PE 2023: Tan Kin Lian says sorry to women 'uncomfortable' over 'pretty girls' online posts but asks why they are offensive

SINGAPORE — Moments after his presidential candidacy was confirmed, Mr Tan Kin Lian apologised to women who "think that they are uncomfortable" over his social media posts about "pretty girls", but again asked his critics to explain why the posts were offensive.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday (Aug 22) at the People’s Association Headquarters in Jalan Besar, Mr Tan said that he had a discussion with rival candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam over his claims that Mr Tharman was behind what Mr Tan called a "smear campaign".

“Mr Tharman was quite gracious. He assured me that they are not from his team. And he assured me that he will not want all these malicious attacks from his team,” the former chief executive officer of insurer NTUC Income said.

“Of course, I am not too sure whether he knows what somebody else (is) doing (this) on his behalf.”

Nevertheless, Mr Tan soon removed the mention of Mr Tharman from his comments about the "smear campaign" allegedly being mounted against him.

Mr Tan has been getting online flak after his old Facebook posts resurfaced online. They were about women he saw when he was out jogging or at malls.

In one post, for example, he photographed a woman from behind, apparently without her consent, and wrote a caption that read: "My walk today was interrupted by heavy rain. Got pretty jogger, before rain came."

On Monday, the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) made a statement about what it called Mr Tan’s penchant for “objectifying women” in his Facebook posts.

The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) said hours later that it had not been aware of Mr Tan's social media posts before issuing him a Certificate of Eligibility last Friday.

The Certificate of Eligibility is issued to a prospective candidate who wishes to stand for the Presidential Election and is given to those deemed to have met the criteria to do so.

On Tuesday, Mr Tan also made what amounted to a qualified apology over the posts while continuing to question whether they were offensive.

“But in case some other ladies after reading this think that they are uncomfortable, I want to apologise to them,” he said at the nomination centre.

“I have no intention. I have got a wife, two daughters and three granddaughters.”

Mr Tan did not explain how having female relatives had any bearing on the claims made by Aware.

He also said that the posts were made more than 10 years ago but people only “feel uncomfortable” about it now.

“If you take a look at the number of people who watched the posts over 10 years — I believe it is more than 100,000 (views) — and yet, and during that time, (they) don't have any objection,” he continued.

He also challenged Aware to further explain the rationale for its position: “Please, what exactly do you find offensive?

“I don't know why somebody would want to use that as a negative point.”

When Mr Tan’s wife, Ms Tay Siew Hong, was asked about her thoughts on his “pretty girls” comments, Mr Tan interjected and said that his social media posts had nothing to do with her.

He thanked his supporters and said that he will "work very hard over the next few days to win over as many votes as possible".

When asked about his odds of being elected President, he said that he is "confident".

"Based on the interaction of the people I meet at the market, at the mall, and based on the comments I've received on social media. I am confident." 

To rally support, Mr Tan has plans to do walkabouts over the next nine days as part of his campaign — though he said that nine days are "not enough".

And while he had announced plans to hold a rally on Friday, he said that the plan might be on the back burner.

"I found that the venue is too expensive. The expenses are too expensive. And I don't have (the) support of big tycoons," he said, adding that he is searching for an alternative.