PE2023: Ng Kok Song says he received a call from Tharman, congratulated him on a magnificent victory

AsiaOne

After receiving a 16% for the sample vote count, Ng Kok Song spoke to the media and revealed that Tharman gave him a call to said that Ng "put up a vigorous campaign". Here's what he had to say

Transcript

00:00 I have just received a phone call from Mr Tharman, saying that my team and I had put up a vigorous campaign.

00:20 And I in turn congratulated him on the magnificent victory.

00:32 When I came forward to stand for the Presidency, I said that my number one goal was to ensure

00:45 that the people of Singapore has redeemed their right to vote in this Presidential election.

00:58 I think I have accomplished that goal, because the Presidential election did take place today.

01:13 I also said that Mr Tharman had mentioned that he would like to have a contest,

01:27 so that when he is elected, he has a mandate from the people of Singapore.

01:37 I am delighted for him and I am very glad for him that he has indeed earned a mandate from the people of Singapore.

01:51 So I congratulate him.

01:57 So this is a moment for me to say thanks, to express my gratitude.

02:10 First of all, I want to thank the people of Singapore, 400,000 or more of them,

02:22 for their faith in me and who had voted for me.

02:32 Second, I want to say thank you to my character referees,

02:39 and also to my assenters who supported me in my nomination.

02:50 These Singaporeans put their names behind my name and lifted me up from a relative nobody to a somebody.

03:10 Thirdly, I want to thank my campaign staff, my advisors, my security officers,

03:24 my young social media warriors, my car drivers.

03:36 And fourthly, I want to thank my immediate family of my children, their spouses, my grandchildren.

03:49 And I want to thank my brothers and sisters, led by my fourth brother Charles, and my nephews and nieces.

04:05 Fifth, I would like to thank my two beloved pets, my dog Cotton and my cat Max,

04:19 for comforting me and being there for me always.

04:30 And certainly, I owe the deepest gratitude to my fiancée Sybil,

04:43 who sacrificed her private life to walk with me and stand by me.

04:55 I want to thank too my father-in-law Paul,

05:03 who by his quiet presence in all my walkabouts was also a great source of support and encouragement.

05:28 When I came forward, I also set as my goal to set an example for good and capable people

05:43 to come forward and serve our country in the Presidency, the Government or the Opposition.

05:59 Another goal was for me to thank my country for what my country has given me.

06:11 I will continue to serve my country until my last breath.

06:24 So to the people of Singapore, I wish to say that the relatively low percentage of votes that I obtained

06:47 was the price that I willingly pay in order to give Singaporeans the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

07:02 That was the ultimate objective when I set out to stand for the Presidency,

07:10 and I am glad that I have achieved that goal.

07:18 I wish Mr Tharman every success in the Presidency,

07:28 and I am confident that he will make a very good President.

07:36 Thank you.

07:37 [Applause]

07:58 I have decided to concede to Tharman because I do not want to keep all of you from your bedtime.

08:16 As far as I am concerned, there is no need to wait a few more hours in order to get the final result.

08:25 The result is clear, and I want to say thank you once again to the people of Singapore.

08:33 [Music]

08:35 [Music]

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