SINGAPORE – One way to contribute to the young people of Singapore today is to better equip them with public speaking skills, said presidential hopeful Ng Kok Song.

Speaking to the media during a visit to the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) on Monday, Mr Ng, 75, said that the young people he has interacted with have to deal with pressure and worries about the future.

The former chief investment officer of GIC listed two ways he seeks to help them navigate the future: ensuring they have help in public speaking skills, and teaching them to meditate.

“(Public speaking) will make you a more productive person, a more effective person, especially if you are going to rise to leadership positions,” he said.

He added that while it was good that most Singaporeans are shy and afraid to speak up in public without thinking first, this could lead to barriers in the professional world.

“It’s quite a natural thing for us to be reticent or hesitant about speaking out, but that is a limitation in our ability to have a good job. Because, unless you’re able to communicate clearly, how do people know about your ideas?”

He also reiterated his call to teach young people how to meditate: “I want to help them... get relief from stress. And the best way that I knew, from my own personal experience, is to learn how to meditate.”

He added: “I’d like to be able to share with the younger people how to meditate and meditate with them.”

Mr Ng urged young people not to be pessimistic about Singapore’s future, as there are good opportunities and global investments which will help to create jobs.

“We should be optimistic... that’s why the unity of Singapore is so important – we can have political stability if we continue to work hard and make ourselves competitive, productive workers, there are plenty of economic opportunities,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Ng had a closed-door discussion with SFCCA members before touring the association’s exhibits.

He also presented a piece of calligraphy by his fiancee Sybil Lau, 45, of a Chinese idiom that means “all rivers and streams lead to the ocean”.

“Regardless of our clan, we belong to one federation; regardless of our race, we belong to one nation,” said Mr Ng.

He also stressed the importance of the president’s position on Singapore’s reserves.

“The most important role of the president is to safeguard our reserves to make sure that we don’t go from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves, to make sure that our wealth is not destroyed, is not taken away in three generations.”

He added: “I want to stand for president so that I can play an important role in safeguarding our reserves.”