Clash of the Ti"Tans"

Tony Tan vs Tan Cheng Bock vs Tan Kin Lian vs Tan Jee Say

When Singapore's sixth and "current president S.R. Nathan will be leaving Parliament office at the end of the month, leaving Singapore in the decision to elect the next president, the one who can guide Singapore to proper and maintain its excellence. Out of the 4 candidates shown above, Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Kin Lian, and Tan Jee Say which would be the last man standing, and become Singapore's seventh president.

S.R. Nathan
With S.R. Nathan's, the longest serving president since sworn in on September 1, 1999, surpassing Benjamin Sheares, and he has done us proud. Being a popular president, he even had a tough early life in the late 19s. Sone of his contributions are initiating fund-raising for the Sri Sivan Temple which was relocated from Dhoby Ghaut to Geylang East, starting the first Tamil-English kindergarten, and starting a family counselling unit for needy Indian families, for the Hindu community.


Timeline (provided by infopedia)
1940 - 1941 : Office boy and various odd jobs
1955 - 1956 : Medical Social Worker, Singapore Civil Service with stints in Woodbridge and the Leprosy Centre
1956 - 1962 : Seamen's Welfare Officer, Ministry of Labour
1962 - 1964 : Assistant Director, Labour Research Unit, Ministry of Labour
1964 - 1965 : Director, Labour Research Unit, Ministry of Labour; later the Ambassador to Egypt in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1966 : Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rising to the rank of Deputy Secretary
1971 : Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs
1971- 1979 : Director, Security and Intelligence Division, Ministry of Defence and serving as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
1973 : Chairman, Mitsubishi Singapore Heavy Industries (Pte.) Ltd.
1979 - 1982 : First Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1980 - 1988 : Director, Singapore National Oil Company
Feb 1982 - 1988 : Executive Chairman, Straits Times Press (1975)
Apr 1988 - 1990 : High Commissioner to Malaysia
Jul 1990 - June 1996 : Ambassador to the United States
1996 - 1999 : Ambassador-at-large
15 Jul 1996 : Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, NTU; the first for the institution.
18 Jul 1996 : Pro-Chancellor, National University of Singapore
1 Sep 1999 : President of Singapore, 2nd elected into this position and 6th local president.


Dr Tony Tan
Probably with the most experience in Parliament is Tony Tan, being Singapore's Former Deputy Prime Minister and according to news he feels that he has more to contribute to the society and stresses the fact that he should step up and not remain as a spectator while Singapore faces such complicated challenges.He also hopes to help the disadvantaged, handicapped and others who need help. In addition, stresses that it is not the President's responsibility to suggest a change in policy and the fact that the government has to be in power to prevent chaos. And the Presidents will probably sit on the mindset that "If you take care for the people, the people will take care of the mission..." Dr Tony Tan is regarded as a strategic thinker, and a caring person who takes interest in the of Singapore in mind.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock
Tan Cheng Bock's reasons for being one of the candidates for Singapore's upcoming Presidential election, is that he liked to be an unifying figure for all Singaporeans. Tan Cheng Bock was also a former MP for Ayer Rajah, and is a person who believes in what he does and gives in all his best. He sees that Singaporeans want harmony and fair play. There should be mutual respect for the government of the day and the Presidency as both are elected by Singaporeans.
His past involvement
Political Career Profile
General Election Constituency Scorecard
1980 Dec Ayer Rajah 83.4%
1984 Dec Ayer Rajah 75.4%
1988 Sep Ayer Rajah 69.6%
1991 Apr Ayer Rajah 75.2%
1997 Jan Ayer Rajah 73.2%
2001 Nov Ayer Rajah 88.0%
1987 – 1996 Elected Member, PAP Central Executive Committee
Past Appointments
• Feedback Unit (1984 – 1989) – Ministry of Community Development
• 1st Chairman (1985 –1989) Town Councils
• Chairman Jurong East Town Council (Aug 1989 –1991)
• V. Chairman Jurong East Town Council (Aug 1991- 1996)
• Chairman West Coast-Ayer Rajah Town Council (Nov 2001-Dec 2004)
• Vice Chairman, Bukit Timah Town Council (Jan 1997)
Community Development Council (CDC)
• Chairman, Bukit Timah CDC (Dec 1997- Nov 2000)
• Vice Chairman, South West CDC
Parliamentary Appointments
Government Parliament Committee (GPC)
1987 –1988: Co-ordinating Chairman for all GPCs
1987 –1990: Chairman, GPC for Education
1991 –1995: Chairman, GPC for National Development
1995 –1997: Chairman, GPC for The Environment
1997 –2000: Member, GPC for Communications
2001 –2006: Member, GPC for Defence and Foreign Affairs

Tan Kin Lian
He thinks that we need stong and competititve economy to provide a better life for Singaporeans. He sees that many Singaporeans are willing to study and work hard and spending quality time with family memebers. He says that he wants to see balance between work and social interaction. He warns citizens that they should not sacrifice their time and life to keep their jobs. In addition, his vision for Singapore is "Live a good Singapore, live a better life", he would be the voice of the people, listening to their woes and requests. If elected president, he would make a president council to work with experts to make Singapore a better country to live in. I feel that he gives quite alot of promises though....(Mistake for him) He also believes that a good government does not abuse its power.
His vision for Singapore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwOATWH5Bbk&feature=related
Tan Kin Lian shares his vision for Singapore and how he will realize this vision if elected as the President. He explains how he will actualize his goal as the voice of the people. He also describes the President's charity he would form from the donation of at least half of his salary and outlines details of his President's Personal Council

Career
Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries Singapore (1975)
Advanced Management Program at Harvard University (1993)

Mr. Tan Kin Lian started his career at the Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd (Singapore) in 1966. He joined NTUC Income (Singapore) in 1977 as General Manager and Actuary. In 1997, he was re-designated as CEO until his retirement on 31st March 2007.

From 1978 until 2007, Mr. Tan Kin Lian received various awards and distinctions. He is also an active member in several associations and institutions.



Tan Jee Say

Tan Jee Say says that he wants to become a president of Singapore as many Singaporeans want a non-PAP President whose independence of the PAP is clear, obvious and cannot be in doubt. Only such a person can have the moral authority to fulfill the mission of Elected President which is to provide checks and balances on the PAP Government. He wants to be an active President, engaging the nation on issues of conscience and promoting worthy causes. Charcteristic of a helpfull person.

Reflections

Being a Singaporean I, feel that life in Singapore is still stuff without much money, and the cost of living is quite high. So life in Singapore is “So far so good” I guess. But now with Singapore’s current head of state is going to be replaced by “younger” and maybe more aspiring leaders to the country. What we all want is a good, respectful, and organized leader who can lead Singapore to proper in the future. From the status of all the President Hopefuls, I can see that it would be a tough fight between the Ti “Tans” I say. With Dr Tony Tan being a former deputy Prime Minister, he should have more experience when running government, but some have an eye for Tan Jee Say a non-PAP contestant, and Tan Chen bock along with Tan Kin Lian. When the time comes for Singapore to vote for a brand new Head of State, they would be deciding their future. However, I noticed that Singapore has a Parliamentary Government, in which the Head of State has less power than the Prime Minister. After all, a head of state in a head of state and not government society. I feel that a great change would be coming to the governing system and our lives as we know it would change by then.