Tan Kin Lian says he will step aside if George Goh qualifies to run in Presidential Election

SINGAPORE: Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian said on Thursday (Aug 17) that he will withdraw his bid for Singapore's highest office if Mr George Goh qualifies as a candidate.

Speaking in a phone interview with TODAY, Mr Tan said that this is because he does not want to split the votes of Singaporeans who prefer an “independent” candidate.

“He's younger, he's got more resources, and he would be able to campaign as an independent president more effectively than me,” said Mr Tan, a former chief executive of NTUC Income who had run unsuccessfully in the 2011 Presidential Election.

Mr Tan's comment comes after both men had made back and forth statements over the past week regarding the possibility of one of them stepping aside should both men qualify to run. 

Mr Tan’s intention to step aside was first reported by national daily The Straits Times on Thursday, where he also mentioned that Mr Goh, a businessman, was “more enthusiastic” and had “a large organisation and large support”.

Mr Tan told TODAY that he had thrown his name into the hat as he had believed that only former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song would qualify.

Nomination Day for the upcoming poll is next Tuesday.

The Presidential Elections Committee, which has the final say on whether a candidate qualifies based on the criteria set out in the Constitution, is expected to announce a few days before that who among the current four hopefuls will qualify.

Mr Tan said he will not submit his nomination forms if the committee declares that all four hopefuls are eligible, adding that this was his intention all along.

“I intended to announce this much earlier, but my campaign team said it will be harmful to my campaign,” he told TODAY.

“It means people will perceive me to be weak and (have a) lack of confidence ... The team asked me not to mention this so that I do not demoralise the people who wanted me,” he said.

Mr Tan added that he felt it was a good time to make clear his plan to step aside as the decision of the President Elections Committee would be made known soon, and that he has received questions from the public on how they should decide between him and Mr Goh.

Mr Tan had previously said that should he and Mr Goh qualify as candidates, he would speak to Mr Goh to decide who would step down and support the other “non-establishment” candidate.

While Mr Goh said on Monday that they did not have an agreement, Mr Tan told TODAY that he "never said there was a prior agreement".

On a walkabout in Jurong on Tuesday, Mr Tan said that he hoped Mr Goh would change his mind and it would be “a good idea” to “discuss who should step down because it's not good to have a split vote among those who want to have an independent president".

Responding to this the following day, Mr Goh said that Mr Tan should focus on his campaign and not “lose the deposit”.

Mr Tan had previously told reporters that he had "no doubt" he would be able to keep his election deposit of S$40,500, after losing his deposit of S$48,000 in 2011 for getting 4.91 per cent of the 2,274,773 votes.

This was below the threshold of one-eighth of the total number of votes polled in the election for the deposit to be refunded.

On Thursday, Mr Tan told TODAY that his election deposit of S$40,500 would be refunded to him if he decides not to submit his nomination papers. 

This story was originally published in TODAY.