Joshua Chiang/
Mr Tan speaking at the lunchtime talk at Finexis Building
Law and Foreign Minister K Shanmugam isn’t the ‘ultimate interpreter’ of the Consitution and there are other lawyers equally qualified to speak on the Constitutional position of the President, said Presidential hopeful Tan Jee Say on Thursday.
Mr Tan was speaking to the media at the end of his lunchtime talk ”Survival and Opportunities in an Uncertain World”.
“When the Law Minister says you must go by the Constitution, let him answer that – where does the Constitution say that there must be a unifying role for the President?” he asked. “But the Government did say, the Prime Minister himself said that Dr Tony Tan would be good for unifying the people. So I would ask, “Where is the clause?” There is no clause.”
Mr Tan however was quick to point out that he agreed with the Prime Minister on the unifying role of the President, a duty which he felt should be discharged by addressing the ”fundamental cause of the deep social division in Singapore which is the underlying economic strategy of the Government”.
At a recent forum organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, the Law and Foreign Minister spoke at great length about the role of the Elected President as defined by the Constitution. He emphasized that all public acts, including public speech, can only be on the advice of the Cabinet.
Mr Tan however disagreed. He said that while the Constitution prevents the Elected President from speaking out on issues of governance, there is no specific prohibitions on the President to speak out on issues of conscience, such as the mandatory death penalty and casinos.
President can provide more checks and balances
Mr Tan also clarified what he meant in his speech (see video below) at the Singapore Democratic Party’s dinner on 6th August. During the dinner, Mr Tan had said that one of the reasons for running for President was to raise the profile of all the of non-PAP voices in the lead up to the 2016 General Elections. Mr Tan said that his speech shouldn’t be taken to mean that he has a political agenda to help the opposition.
“Certain views are shared by all regardless of party,” he added. “Just because the opposition is more vocal in articulating them doesn’t make it a monopoly of the views of the opposition.”
But he believed that the PAP voice had been dominant for so long, and that alternate views do not have an adequate platform to be heard. The office of the President will afford another venue for contrary non-PAP views to be expressed.
“The very fact that I’m interested in running for the President to pursue the mission of providing checks and balances on the Government shows that I want checks and balances that it’s good for the country,” he said.
Dr Tony Tan’s ‘motherhood statement’
Mr Tan also answered a reporter’s question on Dr Tony Tan’s recent statement that “candidates should run for the office that exists, not they one they wish to have.”
“He should tell us who he has in mind when he made that statement,” said Mr Tan. “Which candidate among the other five of us has made that statement and what did he say? It’s very good to hide behind motherhood statements by you must substantiate.”
Download the transcript of Mr Tan’s lunchtime talk ”Survival and Opportunities in an Uncertain World” here.
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@President
according to ur analysis, TJS is more suited to b a opposition than EP cuz of his ‘mindset’. Then base on the ‘Pat Tan AWOL’ case alone, TT is not even fit to b in the EP contest…if that can happen whilst he is just a minister, what dire state would Spore b in if he becomes P. Not that i feel he’d win though, n i hope he won’t!
@Ethen Jin-Chew
Well said and good summary. This is the reality currently happening in Singapore, affecting the livlihood of every common native Singaporean. WE need a change for the better future of our younger generations especially our children. Let not forget, every family with male citizens wasted 2 years serving NS and those who died in vain during NS training. Who are we protecting for….the country or the PAP government for 46 years? There is no WAR or threats from neighboring countries! On my annual home visit, I do not feel Singapore as my home country anymore. I feel like a stranger, everywhere I go I see foreigners & every shopping mall are so congested with foreigners. Out of ten, six people are foreigners waiting at the bus stops. I feel ashame to call as Singaporean. Singaporeans need to wake now after the GE2011 and no more DAFT. Prove to Li Ao…..”we are not stupid anymore” Vote wisely for the President!…For goodness sake…not TT! Enough is enough!
Capitalist is getting out of hand. By saying that, I don’t mean that capitalist is no good. The gaps are getting wider and wider and the people are divided into social class. It is good to have a control and not have a PAP-linked as President. Otherwise, majority of the Singaporean will endup like bootlickin Pinyo calling ourself fools.
@Steven Kho
Don’t talk cock. The low-income group should be grateful to the government for giving handouts and putting food on the table for them. Self-esteem is the last thing on thier minds. Don’t talk like you some higher being.
*****************
I hope the best man win the race and do best for Spore. But I take issue that low income folks have self esteem as last thing on their minds. Please do some self reflection on what you have just said. If you are a fellow Singaporean, I am utterly ashamed and disappointed in your selection of words towards your fellow Sporeans.
@Steven Kho
You say “Even the elderly who want to work gets to work”.
You should know what you are talking about. Don’t make sweeping statements. I am elderly and have written to the Government myself for a job. Govt agencies just play taichi.
You bring in thousands of foreigners for jobs here. Nothing fundamentally wrong with this policy. There are sectors for which we just need them as Singaporeans won’t or don’t want to do these jobs like construction, service line and house maids. There must be a special unit set up in the Ministry of Manpower for Singaporeans to apply for jobs they are suitable for and willing to do and for MOM to get them the jobs within reasonable period of time both in the private and Government and Government relatated sectors. The Government should not allow potential employers to recruit foreigners for jobs for which Singaporeans are waiting in queue to take up.
This is an area the Government should pay special attention to.
Damn,
TT’s son issue is very straightforward case of making full use of worthy talented individuals.
Anyway, I’m not talking about TT, TCB or TKL. You can vote whoever you want. I’m talking about TJS’s backward mindset stagnant at opposition thinking.
With his type mindset, he’s not suitable to unite all Singaporeans. He’s in this PE for the opposition, not for Singaporeans at large. He wants to be win the PE so that he can oppose the government in high profile and hence influence voters to help the oppositions.
He’s more suitable as opposition, not as president. If he wants to oppose the government, he’s better off as opposition. Don’t act like he wants to President. Wrong platform.
If he becomes president, you can expect Singapore to go downhill with the government and president arguing with each other every day like in the US. Good bye to AAA. Thanks to TJS’s stagnant mindset.
Vote for TT? …. Must be joking… I better vote for my pet dog … At least my elitist dog is honorable enough not to exploit the system created by these elitist give unfair advantage to their own elitist clan such as preferential treatment in NS, unfair coverage in MSM, lining their own pockets in the name of “getting in people of integrity” etc etc etc…
Steven Kho, stop barking and yelpping like a Pappy lap dog. It’s very noisy and irritating to the ears. If you cannot rationalize well on the true issues of the PE then just go back quietly to your pappy kennel and stop barking!!!
Tony Tan – Appeals to the hardcore pro government pro pap supporter.
Tan Cheng Bock – Appeals to the moderates.
Tan Jee Say – Appeals to the Anti government voters.
Tan Kin Lian – Appeal is not clearly defined.
Spoilt vote – Appeals to voters who are formerly pro government
@Steven Kho,
There you go again.. You and your hand outs.. government putting food on the table for the low income?? Ya right? That shows how detached you are from reality..
And to you, poor people don’t need self esteem..
Wonder what kind of human being you are.. Nazi or physco??
Bravo, Tan Jee Say gave a great speech. Bold and courageous, he minced no words in countering the Law Minister’s attempt to hoodwink voters by a pro-PAP interpretation of the Constitution.
I’ve no doubt now that Tan Jee Say will be the President who will best represent oppressed Singaporeans.
Readers should not be distracted by that PAP slime Steven Kho. Just ignore ‘it’. ‘It’ is a robot writing pro-PAP propaganda in every thread. ‘It’ just wishes to provoke and seeks attention.
@President 13 August 2011
>>TJS’s mindset is still stagnant at the opposition stage.
… His mindset is not suitable as President. He’s more suitable as an opposition candidate. He makes a good opposition but a bad divisive president…<<
What's wrong with a President who is pro-Opposition? It's about time this happened since we have endured almost every President to date as a PAP stooge . We need a anti-PAP President. D'ont be fooled by that womanizer Law Minister's pro-PAP interpretation of the Constitution.
Tan Jee Say is the BEST there is.
TT and TCB are also political party loyalists and members before. A person may cancelled his membership but does this mean no more loyal? not necessary.
The wisdom and maturity of the people will be put to the test and proved to the world.
I feel that the people would vote for PAP related people as so-called independent and fair people to check on the PAP.
This is because I am a singaporean and knows singaporeans like the back of my arsss.
The Constitution should be re-looked and amended to increase the powers of the President. He should be allowed to participate in Parliament as an NMP, to raise issues and debate for changes. He should also be scrutinized by the Parliament/Public on his performance and given feedback. He is not a second power center unto himself, he is just another servant. A royal servant.