Statement by Election Department
TAN KIN LIAN’S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BROADCAST (PCB) SPEECH
Presidential candidates receive TV and radio airtime for national campaign messages. They were informed of the timings of the Presidential Candidate Broadcast and the rules on 12 August 2023, and were briefed on 21 August 2023. All candidates must submit their scripts in advance.
2 Mr. Tan Kin Lian’s original script had inaccuracies about the President’s role. Specifically, he suggested that the President can provide guidance on the reserves’ investment strategies and influence government policy. After being notified of the inaccuracies, Mr. Tan’s election agent had corrected them without objection.
3 All Presidential candidates, including Mr. Tan, signed a statutory declaration on their nomination paper to confirm that they have read the explanatory material on the President’s constitutional role, including the specific examples of what the President can and cannot do. They also signed a voluntary undertaking on campaigning for the election in a manner that is dignified, decorous and consistent with the President’s position. The statutory declaration, explanatory material and voluntary undertaking can be found here:
https://go.gov.sg/nomination-paper-pe2023;
https://go.gov.sg/voluntary-undertaking-pe2023; and
https://go.gov.sg/explanatory-material-on-president-role.
4 We remind all candidates not to mislead the public about the President’s role.
ISSUED BY
ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT
PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
24 August 2023
Tan Kin Lian says IMDA got no “authority”
According to Channel NewsAsia, Tan responded to his speech being edited, saying that IMDA asked for three paragraphs of his speech to be removed, which Tan deemed to be the “most important paragraphs” of his speech.
The edited portion related to his advice on investing Singapore’s reserves, and his wanting to “influence” the government policies in terms of living, housing and security of jobs.
Tan said that he didn’t agree with the decision to remove that portion of his speech and that “I consider the IMDA does not have the authority to interpret the Constitution in their way and ask for the statements to be removed.”