SINGAPORE: A day after Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam again emphasised his independence, fellow presidential hopeful Ng Kok Song reasserted his lack of political affiliations, while at the same time declaring that one’s present cannot be easily separated from their past.
Mr Ng, who threw his hat into the presidential race a week ago, was speaking to the media after a visit to Geylang Serai Market on Thursday (Jul 27) morning.
Apart from the 75-year-old Mr Ng, former Senior Minister Tharman, 66, and businessman George Goh, 63, have also indicated their intention to run for the presidency.
Mr Tharman officially launched his platform for his presidential bid on Wednesday. When questioned by reporters about his independence, the former politician stressed there was a difference between “independence from any past affiliation with a political party” and an “independence of mind”.
In direct reply to that when asked by CNA, Mr Ng said: ““I think we are who we are. Our present is related to our past. We cannot easily separate our present from our past.”
Mr Ng started out as an investment analyst at the Ministry of Finance’s overseas investment department before moving on to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and finally ending his 45 years in public service as the chief investment officer of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.
“And Mr Tharman served many years in (politics),” he said with a smile. “You draw your own conclusion.”
Since announcing his intention to run for President, Mr Ng has spoken about his lack of political affiliations, and that Singapore needs a president who is “independent of any political party to safeguard the integrity of our institutions”.
He reiterated that as he commented on Mr Tharman’s proclamation the day before on wanting to be “a president for a new era”.
“I think when we talk about a new era, perhaps we are talking about a new equilibrium in the governance of Singapore,” Mr Ng said, adding that “a balance between the presidency … and the government” would be one of the key features in this new era of governance.
“I think the people of Singapore would like to see this balance in this new era … where the President has no political affiliation.”