by: Ravi Philemon/
I was watching Channel NewsAsia’s (CNA) ‘AM Live!’ and was quite disturbed that CNA kept associating Presidential candidate Tan Jee Say with Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).
Even their written report says, “former Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) member Mr Tan Jee Say…was issued the Certificate of Eligibility for his presidential bid”.
Yes it is a fact that he was SDP’s candidate in the last General Election, but in a report to highlight why the PEC decided to give him the Certificate of Eligibility, isn’t it more appropriate to highlight the fact that he qualified for the COE because he was the former Regional Manager of AIB Govett Asia?
The fact that he spent five years as the Prinicpal Private Secretary to former-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was also completely left out in the video segment (although it is there in the written report).
What we find instead in a clip meant to introduce Mr Tan Jee Say is him being featured seating with Mr Chee Soon Juan in SDP’s colours.
Why choose this clip when there are other clips in CNA’s archives of Mr Tan’s interviews with the network since he announced his intentions to run for the Presidential Election (see HERE)?
Is this portrayal of Mr Tan to colour him in SDP purposeful, because (in Cherian George’s words) SDP is perceived in some quarters as “a destructive force…Chee has repeatedly broken the law in order to win for himself the attention of foreign human rights groups; that he has run down Singapore in international fora; and that his methods are rejected even by other Opposition leaders”?
So the logic behind this being ‘if the people have rejected SDP and Dr Chee Soon Juan, they will reject Tan Jee Say by way of association too’.
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@Lisa 14 August 2011
Nicole Seah endorses Tan Jee Say.
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Tan Jee Say is backed by SDP, NSP (Nicole) and anti-PAP voters.
Phony Tony and Doc will split the PAP votes. TKL is damaged goods, after it was revealed he was “asked to leave NTUC…”.
Phony Tony hasn’t got a chance, given his cover-up of his son’s evasion of NS for 12 years.
Tan Jee Say does not have the refinement and subtlety to be President.
He wants to lobby the government to disband Temasek Holdings. Totally naive politically. By that statement, he has lost the votes of all Temasek’s hundreds of employees and their family members, as well as those of GIC’s employees.
What he should have said is he will lobby the government to change Temasek’s CEO Ho Ching, who has mismanaged Temasek. This is welcome by all.
Likewise during GE 2011, he called for an abolishing of manufacturing, and moved factories to Batam. He immediately lost the votes of factory owners, bosses and workers. What he should have said was government should give higher priority to service industries, and not mention the ‘manufacturing’ word. He hasn’t got the sophistication to be a politician, not a President. He is pandering to populist mob sentiment.
It seems he did not have a very successful career after leaving the government. He is thus taking a stab at politics to hopefully make a fast buck.
Tan Jee Say is a loud mouth who shoots from the hip with seemingly clever ideas but on closer inspection are totally unworkable. Having a clown like that in the Istana is downright dangerous.
Strategy to let FTs and old folks to link TJS to the bogeyman, ie. Opposition esp. SDP. Link with CSG who in this segment is damaged goods.
Old tactics of old fart to use the state media for their own use….nothing new.
Tan Jee Say has to look long term. Once provided with the COE, the PEC cannot in future elections claim TJS does not qualify.
In so doing, TJS provides the opposition with a candidate that could , in theory, become a president that could protect a future opposition govt.
As to CNA associating TJS with being an ex-SDP candidate, that is what he is. It has the same connotation with being an ex-PAP member. In fact, that is clearly what some people are saying about TT, TCB & TKL.
The identification of party is important because the party’s ideals is often shared by the person. Clearly that could influence votes. Unless TJS is ashamed of being an ex-SDP member, which I don’t think he is, then there is nothing wrong with the association.
till date, nothing convinced that the prez can influenced the government. So whatever cocks the EP talking (now), it is useless.
Just another rally for the EP.
- Only Time can tell.
Tan Jee Say’s close association with Chee Soon Juan and Dr Wijey is unsettling for many conservative Singaporeans. The thought of having these two odd-balls with TJS in the Istana is not appealing.
I agree with Finin that TJS lacks political sophistication. If he wants to shut down Temasek, d’ont say it in public. Just say Sack Ho Ching, which will get him instantly zillions of votes. He can then say what he wants about Temasek after being elected President.
I have grave doubts about TJS.
@ Finin and Fred
I work for a TH subsidiary and I welcome the proposition of divesting TH’s stake in my company. For once, decisions can be made faster and in today’s economy, speed is crucial in getting the best deals in the market. Moreover, the kinda of management that TH appoints to my company are ex-SAF officials who are deaf to opinions and would always insist that they are right and we have to execute their decisions without any questioning.
Fyi, there are not many Singaporeans working in TH anyway. Especially in overseas locations. I would think that it would be 60:40 to Singaporean staffs in the whole TH structure.
So being opposition candidate is Wrong but being Pap candidate is right?
Sadly, i predict that sporens will mostly vote a forner pap mp to be the unbiased and independent ep to check on the pap.
I know, anyone non sporen reading this would find it shocking. But please we are sporens. We think like that.
Lets see if my prediction and understanding of sporen is right.
I read sporens like the back of my hand.
You are too simple to predict.
Rgds
Pui
I suspect that TJS has a SHARP axe to grind against anything and everything PAP. He ought to remain in the opposition camp rather than trying his luck at PE.
From my observations, he has opened his mouth quite a lot lately in the media and many can see deep inside his throat. He should have engaged a better PR manager if he is serious in this venture.
Anyway, good luck TJS!
Below is an article who has checked up on Tan Jee Say, and corroborates some of my own suspicions about him.
TheRealTruth:
August 14, 2011 at 10:23 pm (Quote)
Dear Fellow Singaporeans
In the interest of transparency and in the spirit of being the voice of conscience,
this to correct the false impression that is conveyed in the Sunday Times article about tjs.
Tjs has no moral righteousness, compass or anchor and blows where the winds of opportunity takes him. He quit as PPS when it became apparent that he would not become perm sec. Tjs is driven by greed and selfishness.
After quitting the government, he joined Morgan Grenfell, then Peregrine Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and finally AIB Govett.
When Morgan Grenfell came knocking, tjs jumped at the chance. He promised to bring in much monies from the Malaysian conglomerates which he came into contact with during his tenure at MTI. His results at Morgan Grenfell speak for themselves, tjs did not deliver the monies and his peers soon found that he was a light weight load of hot air.
Tjs had a contributory role in Bank Peregrine’s demise. He did not dispense proper advice that the investment into an Indonesian concern was not viable. Tjs, the person at the site did not do proper due diligence.
At AIB Govett, it was reported that his strength was in policy making. This firm collapsed whilst others survived, obviously tjs’s policies were wrong. This forebodes poorly on the potential for tjs to be EP as at every employment stop he has demonstrated poor judgement. Translate this into safeguarding our nation’s reserves and it will result in disastrous consequences.
Tjs’s next stops at Standard Chartered Bank and Hi Green is also empty of significant contributions. He was forced out of Standard Chartered by his Indian boss.
His claim to be ‘not a lavish man’ is not true. In tjs ‘high flying’ years, tjs openly boasted that his income tax contributions were higher than an average man’s annual income. Tjs aspired to the lifestyle of his successful PAP friends and his banking colleagues. Tjs had his fair share of thoughts about redeveloping his Frankel Avenue house into a mansion.
It is obvious that tjs squandered his wealth on ill conceived and dubious ventures in his empty years. If tjs had prudently invested his wealth, he would be fairly well off. This can be verified by any banker.
2006 till present, tjs was unemployable as by that time the banking industry had seen tjs for what he was, no substance and only hot air.
Let the people exam tjs’s empty years for themselves. And these were indeed empty as he was trying to chase his ‘China make money’ dream backed up by casual connections made when he accompanied government officials in China state visits.
There was the attempt at marketing Chinese breast enhancement drug treatments in Singapore.
His attempt to provide training of bank personnel also failed as tjs could not deliver what he promised.
There is also an erroneous reporting that Tjs’s wife was an investment banker. This is inaccurate. Pls verify which investment bank she was employed under. In fact, Mrs tjs abused her position when she was with their 4th child. NTUC Income would not grant her paid maternity leave so she took unpaid leave but traded on her information from the NTUC Income equity positions she managed to make money for herself. In what ever manner one looks at this, this is a conflict of interest.
Tjs’s selective use of reality makes him dangerous to Singapore.
Reporting tjs an independent candidate is also very wrong. He was brought up through the PAP system and for a time worked within the system when he was PPS to DPM GOH. In truth, tjs is a rogue PAP minion setting out his own agenda to revenge the wrong that he perceives the PAP has done to him under the disguise of public interest.
Tjs cannot claim to be a people’s man and have the Singaporeans’ interest at heart. For those who know tjs, tjs thinks highly of himself, is full of himself, highly opinionated, talks down to people. Tjs can no way be representative of Singapore’s President.
I feel that tjs does not have our nation’s interest at heart; tjs has an axe to grind with the PAP because he is disgruntled that his dreams of higher government office was not realized.
This is very dangerous and a threat to our country’s stability and because of this I feel strongly that when reporting on tjs the truth must be correctly reported.
Best regards
TheRealTruth
@TheRealTruth 15 August 2011
[Quote] Dear Fellow Singaporeans
In the interest of transparency and in the spirit of being the voice of conscience, this is to correct the false impression that is conveyed in the Sunday Times article about Tan Jee Say (tjs).
Tjs has no moral righteousness, compass or anchor and blows where the winds of opportunity takes him. He quit the government when it became apparent that he would not become permanent secretary.
After quitting the government, he first joined Morgan Grenfell, then Peregrine Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and finally AIB Govett.
When Morgan Grenfell came knocking, tjs jumped at the chance. He promised them to bring in much monies from the Malaysian conglomerates which he came into contact with during his tenure at the Ministry of Trade & Industry. His results at Morgan Grenfell speak for themselves, tjs did not deliver the monies and his peers soon found that he was a light weight load of hot air.
His stay at Peregrine Bank was just as short lived. In fact, he had a contributory role in Bank Peregrine’s eventual demise. His poor judgement, resulted in his failure to dispense proper advice that the investment into an Indonesian concern was not viable. Tjs, the person responsible failed to do appropriate due diligence. Peregrine’s subsequent bankruptcy saw him packing his bags again.
At AIB Govett, it was reported that his strength was in policy making. This firm collapsed whilst others survived. Obviously tjs’s policies were wrong. This forebodes poorly on the potential for tjs to be EP as at every employment stop he has demonstrated poor judgement. Translate this into safeguarding our nation’s reserves and it will result in disastrous consequences.
Tjs’s next stops at Standard Chartered Bank and Hi Green is also empty of significant contributions. He was forced out of Standard Chartered by his Indian FT boss.
His claim to be ‘not a lavish man’ is a distortion of the truth. In his ‘high flying’ years, tjs openly boasted that his income tax contributions were higher than an average man’s annual income. Tjs aspired to the lifestyle of his successful PAP friends and his banking colleagues. Tjs had his fair share of thoughts about redeveloping his Frankel Avenue house into a mansion.
It is obvious that tjs squandered his wealth on ill conceived and dubious ventures in his empty years. If tjs had prudently invested his wealth, he would be fairly well off. This can be verified by any banker.
2006 till present, tjs was unemployable as by that time the banking industry had seen tjs for what he was, no substance and only hot air.
Let the people exam tjs’s empty years for themselves. And these were indeed empty as he was trying to chase his ‘China make money’ dream backed up by the casual connections made when he accompanied government officials in China state visits earlier.
There was also an abortive attempt at marketing Chinese breast enhancement drug treatments in Singapore. Not surprisingly, it failed.
His attempt to provide training of bank personnel also failed as tjs could not deliver what he promised.
Acquiring a certificate in Islamic finance, he tried to hawk his credentials as an Islamic finance adviser. Predictably this flopped too.
Tjs is a serial failure after quitting the government.
There is also an erroneous reporting that Tjs’s wife was an investment banker. This is inaccurate. Pls verify for yourself which investment bank she was employed under. In fact, Mrs tjs abused her position when she was with their 4th child. NTUC Income would not grant her paid maternity leave so she took unpaid leave but traded on her information from the NTUC Income equity positions she managed to make money for herself. In what ever manner one looks at this, this is a conflict of interest.
Tjs’s selective use of reality makes him dangerous to Singapore.
Reporting that tjs is an independent candidate is also erroneous. He was brought up through the PAP system and for a time worked within the system when he was PPS to DPM GOH. In truth, tjs is a rogue PAP onion setting his own agenda to revenge the wrong that he perceives the PAP had done to him under the disguise of public interest.
Tjs cannot claim to be a people’s man and have the Singaporeans’ interest at heart. For those who know tjs, he thinks highly of himself, is full of airs, highly opinionated, talks down to people. No way can Tjs be Singapore’s President
Closing factories, moving workers to Batam, disbanding Temasek Holdings, closing casinos, draw $60 billion from reserves to finance his hare brained schemes, etc all came from his lips. Has he seriously thought through what he is proposing, or is he just shooting from the hips to rouse mob hysteria. His endorsement by Chee Soon Juan and his EP campaign being financed by SDP make him beholden to Chee Soon Juan, and thereby a SDP spokesman, and not representative of all Singaporeans.
I feel that tjs does not have ALL SINGAPOREANS’ interest at heart; tjs has an axe to grind with the PAP because he is disgruntled that his dreams of higher government office was not realized.
This is very dangerous and a threat to our country’s stability and because of this I feel strongly to disclose what I have discovered about tjs so that the TRUTH be correctly reported. [Unquote]
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Your uncovering of Tan Jee Say’s career failures after quitting the government is IRRELEVANT. What’s the big deal that he didn’t make it outside government? That is NOT the criteria to be an effective OPPOSITION President.
We want a President that will bark loudly and persistently at the worthless PAP ministers robbing us of millions of $$$. Only Tan Jee Say can do it, because as you said, he has a personal passion to do so, to right a wrong done to him by his ex PAP bosses.
D’ont forget that the President has no REAL power and is a dummy. Thus, to get our $4 million a year worth, we must have a dummy who can talk back to the PAP.
To do so, an OPPOSITION President must be a man with passion & conviction. Phony Tony, Doc and TKL are all mild, soft spoken, have no passion and not tough enough to f**k the PAP good and proper. So vote for TJS, his career failures in private sector is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. TJS has Passion and Commitment to kick the butt of the PAP, and keep these million $$$ scumbags on their toes.
i once worked for a TH subsidiary and I must say TH under Ho is prudent in spending. anyone caught entertaining clients in slizzy places were asked to leave. however, some con man especially investment bankers must have tricked TH into buying useless stuff and so they are trying hard to cover the gaps in the last three years.
Nothing wrong with what CNA has done. Singaporeans are rather daft, need to remind them that Tan Jee Say cannot be trusted. Better to vote for Dr Tony Tan for President!
@Hard Truths 16 August 2011
Tan Jee Say cannot be trusted. Better to vote for Dr Tony Tan for President
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Phony Tony allowed his precious son to piss all over the sacred duty of serving NS. That act alone makes him unfit to be President.
What is the point of having another president that is just going to be an endorser of everything pap says without much resistance. At least tan jee say has the balls to stand up for what he believes, unlike many pap people (past or present) that do not dare oppose much. We need a president that is not pro pap, but pro people, and we can’t have an ex pap or grassroot to be president coz that would be like coming back to square one if you see my point.
Hey Perry, don’t cut and paste a baseless article about tan jee say just to give him a bad name. If there is anyone more arrogant, it should be those people who are trying to keep the ruling party in power all these years. Rewind back to the recent ge and look at what goh chok tong said about tan jee say, that was really below the belt and something not befitting of an ex pm’s conduct. Politics is dirty and we must also understand that no one is a saint. Nothing said about all the 84 pap candidates in parliament does not mean they have a squeaky clean life. Coming back to the pe, we need a president that is not merely a parrot to pap policies but able to critique on govt policies effectively.
A president must have a charitable heart. Only tan kin lian and tan jee say pledged a bulk of the presidential salary to charity. Look at the highly endorsed nathan by the pap, in his two terms, how much of his millions has been donated to charity? In his almost decade long presidential term, how effective has he been a critique to pap policies? Imo nathan is the most useless president our republic has seen. When people asked me who our president was, I told them we had none coz I never considered nathan president material to be president. Anyway, majority of singapore did not choose nathan in the first place so what people’s president are we talking about here?
As usual trying to use media to bring a good man down. Ignore what is said in the media and vote for tan jee say. We don’t need a presidential pap puppet
I am seeing Tony Tan’s media machine at work now to try to bring down TJS’s character. I will not vote for Tony Tan to be the mouthpiece of PAP.
“We want a President that will bark loudly and persistently at the worthless PAP ministers” Note the words “BARK LOUDLY” – mad dog for president?
I am glad my search brought me to this forum. This is a fair forum with diversing views!
I saw that y forum which is hijacked by a certain group of people. There, if someone in the news has constipation, somehow or rather it is due to the government’s fault.
Hmm….