Presidential candidate Mr Tan Kin Lian recently made headlines for his Facebook posts remarking on “pretty girls”.
Though he has since apologised to those who might have felt uncomfortable, other parties such as AWARE still had much to say — even criticising the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) for granting eligibility to Mr Tan.
Ho Ching, wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, made a Facebook post yesterday (22 Aug) replying to the women’s rights group.
Ms Ho stated that the PEC does not police non-criminal behaviours in its reviewed candidates.
She also urged anyone with concerns to submit them to the PEC prior to the review’s completion.
On Monday (21 Aug), AWARE Singapore posted a public statement voicing their concerns over what they called PEC’s “systemic endorsement” of Mr Tan’s behaviour.
The advocacy group had classified Mr Tan’s behaviour as “an act of objectifying women”.
“We urge the Presidential Election Commission to thoroughly consider the broader implications of such endorsements in the future,” they said.
The PEC has since refuted the endorsement claim, and said they were unaware of the posts.
Additionally, Ms Ho Ching, wife of PM Lee, made a lengthy Facebook post in response to AWARE Singapore.
In her statement, she said that concerns about a candidate’s conduct should’ve been flagged to the PEC before they reviewed applications.
Ms Ho then noted that the PEC only takes into account a candidate’s court history or extreme public statements, not social media posts.
She added that the PEC would not pass moral judgement on non-chargeable behaviours. Nevertheless, there may be exceptions if the case was particularly appalling.
“Like being found drunk and stark naked on the steps of the National Gallery on Monday morning,” she elaborated.
Ms Ho stated that it was up to the people, and not the PEC, to judge a candidate’s non-criminal moral actions.
The people would express their judgment in the form of votes at the polls.
She segued into highlighting that the president was someone who could best represent and inspire Singapore.
Voting “a candidate who enjoys ogling at girls” as president would in the same vein, “say something about ourselves to ourselves and to the world too”.
Ms Ho then opined that it’s unfair to ask the PEC to be a “morality police”.
Ms Ho urged anyone with concerns about a candidate’s conduct to write to the PEC before the review is completed.
As such, she took issue with AWARE’s post-review statement.
However, Ms Ho acknowledged that AWARE had “every right to campaign against a particular candidate” they deemed morally questionable.
“Just don’t whine about the PEC and subjective standards of moral rectitude,” she said.
She nonetheless called for the campaigning to be “on a positive and constructive note”.
This would keep the presidential election “gentlemanly” and “thoughtful”.
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Featured image by MS News and adapted from Temasek.
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