Tan Kin Lian launches presidential bid, names Tan Jee Say and Lim Tean as proposer, seconder

The President must be someone who is "independent from the People's Action Party", Tan Kin Lian has said on Friday (Aug 11) to officially launch his bid for president. 

In a press conference at the Copthorne King's Hotel that is reminiscent of a opposition political party rally, the 75-year-old also announced his proposer and seconder. 

They are former presidential candidate and opposition politician Tan Jee Say, and opposition politician and lawyer Lim Tean respectively. 

Lim is the leader of Peoples Voice while Tan Jee Say began his political career with the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in 2011. The latter founded SingFirst in 2014 and then asked to rejoin the SDP after his party was dissolved in 2020.

Tan Kin Lian announced on July 30 that he has applied for a certificate of eligibility in the upcoming Presidential Election, adding that he will wait for the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) to decide on approved candidates before deciding on whether to submit the nomination paper.

And a blog post published on Aug 3, Tan said that he intends to "use the power of the president's office to work collaboratively with the government" and to "find alternative solutions" on issues such as cost of living, housing and jobs. 

"I do not intend to be an adversary to the government," said Tan. "Instead, I plan to collaborate, engage in discussions and meetings with government ministers and share my insights and proposals for alternative approaches." 

Tan also shared that the President's veto powers can be used "to ensure that government policies align with [his] vision and goals". 

But several analysts have labelled Tan's aims as unrealistic and misleading - with one telling CNA that Tan is setting a dangerous precedent by "demonstrating that he is going to be rather antagonistic" to the government. 

In the 2011 Presidential Election, the former NTUC Income chief was up against opposition politician Tan Jee Say, Progress Singapore Party founder Tan Cheng Bock, and former deputy prime minister Tony Tan who was elected as president.

Tan Kin Lian lost his deposit of $48,000 after his number of votes - 4.91 per cent of the total 2,274,773 votes - failed to garner more than one-eighth of the total number of votes cast in the election.

This story is developing.

ALSO READ: 5 things to know about Tan Kin Lian

chingshijie@asiaone.com

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