Singapore presidential election: Tan Kin Lian’s ‘pretty girls’ controversy clouds nomination day as campaigning kicks off
- Election officials on Tuesday formally approved the candidacies of Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian to run for Singapore president
- But the typically sedate nomination-day proceedings became clouded by controversy amid an outcry over Tan’s past social media posts regarding women
Observers had mostly expected Tuesday’s nomination-day proceedings to be a sedate affair, but the occasion became clouded by controversy after the past comments of one of the candidates – Tan Kin Lian – regarding women were thrown into sharp relief in recent days.
The long-ruling PAP has not formally endorsed Tharman – election rules bar political parties from backing a presidential candidate – but various influential figures close to the ruling establishment have openly voiced support for him.
Singapore’s past presidents have all had significant ties with the PAP and their candidacies have been seen as having the tacit backing of the party that has governed the republic since 1959. The incumbent, President Halimah Yacob, was a former PAP MP and parliamentary speaker.
Ng and Tan have stressed that they are a better fit to be president as they do not have strong links to the PAP like Tharman.
The formal acceptance of the three men’s candidacies kick-starts a nine-day campaign period ahead of next week’s vote.
Some 2.7 million citizens are eligible to cast their ballots. Voting is compulsory in the city state and failing to do so results in a voter’s removal from the electoral rolls, with reinstatement requiring a valid excuse or the payment of a S$50 (US$37) penalty.
Tan’s ‘pretty girls’ posts
Tan, 75, was the subject of intense social media chatter on Monday after influential women’s rights group Aware issued a statement criticising what it said was his track record of objectifying women on his Facebook page.
It referred to various posts where he discussed “pretty girls” he had encountered while commuting on public transport or elsewhere in public.
“Such behaviour from anyone in or aspiring to a position of influence suggests that it’s acceptable to trivialise women and overlook their myriad abilities and contributions,” the group said.
Aware also questioned the government-appointed Presidential Elections Committee for its certification of Tan as a person qualified to run for the presidency.
The five-person committee made that determination last week, ascertaining that Tan, Tharman and Ng met the constitutional criteria to be president.
To qualify as a candidate, former public officials – ministers, chief justices and permanent secretaries, among others – must have held top senior positions for at least three years over the preceding two decades.
Private sector candidates must have served an equivalent period as the CEO of a company with at least S$500 million (US$369 million) in shareholders’ equity and generated profit after tax throughout the entire period.
Committee members must also be satisfied that candidates are people of “integrity, good character and reputation”.
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Responding to the public outcry, the committee said in a statement issued late on Monday that it was unaware of Tan’s social media posts and that it was “not legally entitled” to rescind the certificate of eligibility it had granted him.
“Any additional facts regarding a candidate, which come to public attention after the candidate’s certificate has been issued, would be for the electorate’s consideration and assessment before casting their votes,” it said.
Tan, who was among the losers in 2011’s four-way presidential election, said on Tuesday morning that he was the subject of a “smear campaign”.
The national daily The Straits Times quoted Tan as saying that “pretty girls take the effort to dress up to be attractive, and when I say that they are quite attractive, most of them actually feel quite happy”.
Tan also appeared to accused the ruling PAP of being behind the so-called smear campaign against him. “I say [to] that political party: you are in power. You want to ask people to unite. You want to ask people to trust the government. Is this the the way to behave?,” the Straits Times quoted him as saying.
At the government complex where the three men submitted their nomination papers on Tuesday, most of the gathered supporters were there for Tharman.
Alvin Tan, a resident of Jurong district – where Tharman was an MP before he vacated the seat to contest the coming polls – said he believed the politician had proven himself both on the domestic and international front.
A trained economist and a former central bank chief, Tharman has been one of the most recognisable Singaporean leaders on the world stage, alongside Prime Minister Lee.
“We do feel he can do a fantastic job as the head of state for Singapore because he represented us really well internationally,” Tan said.
