Dr Tan Cheng Bock urges MPs to stand by beliefs
As Singapore's 12th Parliament kicks off on Monday, former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock has urged backbenchers to stand up for their beliefs.
He said on Sunday he sticks by his earlier advice to Members of Parliament (MPs) that "they must be on their own, be prepared to get some parliamentary wounds and not run away when they get these parliamentary wounds".
"If they believe in a cause, they must stand up and fight for that cause," he stressed, noting that he will be watching Monday's parliamentary proceedings "very closely".
Tan, who was the runner up in this year's Presidential Election, was speaking to the media at the launch of his photo book, aimed at providing a deeper glimpse into the proceedings of his election campaign.
Tan is no stranger to "parliamentary wounds", having been publicly criticised by ministers when he spoke out against certain policies, such as foreign talent intake and the Nominated MP scheme, when he was an MP.
The medical practitioner, who returned to "light practice" two weeks ago, said "life is happy now" but admitted that he "miss(es) the adrenaline rush" of the election.
The veteran politician, however, did not let on if he has plans to contest in the next Presidential Election. "That's a long time (away)," he said, noting that in politics "nothing is certain".
He said he has “other plans to bring Singaporeans together” but did not want to elaborate.
The photo diary, titled "Presidential Elections 2011: We took them on", charts Tan's journey from when he collected his Certificate of Eligibility on 22 July to the end of the Presidential Election in August.
The former Ayer Rajah MP said the book was crafted by his supporters, who felt it was a good idea to let Singaporeans know what they did during the election.
The book contains photographs of "ordinary Singaporeans" who stepped forward to help him as well as pictures of his family during the “historical event”, said Tan, who lost to President Tony Tan by 0.35 per cent of the 2.16 million votes.
It was only after realising that they had taken so many photographs during the campaign that the team decided to produce a photo diary, he said.
The book, sponsored and autographed by Tan, costs $20.
The proceeds will go to the Handicaps Welfare Association, which Tan was the patron of when he was an MP.
More than half of the 1,300 books printed have been sold and his team said if demand is high they could print more copies.
Tan declined to reveal the cost of producing the books.
The four-hour book signing session at One Commonwealth Lane on Sunday, where Tan would tag on the person's name to the signed book, saw a long queue of supporters waiting to meet him.
Executive Quek Chwee Goon, 47, said she is Tan's long-time patient. In the queue for about an hour already, Quek said she wanted to support the doctor whom she has known for about 30 years.
Undergraduate Mohd Fadzil, 25, said, "I came to support Dr Tan because I think he did an excellent job during the campaign."
Tan used to be his MP in Ayer Rajah and Fazil said he was "excited" when he heard Tan was running for president. "I appreciate his efforts," he added.
Others such as 24-year-old Tan Bak Peng came to know Tan during the Presidential Election. He said he found Tan to be friendly and wanted to meet him in person.
