Presidential candidate broadcast by Tan Cheng Bock

To champion multi-racialism:Tan Cheng Bock

Presidential candidate broadcast by Tan Cheng Bock

Updated 09:23 PM Aug 18,2011

My Fellow Singaporeans,

I am Dr. Tan Cheng Bock.

I am here as your candidate for the Elected President.

I began my career as a medical doctor in Ama Keng,a poor village in Lim Chu Kang. The people I cared for were ordinary Singaporeans. They were simple people who despite their hard work,had barely enough for themselves.

To this day,I have fond memories of the times when these friends confided in me their dreams for the future.

They shared with me their hope that every man or woman,young or old,regardless of race or religion,had equal access to education,housing,and a good job. They hoped by working hard they would be able to provide for their loved ones.

They shared with me their hope for a country where every citizen supported one another in their pursuit of peace and prosperity.

I voiced these dreams of the people in Parliament for 26 years. Today,the same dreams are still harboured in the hearts of many Singaporeans,including mine:- Singaporeans want fairness in life,they also want fairness in their leaders.

They want their leaders to be accountable,transparent,and independent. They also want the President to bring unity to the nation,and these are the reasons why I decided to run for the Presidency.

The President must be above politics.

He must not be a proxy of any political party. His interest must be national,not with a political agenda in mind.

In recent times,there is a growing desire for a clear distinction between the Government and the Office of the President. This is because the President has to check on the reserves,and key civil service appointments.

I agree with these sentiments. Familiarity breeds the potential for compromise,and this will only work against the interests of all citizens.

Let me explain. Currently,the President and Prime Minister share the Istana Premise.

To strengthen the independence of the Presidency,one of my proposals will be to ask the Government to shift its operations from the Istana grounds to another location.

The PMO and Cabinet offices should not be housed in the same compound as the President,as this familiarity attracts unwanted suspicion of undue influence.

It may sound drastic but I believe this is the correct thing to do for Singaporeans.

I believe Singaporeans are politically mature enough to see the merits.

This is not unusual. For example,China and India have separate Head of State and Government premises.

This separation between the President and Government is critical to public confidence. This physical separation will further assure the people that the two institutions are independent of each other.

The Office of the President and the Government must not be seen as the same. Under the Constitution,their powers are separate. Let’s keep them separate.

I foresee this will require planning and cooperation from the two offices.

Next,I want to enhance the transparency of the Presidency.

For greater transparency,I will introduce an Annual Statement to let Singaporeans know whether the President is doing his job in safeguarding your reserves,your CPF,the appointment of civil servants,charitable activities,and national identity programmes in the arts,sports and culture.

For example,the people should have yearly assurance,on whether the Special Singapore Government Bonds backing their CPF deposits are safe or not. This statement will contain non-secret information.

This is your country. The reserves are your money. The Government and President are serving you. So you deserve to know how things work.

“Do I Deserve Your Vote?”,you may ask.

I understand that every Presidential candidate will be greeted with some scepticism,and rightly so.

You are after all,deciding on the best person to be your Head of State.

I believe that having held positions of leadership in the public and private sectors,I will be able to stand up to this scrutiny and gain your vote of confidence.

During my government tenure,I have served as Leader of the Singapore European Parliamentary Group and the Singapore South East Asia Parliamentary Group for over 15 years. I have represented Singapore at home and abroad.

I have had the even greater honour of interacting with Singaporeans like yourself and listening to your concerns as Feedback Chief and as Member of Parliament for Ayer Rajah Constituency.

Throughout my 26 years in office,I have never shied away from standing up for you,and challenging inappropriate policies.

In Parliament,I hotly debated the prevailing Foreign Talent Policy and emphasised the need to “Think Singaporeans First”.

This was in 1999,when many Singaporeans were losing their jobs.

I’ve also voted against the Nominated MP Scheme,as these MPs were not elected by you,the people of Singapore.

Over the years,I stood up for you:for more C Class beds for the poor in restructured hospitals,for the use of CPF monies to fund your children’s tertiary education,for free parking on Sundays and Public Holidays for better social and family interaction.

More recently,I resigned from Jurong General Hospital in protest against the naming of a public institution after a businessman whose family contributed just over one-tenth of the overall building costs,when the majority of the building costs were funded from your taxes. In my view,this in principle is wrong.

Besides the public service,I have held leadership positions in major local and multi-national companies.

Although a medical doctor by profession,I have 20 years of corporate experience. I have been the Chairman of the Board of publicly listed investment holding company Chuan Hup Holdings since 1991,and am Chairman of DIAP,a subsidiary of one of Europe’s biggest dredging companies since 1997. I have also served as an independent director of ING Asia Private Bank,a subsidiary of one of Europe’s largest banks.

With the skills and experience gleaned from these corporate appointments,I am confident of safeguarding your hard-earned savings,irrespective of whether they had been anchored in your CPF accounts,or used for investment purposes through Temasek Holdings and GIC.

I will also ensure that only capable and publicly spirited persons are recruited into key appointments. I will hold them to stringent scrutiny and standards.

Finally,I hope to use the Presidency as a Unifying Figure to bring together all Singaporeans with different political affiliations,race,language,and religions. I will do this not through political means,but by championing community causes like charities,sports,culture and the arts.

One of my key areas of unification is to champion multiracialism. Multiracialism is vital to unity.

We must never forget that Singapore is home to all races and this harmonious relationship must not be taken for granted.

Trust is important and it must be earned. The residents of Ayer Rajah trusted me,by giving me an 88% support in 2001 GE.

Similarly,I hope you will trust me with your vote so that I may serve all Singaporeans as your President.

It will be a privilege and honour.

If you believe in Independence,Accountability,and a Unified Singapore,then vote for me to be your President.

I have been a part of you. I felt for you and now you can trust me to safeguard your reserves without fear or favour.

I will not disappoint you.

Let’s Think Singaporeans First.

Vote for Change!

Vote for me as your President!

Thank you.

Source:http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110818-0001059/To-champion-multi-racialism–Tan-Cheng-Bock