Tan Kin Lian launches bid for Presidential Election, stresses desire for candidate outside 'establishment'
Mr Tan says his decision to run for President follows comments and his team's advice that fellow "non-establishment" presidential hopeful George Goh may not meet the qualifying criteria.

Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian at his press conference for the 2023 Presidential Election at Copthorne King's Hotel, Singapore on Aug 11, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Raydza Rahman)
SINGAPORE: Former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Kin Lian announced his bid to run for President on Friday (Aug 11), emphasising his belief in the importance of offering Singaporeans the chance to vote for what he described as an independent candidate.
And while fellow presidential hopeful George Goh is an “independent person”, Mr Tan said he decided to throw his hat into the ring following comments and his team's advice that Mr Goh might not meet the qualifying criteria, resulting in a possible two-way contest between former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song and former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
“I believe I will be the only candidate from outside the establishment,” added Mr Tan, 75.
Speaking at a press conference where he launched his presidential campaign, Mr Tan added that he was initially prepared to “stand aside” when Mr Goh expressed interest.
“I have high respect for him, I have high respect for his enthusiasm and his team,” Mr Tan said of Mr Goh.
“We don’t want to have a contest between two candidates that are from the establishment, and it will also look very bad … because the people of Singapore will be very sceptical,” added Mr Tan.
In response to CNA's questions about whether he will continue if Mr Goh qualifies, Mr Tan said he does not want to split the votes between non-establishment candidates.
“I will certainly want to make sure that there is only one non-establishment candidate, that we will not split the votes … How it is going to happen depends on who and whatever the circumstances are, we’ll know about (it) when the time comes,” said Mr Tan.
Mr Goh, who is the founder of Harvey Norman Ossia, had on last Friday addressed doubts about his eligibility by laying out details from his summary of submission to the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC).
To meet the private sector service requirement to be President, an applicant must have served as the chief executive of a company for at least three years. During this time, the company must, on average, have shareholders' equity of at least S$500 million (US$372 million) and made a profit after tax for the entire time.
“I have a group of five companies that have a combined shareholders’ equity of S$1.521 billion over three years," said Mr Goh, adding that this is collectively equivalent to an average shareholders’ equity of S$507 million annually for the group as a whole.
Mr Tan applied for the certificate of eligibility to run for President through a proxy on Jul 11. He previously said he would wait for the PEC’s decision on the final slate of approved candidates to decide whether to submit his nomination papers.
The PEC has yet to issue any certificates of eligibility.
Apart from Mr Tan, three prospective candidates – Mr Goh, Mr Ng and Mr Tharman – have also applied for the certificate of eligibility and announced their intention to run.
Mr Tharman is the only one who unequivocally clears the bar to run.
Analysts have told CNA that Mr Tan may not automatically qualify. While he qualified for the 2011 Presidential Election, the eligibility criteria have since changed.
Previously, a private sector candidate needed to have led or chaired a company with paid-up capital of S$100 million or more.
Now, they must have served as the chief executive of a company with shareholders’ equity of S$500 million or more for at least three years.
Mr Tan previously said that “the assets of (NTUC) Income was S$28 million when I joined and increased by 600 times to S$17 billion when I left in 2007 at the age of 59 years”.
NTUC Income’s net assets were valued at around S$1.17 billion in its annual report for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2006, which was Mr Tan’s last full year as its CEO.
Analysts have said that even if the numbers are correct, Mr Tan still needs to qualify under the deliberative track as NTUC Income is a cooperative and not a “company” within the meaning of the relevant Article in the Constitution.
Under the deliberative track, the PEC can give its approval if it deems that the candidate has the experience and ability comparable to a chief executive who has run a company with shareholders’ equity of S$500 million or more.

INFLUENCING GOVERNMENT POLICIES
Mr Tan stressed the importance of investing the reserves soundly to produce good returns over the long term and not be exposed to high risk. As president, he said he would “highlight this overall investment strategy to the professional investment managers”.
Singapore’s President has discretionary powers as the guardian of the country’s past reserves and in the appointment of key office-holders. The President must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers in these areas.
“Many people have expressed concern about the large investment losses, amounting to several tens of billion dollars, incurred by our sovereign funds during the past year,” he said, adding that there were valuable lessons to learn from this experience.
On the appointment of key office-holders, Mr Tan said that apart from the contributions of scholars, he wished to see people with knowledge and practical experience from years of service being given leadership opportunities.
He said he would be “influenced by these factors” in approving the recommendations of people appointed to top positions in the public service.
Mr Tan also reiterated his intention to “use the President’s office to influence policies”, with a focus on bringing down the cost of living, ensuring affordable housing for all and securing jobs.
He said he hoped to bring a new perspective and “work in collaboration with the government” to achieve these goals.
Analysts have previously stressed that Singapore’s President does not shape policies, and has limited influence on policy-making.
When asked how he would “influence policies”, Mr Tan said that “a great deal … can be done through talking, through dialogue, through consultation”. He added that this is where “the influence of the President’s office” would come into play.
In response to CNA asking why he has not run for parliament instead, Mr Tan claimed a Member of Parliament probably has the mandate of 20,000 to 40,000 voters.
“If I get elected (as President), I will have the mandate of 1.5 million people. And then that mandate will carry with it something that the government should not ignore,” he said.
He added that the government “will have to respect that the President carries with him a large mandate”.
HIS LINKS TO PAP
Mr Tan was the CEO of NTUC Income for 30 years until 2007. After leaving the insurer, he started a computer software business and travelled regularly to provide insurance consultancy in Indonesia.
He was also a member of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) from the 1970s to 2008, but did not hold public office. He served as branch secretary at Marine Parade from 1976 to 1979, then became chairman of the Marine Parade Community Centre.
Asked about his past links to the PAP despite describing himself as an independent candidate, Mr Tan said that “the PAP at that time was a very different PAP from today”.
“I was very proud to be helping the PAP in those days when it was very clear that it (has) the support of the population, a large part of the population, and I did what I could to contribute to them,” he said.
“The PAP today is quite different. I think many people feel that they are more towards the elite and not towards the ordinary people. So therefore, you must remember the PAP itself has changed its orientation.”
He added that this was why he left the party 15 years ago.
In 2011, Mr Tan unsuccessfully ran for the presidency and came in last out of four candidates, with 4.91 per cent of the more than 2.2 million votes.
Electoral rules require each presidential candidate’s nomination paper to be signed by a proposer, a seconder and at least four other people who are registered voters.
Also present on Friday was Mr Tan’s proposer Mr Tan Jee Say, a former civil servant and politician who was also a candidate in the 2011 Presidential Election.
Mr Tan Jee Say said that Mr Tan’s decision to put himself forward as a candidate again and to ask a former opponent to be his proposer point to a “humble and courageous attitude” that he would bring to the presidency if elected.
Mr Tan’s seconder, lawyer and politician Lim Tean, and his principal election agent, politician Prabu Ramachandran, also spoke at the press conference.
He was accompanied by his wife, Mdm Tay Siew Hong. One of his assentors, Mr Allan Yeo, was also present.
The Polling Day for Singapore’s Presidential Election will be on Friday, Sep 1 if more than one candidate qualifies to run for the post. Nomination Day is set for Aug 22.