Andrew Kuan seeks a second try at the Presidency. (Property images photo)
In spite of a failed attempt six years ago, former JTC Corporation group chief financial officer Andrew Kuan is eyeing another shot at the presidency.
The 57-year-old will be collecting the forms to apply for an eligibility certificate on his "own time and own schedule" sometime in July, reported The Straits Times.
In 2005, the Presidential Elections Committee did not issue him an eligibility certificate because the seniority and responsibility of his JTC position did not match the eligibility criteria in the Constitution.
One of the ways of to qualify is to have been either chairman or chief executive officer of key statutory boards for at least three years. Kuan worked in the statutory board from June 2001 to July 2004.
Kuan now plans to highlight two points in hopes of getting the committee's approval to contest, reported ST.
First, he pointed to a clause in the JTC Act outlining the duties of a CFO, which would qualify him under a criterion in the Constitution.
The Act stated, the CFO will "prepare the financial statements in respect of each preceding financial year and submit them to the Corporation's auditor who shall audit and report on them to the Minister and the President".
Kuan believes this would qualify him under the criterion that states, anyone with a "similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector" could be deemed eligible by the PEC.
Kuan also wants to submit a copy of the cover letter of JTC's appraisal of his work from April 2003 to March 2004, which said he "exceeded expectations" in his performance.
Kuan has uploaded a copy of his appraisal letter on his website. (Screenshot from Andrew …
The paper reported, Kuan said he did not submit his appraisal in 2005 because he did not know JTC would send an assessment of his work to the committee then.
In 2005, JTC held a press conference to say Kuan was asked to leave the statutory board because his performance was not satisfactory.
Kuan, a People's Action Party member for more than 10 years until he left in 2005, runs his own business consultancy. He earlier indicated interest in contesting in the General Election but backed out to avoid a three-cornered fight with the Workers' Party.
So far, Presidential hopefuls Dr Tony Tan and Tan Kin Lian have submitted their eligibility forms. Dr Tan Cheng Bock has yet to do so.
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