Singapore Presidential Candidates 2011: Tan Kin Lian vs Tan Cheng Bock

If you are a rabid George Yeo fan, it basically means that you support a self-proclaimed religious man who publicly supported a repeat adulterer, and had elections campaigning help from the biggest online flamer, i.e. Xiaxue.

It also means you need not read this entry any further, as you are incapable of rational thought and decision-making. So, let's not waste each other's time.
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With that out of the way, we can now take a good look at the Presidential Election. The overview of the Presidential Elections can be found here.

Exactly what powers does the President have?

While the President is advised by the Cabinet for most matters, the President can exercise limited powers in his personal discretion to block attempts by the government of the day to draw down past reserves it did not accumulate, to approve changes to key appointments, and to exercise oversight over the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and decisions of the Executive under the Internal Security Act and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.

Read more here.

Now, let's take a look at the 2 plausible candidates. As usual, I've made a quick comparison of the 2 profiles. See table below.

Tan Kin Lian and Tan Cheng Bock are former PAP members, and have been in the public service circuit for decades. In addition, both have extensive directorship experience in the private sector.

Let's look at the differences then.

If we, the people of Singapore, are looking for 'the People's President', then I feel that Tan Kin Lian stands out more, largely due to:

1. His rags-to-success story; and 
2. That this man has extensive experience in managing large sums of monies, specifically commoners' insurance monies, for decades.

This son of a fisherman had to quit Raffles Institution at Secondary 4 to help support his family of 8. Later, he self-studied and sat for the Actuarial examination, emerging as the 2nd qualified Actuary in Singapore at that time. The rest is history, as he worked his way up to become CEO of NTUC Income.

While both Tans have been serving the public in various ways for decades, Tan Kin Lian stepped forward and spoke out against the Lehman Minibond saga in 2008 online and in person at Hong Lim Park, collecting signatures for a petition which he later submitted to Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Do note that Tan Kin Lian did this in his own time and using his own resources (e.g. he was not paid a MP allowance to do so). And halfway through his speech at Hong Lim Park, his 2nd grand-daughter, Nadya, was born.

This man does not mince his words.
The Satay Club has summarised Tan Kin Lian's proposed follow-ups if he gets elected. This includes:

1. Getting the President’s Office to produce an annual report showing the reserves of Singapore as well as details of the government’s obligations, balances held by the Central Provident Fund Board, and bonds and guarantees issued by the government. 
2. Donating between 70% to 90% of the President's salary (more than $3.5mil) to a new charity that would be set up to address certain social needs.

Lastly, though once a long-time PAP man, Tan Kin Lian has shown that he has friends in multiple political parties. E.g. He guest-spoke at a SDP lunchtime rally during GE2011, while his friend, Png Eng Huat, from the Workers' Party collected the Presidential Elections forms on his behalf.

Such balanced networks are important, especially in a changing political landscape of ours, as it is the people's loss if the President is, is able to, and/or is willing to be primarily familiar with only 1 political party.

Name	Tan Kin Lian	Tan Cheng Bock
Websites	www.tankinlian.com www.tankinlian.blogspot.com/ www.facebook.com/TanKinLian	www.tanchengbock.org www.facebook.com/TanChengBock
Age	09 March 1948 (63)	26 April 1940 (71)
Ethinicity/ Dialect	Chinese, Teochew	Chinese, Hokkien
Languages	English, Mandarin, Teochew	English , others unknown
Religion	Free-thinker	Catholic
Family Background	One of 6 children of a fisherman and housewife.	Unknown.
Marital Status/ Children	Married 3 children (Ages: 35, 32 and 28) 2 grandchildren	Married 2 children 5 grandchildren
Spouse	Vivian Tan Housewife	Mrs Cecilia Tan aka Lee Choon Lain Qualified pharmacist Former CEO of NTUC Healthcare Cooperative Ltd Currently Chairman of MHC http://www.mhcasia.com/ Others unknown
Education	1965 – Raffles Institution 1975 – Fellow of Institute of Actuaries 1993 – Advanced Management Program, Harvard University	1960 - Raffles Institution 1968 - MBBS, University of Singapore
Work Experience	Occupation: Actuary Retired in 2007 as CEO of NTUC Income after 30 years with NTUC Income, he has started his own consulting company, Tan Kin Lian & Associates. See long CV here.	Occupation: Medical Doctor He is a General Practitioner at his own clinic named Ama Keng Medical Clinic. Concurrent work positions: Chairman, Chuan Hup Holding Ltd Chairman, Dredging International Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Director, PCI President, Jurong Country Club See long CV here.
Contributions to Singapore	Help to organize protests during mini-bond saga.  He also provides financial education through his blog and FISCA. See other public service contributions & awards here.	MP for Ayer Rajah from 1980 to 2006. See other MP-related positions & awards here.
Political affiliations	Former PAP member (Up to 2008)	Former PAP member (Up to May 2011)