Second presidential candidate broadcast: Ng Kok Song’s speech in full

My fellow Singaporeans,

The future well-being of Singapore depends on you electing a competent president who is non-partisan. Non-partisan means not biased towards any political party.

There are three candidates standing for the elected presidency. One resigned a month ago from the Government and from the ruling party to run for presidency. The other has opposition figures in his campaigning. I am the only non-partisan candidate. I do not and have never belonged to any political party.

Why is it important to have a non-partisan president?

The Constitution of Singapore requires that anyone nominated for president must not belong to any political party. The intent of our Constitution is very clear – to have a non-partisan elected president so that the president is above the partisan politics of Parliament.

Yet all our elected presidents since 1993 were affiliated to or endorsed by the PAP (People’s Action Party).

Our system has been compromising the spirit of the Constitution. Our system has complied with the letter but not the spirit. Our system allowed past political leaders to stand for election merely months after resigning from their political party.

We are now in 2023. This is not 1993. I strongly believe that the time has come in this presidential election to uphold the spirit of the Constitution.

Why is it an urgent matter to have a non-partisan president? Because the risks have increased.

In 1984, at his National Day Rally, the then Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, raised the idea of the elected presidency. Mr Lee warned of silver-tongued politicians who make empty promises and squander our hard-earned reserves.

Earlier this month, our current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: “If you have a freak election, you have the wrong team in charge, you have a rogue government who wants to raid the reserves. In one term, all your life savings of generations of Singaporeans will be gone.”

My fellow Singaporeans,

Politics in Singapore today has become highly contestable.

Having the wrong team in charge in the near future is no longer a remote possibility.

Our government leadership will also undergo a generational change in the next few years. There are uncertainties and risks with all transitions. The recent controversies discussed in Parliament imply that we cannot take for granted the exceptionally high standards of incorruptibility and integrity of good government.

In the face of such increasing risks, we cannot afford to have a president who may be beholden to political parties who endorse their nominations and help get them elected. We cannot afford to have a president who is manipulated by political parties to serve their political agenda.

In the coming years, there will be more reasons and more crises to draw heavily on our reserves. Can we take the risk of having another government-endorsed president checking government requests to draw down our reserves? Is it appropriate for an ex-minister who set fiscal policies to then move across the table and become the president and check on the policies that he had put in place? I do not believe any person should be put in such a position of conflict, and we don’t need to. We cannot rely on an “ownself check ownself” mechanism to safeguard our reserves or the integrity of the public service.

We have had three walkovers in the last five presidential elections. While the bar to qualify for the presidency is high, I believe the real reason is the perception that, unless you are endorsed by the Government or strongly supported by opposition parties, you have no chance to get elected.

I strongly believe that there are independent, capable Singaporeans who are non-partisan and loyal to Singapore, qualified to serve as the president, to make the right decisions and act in the interests of all, unencumbered by personal ties and loyalty to any party agenda, policy or ideology, past or present. I am standing in this election, to set an example for more Singaporeans to do the same in the coming years.

I am the only candidate in this election who is non-partisan. More than that, I have the domain knowledge and experience to protect our reserves.

My fellow Singaporeans,

When you vote on Friday, let us break from the past and take party politics out of the elected presidency. Choose a president who is competent and experienced, who is trustworthy and who has not belonged to any political party. It is time we break from the past of having a president endorsed by the PAP. The elected presidency is an office that must belong to all Singaporeans, not to any privileged group, organisation or party.

I humbly offer myself as the change to a non-partisan president. I am Ng Kok Song and I humbly ask you for your vote. Thank you.