SINGAPORE - The public will not see physical posters and banners of presidential candidate Ng Kok Song – even as his opponents Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Tan Kin Lian have put them up islandwide.
He does not have the manpower to do so, Mr Ng said. Besides, his strategy hinges on social media, and it is greener to not have physical posters or banners, he added.
Mr Ng, 75, has been spending time on Instagram and TikTok to reach younger voters, especially those in their 20s who are voting in a presidential election for the first time.
Speaking to the media at Amoy Street Food Centre on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Ng said: “I feel that our young Singaporeans can share my message and talk about me to their parents and grandparents.”
He added that he does not have the manpower to hang posters on lamp posts all over the island. “Therefore, I ask Singaporeans who are looking for posters and banners to understand my situation.”
He also pointed out that using physical posters is unsustainable. “What’s the point of making posters and banners, hang them up for a few days, take them down, and then send them to be destroyed as waste?” he said.
Asked if the absence of posters would create the perception that there is no room for him in the contest, Mr Ng responded: “On the contrary. I want to be conspicuous by my absence of posters and banners.
“I’m told that (my social media) reach has been quite spectacular... One of my TikTok videos has reached more than two million people. I was very surprised by that.”
The former GIC chief investment officer has been doing walkabouts at hawker centres and shopping malls. While posters and banners are not part of his campaign, his team of supporters will distribute some pamphlets during his walkabouts.
Mr Ng said young people are crucial to his campaign, noting that this would be the first time many young people are voting in a presidential election, with the last contested election held 12 years ago.
“Our younger generation will (also) begin to learn what is the meaning of the presidential election; what is the meaning of the checking powers of the president.
“So it’s not just a voting thing. It is an educational process,” added Mr Ng, who was accompanied by his fiancee Sybil Lau, 45, and his team of supporters – long-time friends and colleagues from the finance sector.
In the late afternoon, Mr Ng visited the Singapore Malay Youth Library Association (Taman Bacaan) to find out more about the challenges and concerns of the Malay/Muslim community here.
More than 15 members of the association and the Malay/Muslim community – including his assentor and former presidential hopeful Mohamed Salleh Marican – had a discussion that encompassed youth at risk, ways to uplift Malay-Muslim entrepreneurs, and Mr Ng’s message to voters.
At the association’s office near Bedok, Mr Ng was joined by his brother Charles Ng and his fiancee’s father, Mr Liu Zhaohang, whom he addresses as his father-in-law. Mr Liu was born in China and previously served as Canada’s high commissioner in Brunei.
Young people vulnerable to the risks of radicalisation and addiction is one of the issues close to Mr Ng’s heart. He also noted that they are now more anxious about their future and employment.
Mr Ng previously said that many civic and public organisations were afraid to invite him to visit as he is not a government-endorsed candidate.
Asked if this has changed, he told the media: “There is a positive change where I’ve been welcomed so warmly (at Taman Bacaan). So I’m slowly overcoming the disadvantage of not being a government-endorsed candidate.”
