Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, who finished behind eventual President-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam and 2nd placed Ng Kok Song with 13.88% of the votes, will be putting his presidential campaign posters up for sale on 9 September.
He said in a Facebook post on 4 September that he will be stationed with a friend between Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre and Bedok MRT station on 9 September from 9am to 11am.
They will be selling about 30 of the posters on a first come first served basis for $10 each.
In a Facebook post yesterday morning (6 September), he said that he was told by his campaign manager that he might need to apply for a temporary permit for the sale of the posters.
However, he “searched the Police website and could not find any form to apply for this permit.”
Someone then suggested to him that he had to apply for the permit from NEA but he didn’t think that it was applicable since “I was not selling food”.
He will be proceeding with the sale on Saturday anyway “and see if the police of other(s) harass(ed) me”, as he highlighted how he “cannot understand why it should take so much trouble just to sell the used poster to my supporters.
He also said in his Facebook post that he will be donating the proceeds to a Muslim charity “because the Malay community probably need help more than the other communities” before he removed that part of his statement from his Facebook post. (See screenshot below.)
Tan Kin Lian’s Facebook post
I announced a sale of my used posters at the concourse next to Bedok MRT station.
My campaign manager said that I may have to apply for a “temporary permit” for the sale. I searched the Police website and could not find any form to apply for this permit. I could not even find a form to make an enquiry and ask if the permit was necessary.
Someone suggested that I had to apply for a permit from the National Environment Agency (NEA). But as I was not selling food, I did not think that this was applicable.
I wrote to the Election Department to ask if I needed a permit to sell the election posters. They have not replied to me yet.
My friend told me that the political parties go around to sell their party newspapers. They did not apply for a permit.
I also sell my books from my online bookstore. I did not need a permit either.
A malicious person asked the public to call the NEA hotline and report me for “illegal hawking”. I looked at the definition of hawking. It included the sale of goods, but the peddler had to move from place to place or door to door. I would be staying at a fixed place.
I had earlier announced that the proceeds would go to my friend, who helped me to put up and take down the posters. I have now decided to donate the proceeds to a Muslim charity that takes care of the poor and destitute. This is a small sum anyway.
I chose the Muslim charity because the Malay community probably need help more than the other communities.
I will proceed with the sale on Saturday, and see if the Police or other harassed me. I cannot understand why it should take so much trouble just to sell the used posters to my supporters who wish to keep them as a souvenir.
Tan Kin Lian
