Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian expressed his hope that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will give him respect him "because I'm older."

Speaking at the NUSS "Meet Our Presidential Candidates Series" on Aug. 26, the aspirant, 75, added that he hoped the 71-year-old PM Lee might also think he is wiser.

Tan: Politics does not solve problems

Tan was responding to a question about why he did not participate in previous General Elections, in light of his statements about influencing policies, and whether he will join a political party if he fails to become President.

Tan replied that he did not think politics solves problems, with "Party A" fighting against "Party B".

Tan acknowledged that many people did not like this viewpoint, including his own friends and added that the problems of Singapore are "daunting".

Citing the complexity of conflicts stemming over geopolitics, Tan said if political parties spend their time "fighting politics" amongst themselves, "who is looking after the real problems of the economy and livelihoods?"

He added:

"So I therefore prefer to be elected as President so that I can talk to the Prime Minister. I'm older than the Prime Minister also and I hope he respects me for being older and I hope he thinks I might be wiser also."

Some of the opposition leaders are "brilliant"

Tan then alleged that while there were Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition in Parliament, they were "shouted down" whenever they spoke, "which I think is quite bad."

He further noted that amongst the opposition, there are some "brilliant" leaders, whose ideas will benefit Singapore if the People's Action Party (PAP) takes their ideas "in a very open way".

Tan did not cite any specific names of opposition MPs currently in Parliament however.

Instead, he referenced Chee Soon Juan, the leader of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and said he had written some " very good ideas" on "HDB and so on."

Calls criticism of himself rude and unnecessary

Tan then drew parallels between the criticism that Chee had received and those that had been directed at himself.

"Right now, some people are making Tan Kin Lian look like a devil," he said.

"I think it is rude, it is unnecessary," he added.

Tan highlighted that there are not many people who come forward to stand for President and that such criticism "kills them."

In addition, such criticism also affects the families of aspiring candidates, he said.

"I won't get killed but my family will tell you this: Please stop because we are affected. I think it's no good," he added.

Tan then concluded by saying that inter-party conflict is bad, and that it is better to invite "people who are knowledgeable" and given respect and authority to help solve national issues.

Top screenshot via Tan Kin Lian/Facebook