tan jee sayThe latest person to put himself forward for the Presidential Election has described himself as the odd one out among the hopefuls. However, former Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) member Tan Jee Say, 57, hopes this will work in his favour.Mr Tan, who resigned from the SDP yesterday just before going to the Elections Department to collect his forms, said in a press statement: "I am stepping forward because many Singaporeans want a non-PAP President whose independence of the PAP is clear, obvious and cannot be in doubt."
He added: "Only such a person can have the moral authority to fulfill the mission of Elected President which is to provide checks and balances on the PAP Government."
Apart from Mr Tan Jee Say, the other presidential hopefuls - Dr Tan Cheng Bock, 71; Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam. 71; and Mr Tan Kin Lian, 63 - were all former members of the PAP. So too, is a fifth hopeful, Mr Andrew Kuan, 57, who has declared his intention to stand in the election again despite not meeting the eligibility criteria in the previous Presidential Election in 2005.
Mr Tan Jee Say, a former principal private secretary to Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, was on the SDP team which contested and lost in the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC in the General Election in May.
Speaking to reporters at the Elections Department yesterday, Mr Tan declared that he wants to be the "conscience of the nation".
"The PAP Government has lost its moral compass. A President directly elected by the people will have the moral authority to remind them of their lapses," said Mr Tan, who cited the building of the casinos as an example.
But Mr Tan reiterated that he intends to "work with the Government because after all, the Government is elected by the people".
He added: "I will honour the wishes of the people expressed in the support of the Government - but obviously, any Government cannot be right all the time."
On his affiliation with the Opposition, Mr Tan said: "You must come from somewhere ... But my association with the SDP was quite brief, a few months."
Referring to Dr Tan Cheng Bock, Dr Tony Tan and Mr Tan Kin Lian, he added: "The association of all the other three have gone back years ... The PAP DNA is very strong in them."
Mr Tan Jee Say said he decided to throw his hat into the ring on Thursday night after consulting his family, close friends and his former party members, including SDP chief Chee Soon Juan, whom he said was supportive of his decision.
He stressed: "I can say with a straight face that I've not been asked by anybody or any party to come out to contest."
On whether he will meet the stringent eligibility criteria, Mr Tan acknowledged that he did not meet the criterion of being the CEO of a Singapore company with a paid-up capital of S$100 million. However, he was the former CEO and regional managing director of asset management firm AIB Govett (Asia) from 1997 to 2001, where he had managed more than S$100 million in invested funds.
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