannot rely on an 'ownself check ownself' mechanism to safeguard our reserves or the integrity of the public service.”
Three of the last five presidential elections have gone uncontested, he noted. All of the elected Presidents since 1993 were also affiliated to or endorsed by the PAP.
“While the bar to qualify for presidency is high, I believe the real reason is the perception that, unless you are endorsed by the government or strongly supported by opposition leaders, you have no chance to get elected,” said Mr Ng.
This system has compromised the spirit of the Constitution, allowing past political leaders to stand for election months after resigning from a political party, he added.
“We are now in 2023. This is not 1993. I strongly believe that the time has come in this Presidential Election to uphold the spirit of the Constitution.”
On Friday, more than 2.7 million Singaporeans will head to the polls to vote in the country's first contested Presidential Election since 2011.
