Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song said Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chairman Tan Cheng Bock's endorsement of fellow candidate Tan Kin Lian was "gutter politics".

Tan Cheng Bock, who also contested the presidential election in 2011 along with Tan Kin Lian, announced his endorsement of Tan Kin Lian on Aug. 27, 2023.

Speaking at Ayer Rajah Food Centre on Aug.28, Ng commented that Tan Cheng Bock's endorsement was "an act of dishonour, disrespect, contempt for the office of the presidency".

"I will not stand for politicians making a mockery of the presidency."

Opposition party leaders "ganging up" to support Tan Kin Lian

Ng described the news of Tan Cheng Bock's endorsement as opposition party leaders "ganging up" to support Tan Kin Lian's bid for the presidency.

He also reiterated that the endorsement has "converted" the presidential election into a general election.

"This is wrong. This is very, very wrong.

Why can't the political parties concerned wait for two years for the next general elections?"

He urged opposition party leaders who want to make a point to wait until the general elections, stating that the presidential election was not a time to do so.

"They are doing an act of great disservice to the people of Singapore by confusing the people of Singapore."

Ng added that all this "confusion" would not happen if the presidential elections were non-partisan, where political parties support no candidates.

He repeated that he was the only candidate not supported or endorsed by any political party.

Ng also criticised Tan Kin Lian's suggestion of appointing "opposition party leaders" into the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) and pointed out that it might be a form of "corruption".

However, he clarified that he was "not ascribing any criminal to the act" but suggested that it might be seen as a "moral perversion of the CPA".

S'poreans want "fair play": Ng Kok Song

"I'm hoping that enough Singaporeans will not stand for this nonsense," he said. "The people of Singapore are fair-minded people. They want to see fair play. They do not want a situation where candidates supported or endorsed by political parties have an advantage."

He added that this would be an important moment in Singapore for the people to understand the difference between presidential and general elections.

"In a way, I'm quite happy that this has happened because sometimes, bad things need to happen to put a bad situation right."

He admitted that it was "very hard" to be a non-partisan candidate.

For example, he said it was difficult to get assenters to support his candidacy as some he approached were "afraid of offending certain political parties".

"Dangerous position" to disclose the reserve's size

In response to Tan Kin Lian's comment about telling the public how much there is in Singapore's reserves, Ng warned that it was a "dangerous position to take".

He explained that the reserves are Singapore's financial defence at times of war, and it is also a defence against any speculative attack on the Singapore dollar, which could have damaging consequences for Singapore's economy.

"So, to disclose the total size of our reserves, what good does it do? You are like just helping the enemies."

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Top photos via Audrey Lee