Tan Kin Lian says he will seek good relations with PM to exercise ‘soft power’ of presidency
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Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, accompanied by his wife Tay Siew Hong (on his right), greeting patrons at Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre on Aug 25.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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SINGAPORE - Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian said he will strive for a good relationship with the prime minister should he be elected, so that both leaders can find a way to meet common goals in improving Singaporeans’ lives.
Mr Tan, 75, noted that fellow candidate and former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had on Wednesday said
“So he (Mr Tharman) agreed that the president has soft power,” Mr Tan said on the sidelines of a walkabout at Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre on Friday.
Mr Tan said he agreed with Mr Tharman that such soft power is effective only if there are good relations between the president and the prime minister, and that as president, he will seek to convey the people’s “wishes, aspirations and even hardships” without being adversarial with the Government.
“The people of Singapore will want me to convey (their feelings) to the prime minister, and I will do so – not in confrontation, but in consultation and collaboration,” said the former NTUC Income chief executive.
On Friday, Mr Tan said he is aware that seeking to change government policy does not fall within the president’s constitutional duties, but that he is “quite determined to do my best to convey to the Government, to the prime minister, to the ministers, my ideas of how some policies can be changed”.
With Mr Tan on Friday was his wife, Madam Tay Siew Hong, who was accompanying her husband on the campaign trail for the first time.
Madam Tay, 67, said she had decided to join Mr Tan on the walkabout and support his campaign because Mr Tan “really loves Singapore and wants to make a contribution to help the people”.
The housewife said that she had been preparing herbal tea to keep her husband hydrated, and keeping his spirits up for the campaigning ahead by preparing his favourite dishes, such as Indonesian rendang.
On how he would establish a good relationship with the executive, Mr Tan said it is a matter of finding common ground with the prime minister, including on issues such as cost of living, housing and jobs.
“So it is a matter of sitting down together and seeing where we agree,” he said.
In an earlier interview with the Yah Lah But podcast, Mr Tan was asked how he intended to challenge government policies, given that this was not within the president’s remit.
He replied: “I hold the second key. You want my money? I hold the key.”
The second key refers to the elected president being a safeguard to the use of Singapore’s reserves by the Government.
For instance, the president can veto the Government’s Budget if he is of the opinion that it is likely to draw on the past reserves. If he does so without the recommendation of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA), Parliament may vote to overrule the president through a motion supported by at least two-thirds of the total number of MPs (excluding nominated MPs).
In the interview, published on Monday, Mr Tan said the president has some powers, even though he is required under the Constitution to consult the CPA in the exercise of his custodial powers.
“If the council comprising people who represent the Government want to make my life difficult, I can also make their life difficult,” he said. “But that’s not going to solve any problem. So why don’t we cooperate, respect each other.”
