PE 2023: Ng Kok Song has 'deep respect' for Tharman, chalks up disagreement on political affiliation to 'difference of opinion'

SINGAPORE — On the final day of campaigning before Singaporeans head to the polls on Friday (Sept 1), presidential candidate Ng Kok Song said that he wanted to close the subject of the disagreement with Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a fellow candidate whom he considers a good friend and for whom he has deep respect.

In the past couple of days, the pair had disagreed over the issue of political affiliation and independence.

When asked by reporters on Wednesday for his response to Mr Tharman's latest argument on the matter, Mr Ng said: "I do not want to reopen the subject. But let me say this, I mean, here we are, Tharman and me, both contesting for the presidency.

"We were good friends, we worked together, you know, at MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) and at GIC, so our differences are differences of opinion, such as when we speak about the presidency."

Mr Ng, who used to be chief investment officer at sovereign wealth fund GIC, was speaking to the media during a walkabout at Lorong Ah Soo Market & Food Centre in Hougang, added that he "cannot assess" how well he will do at the polls.

"All I know is that I have given my very best... And I will let you decide, whatever the outcome is. I will continue to serve the people of Singapore, either from within the Istana or outside the Istana," he added, referring to the official residence and office of the President of Singapore.

HE SAID, HE SAID 

Mr Ng's disagreement with Mr Tharman had started from a question-and-answer forum broadcast by CNA on Monday night, during which the former Cabinet minister had said that labelling candidates by their political affiliation would be “extremely simplistic” and would have ruled out many past presidential candidates and even senior civil servants.

Mr Tharman went on to say that many private companies, including construction and fund management firms, are dependent on the Government and thus could be seen as not independent.

Mr Ng responded to Mr Tharman the next day, saying that Mr Tharman was "taking his point too far".

“He might as well say all Singaporeans are beholden to the Government because all of us are impacted by government policies in one way or another. There is a big difference between being a senior government leader and the rest of us,” Mr Ng argued.

Mr Tharman shot back after that, saying Mr Ng had “completely misquoted me”. 

“He seems to have thought that I said that because he ran a fund management company that depended on government monies and therefore he is not independent,” Mr Tharman said on Tuesday night during a walkabout at Sengkang Kopitiam Square.

“I said the opposite actually. I said that it doesn’t mean that you’re not independent.”

When asked for his response on Wednesday morning, Mr Ng declined to comment further, expressing his deep respect for Mr Tharman.

He repeated his stance that Singaporeans should vote for candidates with no political ties, and that his main quarrel was not with Mr Tharman but with the system. 

“I was concerned about the system, not the individual,” he added. “I just wanted our system to be a better system, a better system in terms of having a non-partisan President.” 

Mr Ng recounted how his international contacts in Europe and the United States were delighted when they heard the news that both he and Mr Tharman were running for the presidency. His contacts told him that Singapore is "so fortunate" to have "the two best people" to stand for the presidency, he said.

“It makes me feel very happy that we have people like Tharman coming forward. But we are different. The difference being, the fact that he belongs to a political party, and I do not.” 

APOLOGIES FOR HECKLING INCIDENT

Mr Ng also talked about the heckling incident that occurred during his walkabout on Tuesday evening, saying that while he is unhurt, he wants to apologise to his supporters.

"I want to apologise to the many people who had lined up to have their photographs taken with me... unfortunately, because of the incident, I was not able to have photographs taken," he said.

"So they might have gone home disappointed because they had lined up, some of them for more than 15 minutes. So please help me to convey my apologies to them."

Mr Ng was posing for photos with the public near Clementi Mall on Tuesday when a cyclist came speeding down a slope, twice, close to where the crowd had gathered in an attempt to ram straight into him.

The 30-year-old cyclist has since been arrested by police.