Singaporeans should "look beyond partisan politics" and vote to "strengthen the constitutional oversight of Singapore's governance" in the upcoming Presidential Election, urged 2017 presidential hopeful Mohamed Salleh Marican in an Aug. 27, 2023 statement.

Salleh's statement came after Tan Cheng Bock, the chairman of the Progress Singapore Party, and Tay Jee Say, a member of the Singapore Democratic Party, announced during a press conference earlier that they would be endorsing Tan Kin Lian's bid for the presidency.

On Aug. 22, Tan Kin Lian was officially declared as a nominee, alongside Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Ng Kok Song.

Salleh was Ng's assenter.

Details of Salleh's statement

In his statement, Salleh referred to Article 19(2)(f) of the constitution, which stated that a person shall only be qualified to be elected as president if he is not a member of any political party on the date of his nomination for election.

To Salleh, the role of the president is "a check and balance" on the government, which was formed after a General Election (GE), and to protect Singaporeans against "reckless spending and corrupt officials":

"The government is led by the prime minister and Cabinet members who are selected from members of the parliament (MPs). These MPs are representatives of the political parties that contest in GE. If the president is beholden to those political parties for endorsement or support, I am concerned that he will not be able to discharge his constituional duties faithfully in the interests of Singaporeans".

Salleh shared that this was also the reason he sought to stand in the 2017 Presidential Election, to offer himself as "an independent candidate outside political parties".

That year, Salleh's application for a Certificate of Eligibility was rejected because he had failed to meet the minimum S$500 million company shareholder equity threshold, which is one of the requisite criteria for private sector candidates, his representative told Mothership.

At the end of his statement, without naming the candidates, Salleh called on Singaporeans to look beyond "partisan politics" when casting their votes this September:

"We now have three presidential candidates: one who served in the ruling party until a month ago, one who has the endorsement of opposition figures, and one who is non-partisan. Singaporeans have the options to choose from".

Echoing Ng's earlier comments

Salleh's statement echoed presidential candidate Ng Kok Song's remarks, which Ng shared at a doorstop interview at Chinatown Complex earlier in the afternoon.

During the interview, Ng said he found the endorsement of Tan Kin Lian by several leaders from several opposition parties to be a "very unhealthy and worrisome development", as well as a "polarisation between some members of the opposition and the government":

"The people concerned are confusing the people of Singapore. Confusing between a Presidential Election and the General Election".

The former GIC chief investment officer further contended that PE is about unifying the people of Singapore and that all candidates should have no party affiliation or party endorsement.

As such, he believed the endorsement of Tan by opposition party figures to be "against the spirit of the constitution" and advised them to wait for a general election if they wished to politicise an election.

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Top images via Singapore Tourism Board & Mothership