Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian addressed the recent controversy over his comments on social media, which have been criticised by women advocate group AWARE, said he wanted to ask what exactly they found offensive, and offered an apology "in case" others felt uncomfortable.

Tan was speaking at a doorstop following the submission of his nomination papers on Nomination Day.

Tan also expressed hope for his supporters to elect him as an "independent president" so that he can do his best to use the influence of the President's office to make life better for people in Singapore.

Tan's goals if elected president

Tan said his goals are to reduce the cost of living, make housing affordable and ensure jobs are "secure and well-paying".

He then thanked his supporters for their messages of encouragement, as well as the people he had met at the food courts, markets and MRT stations for their "very warm reception."

Tan added that he hoped this is a reflection of others in Singapore whom he had not met yet, and that on Sep. 1, Singapore will have a President who will look after the interests of "all the people of Singapore".

"Malicious comments" are not from Tharman or Ng: Tan

Tan then alleged he has been the target of a "concerted effort" to smear him with malicious comments, which includes the media, based upon some of his past Facebook posts.

Earlier on Aug. 22, in the early hours of the morning, Tan rejected AWARE's "allegations" and his daughter defended him on social media.

During the doorstop, Tan added that he had also just spoken with his fellow candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam about the matter.

Claiming that Tharman had asked to speak to him, Tan said, "Mr Tharman was quite gracious. He assured me that they (the supposed "malicious attacks") are not from his team and he assured me that he will not allow these malicious attacks from his team."

Tan added, "Of course, I'm not too sure whether he knows what somebody else (is) doing on his behalf."

Tan also said that he did not think the comments were from the other candidate, Ng Kok Song.

When asked why he did not think the Ng was not behind the "smears", Tan claimed he has been subjected to such "smears" for more than 10 years, when Ng was not involved in running for public office.

Tan then alleged that these "smears" were from a political party, without explicitly naming the party. He also criticised the media for turning something which he viewed as "frivolous" into a "big issue".

Response to AWARE

He said he wanted to respond to AWARE:

"In fact, I wanted to write to AWARE. Please tell me what exactly do you find offensive? But I got no way to reach out to them. Please, what exactly do you find offensive?

I also want to say this. I did say there were some pretty girls, but the pretty girls take the effort to dress up, to be attractive. And when I say they are quite attractive, most of them actually feel quite happy. I don't know why somebody would want to use that as a negative point, and why the media, you take a look at all the articles there. The media portray (this) as a big, big thing."

He also said:

"In case some other ladies, after reading this, think they are uncomfortable, I want to apologise to them. I have no intention. I have got a wife, I have got two daughters and three granddaughters. I think the portrayal of me by the mainstream media is unfair and dishonest and I hope that the mainstream media takes my message because it's not me."

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Top photo by Julia Yee