Tharman responds to Tan Kin Lian's claims about voters preferring a 'true-blue Singaporean' first lady

Presidential candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam does not want to respond to any "tactical statements" from his fellow competitors. 

Speaking to the media at Amoy Street Food Centre on Friday (Aug 25) afternoon, the former senior minister was asked for his comment on Tan Kin Lian's statement that Singaporeans may prefer to choose a president and first lady who were both born in Singapore. 

Tan, 75, had made the statement during his walkabout at Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre on Friday morning. He also remarked that his wife, Tay Siew Hong, was a "true-blooded" Singaporean during his walkabout at Senja Food Centre on Thursday. 

Tan and Tay, 67, were both born and bred in Singapore. 

Tharman's wife, Jane Ittogi, was born to a Japanese father and a Singaporean Chinese mother. She has lived in Singapore since she was three. 

"I don't really want to comment on the tactical statements of each candidate, said Tharman, 66. "They will come up with various tactical statements and I let people judge for themselves." 

He also brought up the example of entrepreneur George Goh, 63, who did not qualify to contest the presidential election. 

"I have nothing again George Goh, the fact that he was born in Malaysia, worked very hard, came to Singapore and succeeded.

"I thought it was a good story, it's always been the Singapore story. So I'd rather not comment on any particular statements by other candidates. It's just not my style," Tharman said. 

During the interview, he was also asked to comment on his campaign spending. 

"It's well within the Elections Department's requirements," he remarked. 

"The good thing about Singapore is that we have one of the tightest rules anywhere in the world on spending money in politics and we should stick to that. It's a very low budget and you have to decide how you spend it."

Tharman also shared that he spent "less on social media compared to others", choosing to devote his available funds to more "traditional ways" of campaigning. 

He did not comment when asked if he was accepting donations to fund his campaign. 

On Thursday, candidate Ng Kok Song, 75, announced that he was not taking any donations for his campaign, in order to "not be beholden to anyone" in standing for presidency. 

Instead, he will be funding his election expenses with his personal savings. 

Tan, on the other hand, said on Aug 20 that he will be accepting donations via PayNow from his supporters, as advised by his campaign team. 

Donations of $10 to $9,999 can transferred to a mobile number via PayNow while any donation of $10,000 or more would have to be made separately, he wrote in his blog post. 

READ ALSO: 'We shouldn't look at presidential election through political lens': Tharman on online comments about spoiling votes

claudiatan@asiaone.com

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