ELD & IMDA Respond After Tan Kin Lian Opposes to Them Removing Part Of His Presidential Candidate Broadcast Speech

Tan Kin Lian Isn’t Happy About the Latest Presidential Candidate Broadcast Speech

I’m pretty sure most people have experienced the pain of having their school essays edited and having large chunks removed for “errors” or “inaccuracies”. For presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, significant parts of his presidential candidate broadcast speech had to be removed because it contained inaccuracies about the President’s role.

Understandably upset at the situation, Mr Tan said in a press statement on 24 August that “I considered these statements to be the most important parts of my speech and that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) did not have the authority to interpret the constitution in a narrow way and asked for these statements to be removed.”

In response to Tan’s statement, The Elections Department (ELD) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) made a joint statement on the same day.

The statement explained that “inaccuracies” in Tan Kin Lian’s presidential candidate broadcast speech had to be removed.

What Exactly Were The Parts of Tan Kin Lian’s Script That Had to Be Removed?

Just in case you haven’t been caught in the loop (or were too busy celebrating the addition of Polling Day aka new Public Holiday), the three presidential candidates—Mr Tan Kin Lian, Mr Ng Kok Song and former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam—will be delivering their campaign messages via their presidential candidate broadcast speeches on TV and radio. 

The broadcast aired for the first time on the evening of 24 August, and a second broadcast will air on 30 August 2023. 

The ELD and IMDA said that candidates were informed of the timings and rules of the broadcast on 12 August and were briefed on the details of the broadcast on 21 August. Before the broadcast, all candidates are required to submit their scripts in advance.

Tan shared in his press statement that the IMDA asked him to remove three remarks he had made during the taping of his speech:

1. His promise to highlight the strategy of investing Singapore’s reserves to “professional investment managers to achieve the desired results.”
2. While the duty of the board of directors lies in monitoring the investment of Singapore’s reserves, Tan would provide “advice and guidance on the approach to be taken.”
3. Tan’s vision as President involves using the President’s office to influence policies that will make a better life for the people of Singapore, namely “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.”

The ELD and IMDA later clarified that the President, as a matter of fact, cannot provide guidance on the reserves’ investment strategies. Furthermore, the President cannot use his position to influence government policy in Singapore. 

Necessary Edits to Tan Kin Lian’s Speech Have Been Made, IMDA and ELD Urges Candidates “Not To Mislead the Public About President’s Role”

According to the ELD and IMDA’s statement, Tan’s election agent has since corrected the inaccuracies above without objection.

The statement also explained that all Presidential candidates, including Tan Kin Lian, 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.

The explanatory material clearly states that the President has no independent political role and must not get involved in political or controversial issues.

While the President can veto certain projects that involve the use of Singapore’s reserves, they do not have the authority to advance their political agenda. 

The joint statement ends with IMDA and ELD urging candidates “not to mislead the public about the President’s role”. 

Despite this, Tan has been making various attempts to explain himself. 

One such attempt was that Mr Tan had to attend to “other matters” when his campaign team tried to contact him about IMDA’s request, and Tan had only received news about the request after the stipulated deadline. 

As a result, his election agent had to make changes to Tan’s script in his absence. 

To know more about the powers the President has, watch this video to the end: