TR EMERITUS

Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, the "dark horse" in the current Presidential Election (PE 2024) has issued a statement promising that he will not hesitate to convene a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into scandals, presumably past and present, if he is elected. In a statement that TRE received from his media team, Tan Kin Lian said: ... I wish to add another point to the real power of the President. Under section 3 (1) of the Inquiries Act 2007, the President may, whenever he considers it expedient to do so, issue a commission appointing one or more commissioners and authorising such commissioners, or any quorum of them therein mentioned, to inquire into: (a) the conduct of any officer or officers in the public service of Singapore; (b) the conduct or management of any department of the public service or any public or local institution; or (c) any matter in which an inquiry would, in the opinion of the President, be for the public welfare or in the public interest. Explaining the rationale for his decision, Mr Tan said: Many people have asked for greater transparency and accountability. They strongly asked for an end to the approached described as "ownself check ownself" where the government appoints its own people to check on any possible misdeeds by its ministers or other senior officers. Many people do not trust the findings of these internal checks. As such, Mr Tan said: Under this Act. the President has the power to appoint independent and suitably qualified people as commissioners to carry out the inquiry and issue an independent report, which will hopefully be regarded by the general public as being more reliable. I intend to use this power when the need arises, such as the recent events that are described as "scandals". Although Mr Tan did specifically mention the Ridout Gate fiasco, Mr Goh Meng Seng has suggested in a Facebook post that it may include the concluded “ownself check ownself” Rigout Gate fiasco. President Tan Kin Lian has executive power to and will issue Commission of Inquiry on Ridout and other scandals. It remains to be seen if Mr Tan will keep to his promise, should/if he is elected.      Read More →

I was the target of a smear campaign over the past few days. Someone sent a few screen shots of my Facebook posts over the past 10 years to the mainstream media. These posts were about "pretty girls" that I met at the shops, on the jogging path or at a mall. The sender was said that she felt uneasy about these posts. I thought initially that it was the view of a single person and that the mainstream media should not blow it up. I was wrong. It is now clear to me that it is a concerted effort by an attack group that went all out to smear me. The editors of the mainstream media appears to be part of this smear effort. The concerted effort later involved a woman rights' organization and a comment by the presidential election committee. The mainstream media wrote up the episode to make me look very bad. A fair and impartial mainstream media would have realized that my posts would have been seen by several hundreds of thousand people over the years and that most people who consider them to be light hearted and non-offensive. It is dishonest for the media to portray them negatively. Many of my supporters were concerned about the negative impact on my campaign. Some of them pledged to work doubly hard to overcome this handicap. Many others said that this is clearly a malicious and unjustified smear effort. Let me say a few words about "building trust" and "uniting the people". The government uses these words as their goals. But these are words, because their actual deeds appear to be different. Many people said that they do not trust the hollow words. The government leaders cannot build trust if they act in a dishonorable way. They cannot unite the people if they are seen to be attacking, in an underhand way, the reputation of the people whom they consider to be their opponents. I am not even their opponent. In spite of this bad incident, I still pledge to work with the government, if I am elected as the president. I will continue my effort to influence the government to change their policies so that the people of Singapore can have a better life. My goals are to bring down inflation, make housing affordable and jobs secure.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

Click to enlarge The race is hotting up. It’s closing in on 1 Sept. The age spread for the presidential hopefuls is quite wide. Tharman Shanmugaratnam is 66 yrs old. Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian are both 75 yrs old. You can say it is a race between one young senior and two mature ones. From the get-go, it seems like NKS and TS are less controversial than TKL. Even before nomination day, TKL has received an exclusive write up, with this title: “Cert for Tan not endorsement of his obline posts: Presidential Elections Committee.” I call this the distancing strategy. In keeping the distance, this is their statement: “The PEC was not aware of Mr Tan’s social media posts before Mr Tan’s certificate of eligibility was issued. Hence, the issuing of the certificate could not have amounted to an endorsement of Mr Tan’s social media posts by the PEC.” But what is this perceived endorsement anyway? What had spooked PEC about TKL? Aware was the first to pick it up, after a TikTok video went viral. It said that TKL “has a history of objectifying women” and questioned how PEC could miss that out. That led to PEC’s statement above. It seems like there is a pattern in the way TKL post on his FB in the past. Aware noted the presidential hopeful has been ““consistently posting about “pretty girls”, recording videos of women in public without their consent or commenting about their appearances for personal entertainment, and suggests that it is acceptable to trivialise women.”” Aware concluded: “Our president should embody the values, ethics and principles that reflect the nation we want to be.” What do you think, mike? Well, I suppose the more modern mindset would say, “To each his or her own”. It’s your platform. You set it to “Public” and invite ”Likes” and “Comments” at your own discretion. Those who agree with you, laugh with you, and support you, that’s all good. It’s their prerogative. Yet, there will also be those who disagree with you, reprimand and mock you, that’s all part and parcel too. Modern technology has brought personalities into your private space at your own free will by a click, and they can be in-your-face or in-your-heart. But, what puzzles me is how he responded when he was interviewed about the images on his FB. Generally, he felt it was ok. He asked those offended to be more open minded. He explained: “Most visitors to his page found such posts quite light (and) quite enjoyable. There will be a few people who feel uncomfortable, but that is a very small minority. The majority actually find that to be quite okay - quite fun.” (it really depends on who the “most visitors” are, right?) In one recent video, TKL justified it this way: “There is nothing wrong appreciating pretty girls we are all human beings” and “I am sure the girls also appreciate good looking men.” He then added: “Maybe the people who were upset were not the pretty ones.” Alas, I felt there are a hundred and one ways to respond to such question, considering the deed has already been done. You can’t cancel it. You have to face it. And not everyone can say that their recorded past is without blemish. The only solution is to exercise restraint, consider how your action and words may affect even the so called “very small minority.” This is even more so when you are running for the highest, most dignified office of the land. You are supposed to be the epitome or embodiment of the highest moral and ethical values, however unrealistic that sounds. You set the tone for the country. You send the message out from the summit of the presidential hill top. Everyone can see whether the emperor is wearing clothes or not, so to speak. Comments like “‘maybe the people who were upset were not the pretty ones” are sure to be offensive, even if they are only the “very small minority”. And, as TKL puts it, the majority (where did he get the numbers, anyway?) may be “quite ok” with it and felt it was “quite fun” (that’s because they are not the ones being laughed at, or being secretly “admired” in the privacy of strangers’ room). But, I can’t imagine TKL as our president taking a few hours off his busy schedule to showcase unsolicited pictures of “pretty girls” on his FB, making this comment, “look here, pretty girls,” from the comfort of Istana. But then, shouldn’t we be chill about it, since we are all human beings, and it is just harmless admiring, and nothing more? Anyway, he did say it’s just for fun. It is generally ok. He’s just complimenting beauty on the street. But is that presidential? Did TKL cross the line, and then from the other side, cavalierly justifying it as this - “what’s the problem?” So, I find his explanation of much concern. If the president is ceremonially symbolic, and a representative of the people’s values, what image do we want from candidates like NKS, TS, and our most maverick, TKL? Yes, he can do what he likes, post anyhow he wants, and get a good laugh from it, as a retiree. But, in a different context, should he find his residency at the Istana for a term or two, is there then a clear line drawn, since he will be both the depository of timeless values and the ambassador to the nations abroad? His wife will carry the honorific title “First Lady” and he will in my view be known as “Adam” for the nation - the first man, so to speak. setting the image and reputation for us all. Well, I leave you to ponder on that. Ps: at times, I wish TKL was less loose with his mouth and fingers. And when asked about it, just say: “I sincerely apologise to those for whom I have offended. Even one is one too many. Your feelings are important to me. I admit that I’ve carried it too far. I ask that you give me a chance to prove to you that I am so much more than what you see and read about.” “My family and marriage are an enduring testament to my commitment and devotion to serving you as your Ninth President, if elected. I am only human. I am not perfect. But I am always learning, correcting and adapting, even at my age, if not more so at my age.” “And rest assured, I shall do you proud. I will not let even one sheep under my care down. That is my presidential promise to you.”   Michael Han * The author is a Director at Hoh Law Corporation and blogs on Facebook.      Read More →