Parts of Tan Kin Lian’s broadcast speech cut due to inaccuracies about president’s role: IMDA, ELD

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Tan Kin Lian had to remove parts of the script for his official candidate broadcast – to be aired on Thursday (Aug 24) evening – which “had inaccuracies about the president’s role”, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Elections Department (ELD) said in a joint statement that day.

After being notified of the inaccuracies, Tan’s election agent corrected them without objection, said IMDA and ELD.

According to the statement, the former chief executive of NTUC Income had inaccurately suggested that the president can provide guidance on investment strategies for Singapore’s reserves, as well as influence government policies.

Earlier that day, in a post on his website, Tan noted that several paragraphs in his script had to be omitted at IMDA’s request.

Tan said that in the removed paragraphs, he stated an intention to provide advice and guidance on how the reserves are invested, though “the actual monitoring will be the duty of the board of directors”.

He also spoke of his “vision” of using the office to influence policies in three areas “crucial to the well-being of Singaporeans”: “bringing down the cost of living, ensuring affordable housing for all, and securing jobs that provide a sense of stability and a path to progress”.

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Tan wrote that these removed statements were “the most important parts” of his speech. He rejected IMDA’s authority to interpret the Constitution “in a narrow way” in seeking their removal, and said he would bring this up to IMDA separately.

In their statement, IMDA and ELD noted that presidential candidates were informed and briefed on the rules of the broadcast earlier this month, including the need to submit their scripts in advance.

They reiterated that all candidates, including Tan, had signed a statutory declaration confirming that they have read the explanatory material on the president’s constitutional role, including specific examples of what the president can or cannot do.

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All candidates also signed a voluntary undertaking on campaigning for the election in a manner that is “dignified, decorous and consistent with the president’s position”, said the IMDA and ELD.

“We remind all candidates not to mislead the public about the president’s role,” they added.