PE 2023 campaign broadcast: ‘Urgent’ to have non-partisan President as risk of bad governance grows, Ng Kok Song says

SINGAPORE — It is an “urgent matter” to have a non-partisan President for the country because politics in Singapore has become highly contestable, with government leadership undergoing a generational change, which could lead to uncertainty and risk, presidential candidate Ng Kok Song said.

The 75-year-old also said that in the coming years, there will be “more reasons and more crises to draw heavily on the reserves”, as he questioned whether Singapore could risk having another government-endorsed President checking the Government’s requests to tap the reserves.

Mr Ng was speaking at the second Presidential Candidate Broadcast that aired on CNA at 7pm on Wednesday (Aug 30), drilling in a point he had made several times throughout his campaign on the importance of electing a non-partisan President, and saying that he believes he is one. 

“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,” Mr Ng said, referring to the Constitution requiring that anyone nominated for President must not belong to any political party.

“The intent of our Constitution is very clear — to have a non-partisan elected President so that the President is above the partisan politics of Parliament.”

Alluding to fellow candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s senior role in the ruling party, Mr Ng, formerly the chief investment officer with sovereign wealth fund GIC, asked: “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 policies that he had put in place?

“I do not believe any person should be put in such a position of conflict, and we don’t need to.” 

Mr Tharman last held the position of Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies before he recently resigned from the Cabinet to contest the presidency.

Mr Ng also said again as he did during the first broadcast on Aug 24 that Singapore cannot rely on an “ownself check ownself” mechanism to safeguard its reserves or the integrity of the public service.

He added that the recent controversies discussed in Parliament imply that “we cannot take for granted the exceptionally high standards of incorruptibility and integrity of good government”.

He was referring to scandals involving the resignation of two Members of Parliament from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) over an extra-marital affair, as well as a corruption probe involving Transport Minister S Iswaran. 

“In the face of such increasing risks, we cannot afford to have a President who may be beholden to political parties who endorse their nominations and help get them elected,” Mr Ng added. 

“It is time we break from the past of having a President endorsed by the PAP. The elected presidency is an office that must belong to all Singaporeans, not to any privileged group, organisation or party.

“I humbly offer myself as the change to a non-partisan President.”

This was the second and last Presidential Candidate Broadcast for the three candidates of Mr Ng, Mr Tharman, 66, and Mr Tan Kin Lian, 75, who is formerly chief executive officer of NTUC Income insurance cooperative.

Mr Ng delivered his pre-recorded speech in English.

Singapore will go to the polls on Friday for the Presidential Election.

KEY POINTS FROM SPEECH 

• Of the three candidates in this election, one had resigned a month ago from the Government and from the ruling party, another has opposition figures in his campaigning
• They are unlike him, who has not belonged to any political party
• It is important to have a non-partisan President, but all the elected Presidents since 1993 were affiliated to or endorsed by PAP, so the system has been “compromising the spirit of the Constitution”
• Having the wrong government leadership team in charge in the near future is no longer a remote possibility
• The country also cannot afford to have a President who is manipulated by political parties to serve their political agenda
• Having spoken earlier this month on the country’s reserves as a “financial defence”, Mr Ng questioned whether Singapore could take the risk of having another government-endorsed President checking government requests to draw down its reserves
• He believes that there are independent, capable Singaporeans who are non-partisan and loyal to the country who are qualified to serve as the President, who can make the right decisions and act in the interests of all, unencumbered by personal and political ties 
• He is standing in this election to set an example for more Singaporeans to do the same in the coming years