Tan Kin Lian (陈钦亮): I will continue to be voice of people...by other channels

Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian has promised to continue being "the voice of the people", despite a disappointing Presidential Election campaign.

Mr Tan, who conceded defeat barely three hours into the vote count on Saturday night, said he was "disappointed" at the results.

The former NTUC chief, who scrapped plans to go to the Elections Department to head straight to his supporters' homebase at Begonia Drive, said he made his decision after visiting three polling centres.

"I'm a statistician, so I know from this analysis that I will lose this elections," said the visibly disappointed Tan.

Thanking those who voted for him, the 63-year-old said he plans to continue being "the voice of the people", the banner under which he ran his campaign.

Nevertheless, his wife and daughter were immensely proud of him.

His wife, Vivian, said, "We have done our best and contributed to the country. I told him we've already won. I feel proud of him. Everything he's wanted to say and do, he's already done. We've made a contribution to the country."

His daughter, Tan Su Ling, said she was proud of her dad's courage.

"He had courage to stand up for what he believed in, that's what matter. My father is a really strong person."

Adding that contesting the elections was a "new experience" for her father, she said it was a "good learning experience" and that he "raised debate of what the president should or should not do."

Among Mr Tan's proposals during his election campaign was to have a President's Personal Council, giving more to NSmen and the elderly.

He had also stood up for those who lost their savings in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse.

Political analyst Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said one of the low points of Tan Kin Lian's campaign was when Tan Jee Say decided to enter the PE fray as it had the effect of "splitting the votes".

Koh also added that it wasn't that voters disliked Tan Kin Lian, but more that many could identify with the "more vociferous" Tan Jee Say and Tan Cheng Bock.

Earlier on, Tan Kin Lian himself admitted that Tan Jee Say had initally been invited to be part of his strategic team to formulate ideas for his Presidential campaign before he decided to run on his own.

Article By Liyana Low

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Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian concedes defeat, Aug 27