The presidential race is well underway, with the Elections Department of Singapore (ELD) issuing three candidates with Certificates of Eligibility.
One of them is Tan Kin Lian, who expressed his appreciation for the support he has received thus far.
However, screenshots of Facebook posts where he talked about “pretty girls” are now circulating on social media.
When asked to address them, he said most people found the posts “lighthearted” and “fun.”
TikTok user @spillthetea.sg shared a video highlighting the nature of Mr Tan’s past Facebook posts.
In the caption of one of them, he talked about the bus he was in having a “pretty girl.”
In another, he called the sales assistant of a bakery shop he had walked into by the same term.
Another two posts had similar captions, Mr Tan mentioning a “pretty girl” in them yet again.
A check on his Facebook account proves that the posts are legitimate, with a few of them still up.
The video has now gone viral, gathering over 208,800 views on TikTok.
Considering his posts, one user said they were unsure how ELD could issue him the Certificate of Eligibility.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia (CNA) at a doorstop interview before a walkabout at a hawker centre in Clementi West, Mr Tan said that the majority of people found the posts “light” and “enjoyable.”
“There will be a few people who feel uncomfortable, but that is a very small minority, that’s a very small minority,” he said. “[The] majority actually find that to be quite okay, quite fun.”
Mr Tan noted that his Facebook posts about other issues, including meals at hawker centres, would also gain “nasty comments.” They would question why he had to post about his fishball noodle soup online.
“Please leave it to me. If you don’t like what I post, please stay out. Don’t make very rude remarks,” he said.
Some of the people actually do it because they are malicious. They just want to make me look bad. And I think that’s no good. Not necessary.
“I ignore malicious people who are out to create trouble for me, so long as the majority of people find that those are quite harmless,” he continued. “Some people will be malicious.”
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Featured image adapted from @spillthetea.sg on TikTok.
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