PE2023: Ng Kok Song wants to 'protect the 3 treasures of Singapore'

AsiaOne

In a doorstop interview on Nomination Day (Aug 22), presidential candidate Ng Kok Song talked about the three national treasures that he intends to protect as president: Singapore's national reserves, good public administration and social stability.

Transcript

00:00 I have just explained to the people of Singapore why I'm standing for election.

00:08 And this is to protect the three treasures of Singapore which define us

00:17 as an exceptional country.

00:24 The first treasure is our financial treasure, the reserves which past

00:35 generations of Singaporeans and present generation of Singaporeans have saved

00:40 for our future.

00:47 I've spent 30 years at the GIC helping to build up our reserves and so I will be

01:01 able to protect this financial treasure.

01:04 Our second treasure is good public administration.

01:13 I worked 45 years in the public service at the Ministry of Finance, at the MAS

01:21 and at the GIC. I have what it takes to protect the integrity of key public

01:32 service appointments.

01:37 And finally, perhaps our greatest treasure is our social treasure. The

01:48 treasure of social stability which we have enjoyed since we became independent

01:55 58 years ago.

02:03 I do not belong to any political party and therefore I will be able to unite

02:12 all Singaporeans regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.

02:26 So for all these three reasons, to protect our three national treasures, our

02:36 financial reserves, our good public administration and our social treasure,

02:43 I have come forward to serve the people of Singapore.

02:53 These are the three national treasures that define our country as exceptional

02:58 and I'm standing for President to protect these three treasures.

03:04 How am I feeling right now? I was a bit nervous at first but the nervousness

03:10 has gone because I feel I'm on a mission to really serve the people of Singapore.

03:17 So I feel excited that the people of Singapore is giving me this opportunity

03:24 to serve my country one more time. The symbol that I have chosen for my election

03:32 campaign is the five fingers on the palm of our hand.

03:38 What do those five symbols, what do those five fingers symbolise? They symbolise

03:46 the various races in Singapore. And the palm signifies that although we might be

03:57 people who come from different races, different religions, we are one palm. We

04:05 are one country. So as President, I want to be able to unite all the people of

04:14 Singapore regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, so that we can

04:21 stand united to face an uncertain future. What are my chances considering that

04:28 there are three people running for the Presidency? The important thing for me

04:34 was that there is an election. When I came forward, I did so to ensure that the

04:44 people of Singapore will be able to exercise their right to choose the

04:49 President. This has already happened today. We are not having a walkover. We

04:56 are having an election. So what are my chances? I do not know. It is up to the

05:07 people of Singapore. As far as I'm concerned, I have come forward to serve

05:12 you and I ask you to give me the chance to serve you. I want to be your trusted

05:19 friend at the Istana, starting from this afternoon. I'm going all out so that most

05:30 Singaporeans can know me, can meet me. Because I have a disadvantage that I

05:40 have never been in the political limelight. So over the last four weeks, I

05:46 have tried my very best to reach out to all Singaporeans and especially to our

05:52 younger generation. So I have put a lot of my energy and resources using social

05:59 media to reach out to the younger Singaporeans. This afternoon, I'm going

06:09 home. I'm going home to my village, Kangkha, in Hougang. That was where my

06:19 life began. And so it's only right that my first place after the nomination

06:27 today is to go home to my village in Kangkha, Hougang. Mr Tan said that I'm

06:38 I am not a very strong candidate compared to Mr Tan Man. Let the people of

06:45 Singapore cast their vote. I think the three of us have got to present our

06:50 credentials. We have to explain to the people of Singapore why we deserve their

06:57 vote. My main point is that I do not belong and I have not belonged to any

07:06 political party. I think Mr Tan Man has been a leader of the People's Action

07:16 Party for 22 years. Mr Tan Khin Lian was a member of the People's Action Party

07:23 and the people who are supporting him today, his assentors, they are members of

07:32 various political parties in Singapore. I am the only candidate who does not have

07:39 any affiliation to any political party. The President has got certain powers and

07:48 those powers are to safeguard our reserves, to safeguard the integrity of

07:54 the public service. The cost of living is a painful issue for low-income

08:03 Singaporeans. But we need to understand that this is not only a Singapore

08:09 problem. It is a problem which people from all over the world face. But

08:17 thankfully in Singapore we are able to keep down the cost of living, inflation

08:23 compared to other countries, because we have a strong currency. We have a strong

08:29 Singapore dollar which helps to keep down the cost of living. So what the

08:35 President should do is to make sure that we protect our reserves because our

08:41 reserves is what gives confidence to our currency and helps us to keep down the

08:47 cost of living. In regard to recent problems, in regard to public

08:55 appointments, political appointments, well I think that when these problems come to

09:04 light, we have to address them as transparently as possible. So I think the

09:11 President's role is even more important now when there are doubts about the

09:16 integrity of the public service of political office holders. The President

09:23 has the right to check on such key appointments, especially in the public

09:29 service. How should candidates express themselves on social media? Speak the

09:35 truth. Speak the truth. Be genuine. So let the people judge you. Social media is a

09:45 very important means of communication, especially to reach out to our younger

09:50 generation. So I've spent a lot of time appearing on social media. I've spent a

09:59 lot of time making TikTok videos so that I can communicate myself better to the

10:06 younger generation. I think the younger generation demands authenticity. They

10:12 demand the truth. So speaking to social media is no different from speaking to

10:19 other media. Tell the truth. Tell the truth and let the people judge you. For

10:25 young voters voting for the first time, you are voting about your future and our

10:33 future is very uncertain because we cannot take good government for granted.

10:41 So we are now entering a new era of a very uncertain economic future because

10:48 of geopolitical uncertainty. We are also entering an era where we cannot take

10:55 good government for granted. And that is precisely why the elected President was

11:02 established. To avoid a situation where bad government goes unchecked. Bad

11:12 government raid our reserves. Bad government puts corrupt people in public

11:20 appointments. So it's very important more than ever for the younger generation of

11:28 Singaporeans who are concerned about their future to elect a President that

11:34 they can trust to protect their future. Thank you very much.

11:42 you

11:44 you

11:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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