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[h=1]Tan Su Ling: Do you want a silent President caged in the Istana?[/h]<cite class="byline vcard"></cite>
By Liyana Low | SingaporeScene – <abbr title="2011-08-25T01:39:36Z">10 hours ago</abbr>
Tan Su Ling (left) was always on the campaign trail with her father Tan Kin Lian. (Yahoo!)
Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian surprised the crowd at his really on Wednesday night when he gave a short speech before introducing his daughter who stole the limelight.
Out of the 14 speakers who took to the stage, it was Tan's daughter, Tan Su Ling, who drew the most response from the crowd at Yio Chu Kang stadium as she passionately spoke on why Singaporeans should vote for her father as President.
In her speech, the 37-year-old said that her father was a truly independent candidate with "no political baggage and no emotional ties."
Stating that her father was a candidate who would stand up for them because of his sense of duty to the public, she asked the crowd: "Do you want a silent President caged in the Istana?"
Citing the Lehmann Brothers Minibond crisis in 2008 -- when many Singaporeans lost their hard-earned savings due to the saga -- she told the crowd how her father did not have any friends to help him when he single-handedly stood up against the establishments to fight for ordinary citizens who had lost their money.
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore after the rally, she said: "My speech came from the heart, and I hope that the people at the rally could feel it."
The mother of two said that she had prepared her speech the night before with two other friends online, to make sure her speech was relevant to the crowd.
The former architect added that she had to shorten her speech and could only say 20 per cent of what she had originally planned due to time constraints.
I'll will aim to make life better for Singaporeans: Tan Kin Lian
In his rally speech, Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian shared his vision of making life better for Singaporeans.
Speaking in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil, he said: "With a strong mandate from the people, the President will be able to use his influence on government policies, especially when he is asked to use the past reserves."
He repeated his intention in forming a President's Personal Council as a more consultative approach to form policies.
In addition, he also reiterated his proposal to give preferential HDB grants to men who have served their National Service as compensation for their sacrifice and taking care of the elderly through a pension scheme.
Turning his attention to his financial capabilities, he cited his 30 years in NTUC and his experience in handling the Lehmann Brothers crisis.
He said of the investors who lost their life savings during the crisis: "Nobody else spoke out for them — neither the other three candidates nor the Government.
"In a future crisis, you need someone stronger to speak for you. If you elect me as your President, I can speak out strongly for you."
Another speaker at the rally who grabbed everyone's attention was Ivy Singh-Lim. The former Netball Singapore chief, known for her controversial nature, knew Tan because her husband used to work for NTUC Fairprice.
Calling Singapore "a beautiful blessed country", she said she had never seen it "so divided, so unhappy and so sad", and added to cheers from the crowd: "Let us not let idiots spoil it."
She said that Singapore needs a President who can protect the people through the constitution and told the audience that Tan, who had helped Singaporeans out of his own accord during the Lehmann Brothers crisis, can act as Singapore's moral conscience and give advice to the Cabinet.
Showing family support at the rally was Tan Kin Lian's older brother Albert Tan.
The elder touched on their growing up days, when both of them studied at Raffles Institution but could not further their studies because they had to start work to support the family.
He credited those days for allowing his younger brother to understand "the difficulties of the common people" and hence he could make insurance affordable for the masses at a time when it was only available to mainly the rich.
Former National Solidarity Party secretary-general Goh Meng Seng, who flew back from Hong Kong to speak at the rally, said that if it were not for him, Tan would not have run for President.
Goh shared that three years ago, after the Lehmann Brothers crisis, he had asked the former NTUC income chief: "Can you be our President?"
The crowd listening to Tan Kin Lian's speech. (Yahoo! photo/Henry Lim)
Close to 800 people attended the rally last night. When asked about the low turnout, Tan Su Ling said: "Even though the turn out is not as great, but at least the people are here because they want to be, and not because their bosses told them to come."
Lim JS, 56, who was at the rally, thought that the most interesting part came when Tan Kin Lian's daughter Tan Su Ling spoke.
"It was good to see such a sense of belief for her father; it was very moving," he said.
Elvin Lum, a consultant, agreed and said: "I thought her speech brought out a lot of emotions, and it was nice to see a daughter supporting her father at the rally."
By Liyana Low | SingaporeScene – <abbr title="2011-08-25T01:39:36Z">10 hours ago</abbr>
Tan Su Ling (left) was always on the campaign trail with her father Tan Kin Lian. (Yahoo!)Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian surprised the crowd at his really on Wednesday night when he gave a short speech before introducing his daughter who stole the limelight.
Out of the 14 speakers who took to the stage, it was Tan's daughter, Tan Su Ling, who drew the most response from the crowd at Yio Chu Kang stadium as she passionately spoke on why Singaporeans should vote for her father as President.
In her speech, the 37-year-old said that her father was a truly independent candidate with "no political baggage and no emotional ties."
Stating that her father was a candidate who would stand up for them because of his sense of duty to the public, she asked the crowd: "Do you want a silent President caged in the Istana?"
Citing the Lehmann Brothers Minibond crisis in 2008 -- when many Singaporeans lost their hard-earned savings due to the saga -- she told the crowd how her father did not have any friends to help him when he single-handedly stood up against the establishments to fight for ordinary citizens who had lost their money.
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore after the rally, she said: "My speech came from the heart, and I hope that the people at the rally could feel it."
The mother of two said that she had prepared her speech the night before with two other friends online, to make sure her speech was relevant to the crowd.
The former architect added that she had to shorten her speech and could only say 20 per cent of what she had originally planned due to time constraints.
I'll will aim to make life better for Singaporeans: Tan Kin Lian
In his rally speech, Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian shared his vision of making life better for Singaporeans.
Speaking in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil, he said: "With a strong mandate from the people, the President will be able to use his influence on government policies, especially when he is asked to use the past reserves."
He repeated his intention in forming a President's Personal Council as a more consultative approach to form policies.
In addition, he also reiterated his proposal to give preferential HDB grants to men who have served their National Service as compensation for their sacrifice and taking care of the elderly through a pension scheme.
Turning his attention to his financial capabilities, he cited his 30 years in NTUC and his experience in handling the Lehmann Brothers crisis.
He said of the investors who lost their life savings during the crisis: "Nobody else spoke out for them — neither the other three candidates nor the Government.
"In a future crisis, you need someone stronger to speak for you. If you elect me as your President, I can speak out strongly for you."
Another speaker at the rally who grabbed everyone's attention was Ivy Singh-Lim. The former Netball Singapore chief, known for her controversial nature, knew Tan because her husband used to work for NTUC Fairprice.
Calling Singapore "a beautiful blessed country", she said she had never seen it "so divided, so unhappy and so sad", and added to cheers from the crowd: "Let us not let idiots spoil it."
She said that Singapore needs a President who can protect the people through the constitution and told the audience that Tan, who had helped Singaporeans out of his own accord during the Lehmann Brothers crisis, can act as Singapore's moral conscience and give advice to the Cabinet.
Showing family support at the rally was Tan Kin Lian's older brother Albert Tan.
The elder touched on their growing up days, when both of them studied at Raffles Institution but could not further their studies because they had to start work to support the family.
He credited those days for allowing his younger brother to understand "the difficulties of the common people" and hence he could make insurance affordable for the masses at a time when it was only available to mainly the rich.
Former National Solidarity Party secretary-general Goh Meng Seng, who flew back from Hong Kong to speak at the rally, said that if it were not for him, Tan would not have run for President.
Goh shared that three years ago, after the Lehmann Brothers crisis, he had asked the former NTUC income chief: "Can you be our President?"
The crowd listening to Tan Kin Lian's speech. (Yahoo! photo/Henry Lim)
Close to 800 people attended the rally last night. When asked about the low turnout, Tan Su Ling said: "Even though the turn out is not as great, but at least the people are here because they want to be, and not because their bosses told them to come."
Lim JS, 56, who was at the rally, thought that the most interesting part came when Tan Kin Lian's daughter Tan Su Ling spoke.
"It was good to see such a sense of belief for her father; it was very moving," he said.
Elvin Lum, a consultant, agreed and said: "I thought her speech brought out a lot of emotions, and it was nice to see a daughter supporting her father at the rally."
