Respect party in charge of constituency: Tan Cheng Bock
No matter which party is in charge of a constituency, it has to be given due respect because it is elected by the people, said Presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock on Tuesday.
When asked about the dispute between the Workers' Party, Housing and Development Board and People's Association, Dr Tan said if the reports are true then it is not right.
"Whatever we do, should be equal for all. I cannot say that the WP will have a different guideline, the PAP (People's Action Party) will have a different guideline. This is because Singaporeans generally want fairness."
On Monday, WP accused the HDB of abusing its power by transferring the management rights of 26 common areas from the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council to the PA.
Dr Tan, who said he will have to "look deeper" into the matter, noted, "I would expect that the same treatment will be given to even the ruling party MPs, if such things have already happened in Aljunied."
If elected, Dr Tan said he would promote unity between the political parties by creating avenues and venues for the groups to gather, such as in a social gathering, to break the ice between the groups.
The former PAP Ayer Rajah Member of Parliament was speaking to reporters at Rivervale Mall, where he also announced details of his rally. He is the last candidate to do so.
Instead of holding an outdoor rally like the other three candidates, Dr Tan will hold an indoor rally on Thursday evening.
His speakers include his son Joshua, a 36-year-old investment analyst, and daughter Ming Li, a 40-year-old lawyer turned homemaker, as well as "ordinary Singaporeans". Those linked to any political party will not be speaking.
On his choice of an indoor rally, Dr Tan said, "It's a presidential election. I don't want any rowdiness, I want it to be a very dignified gathering because that's the presidential election."
Dr Tan also responded to an online article posted in June by founder of The Asian Banker Emmanuel Daniel, which criticised Dr Tan's attempts to negotiate a lowered entry fee into Sentosa for Sentosa Cove residents and their visitors.
"I don't know what got him so worked up but the point is this, at the end of the day, the $7 (entry fee) was reduced to $3 and at certain hours, it was reduced to $2," said Dr Tan, who added that he wanted to thank Daniel if he had a part to play in reducing the fees.
Dr Tan has an apartment at Sentosa Cove. He said he bought the "little unit" a long time ago when people did not want to go to Sentosa. It is meant for his grandchildren and is rented out now, he said.
He also reiterated his experiences in dealing with financial matters at Chuan Hup Holdings and pointed out his expertise in foreign relations, having led the Singapore-European and Singapore-Southeast Asia parliamentary group from 1991 to 1996 and 1997 to 2006, respectively.
On Monday, Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian said it might be helpful to to have ethnic self-help groups in some cases. He was referring to Dr Tan's suggestion of merging ethnic-based self-help groups.
Noting he does not want to discuss the subject as it is not within the President's role, Dr Tan said it was just a suggestion he was thinking of raising should he be elected.
"If we can really look into other avenues of getting them together without having to divide them, it could be better," he said, adding that his suggestion could always be fine-tuned.
