Dear Mr Tan,
I would like to thank you for standing up and contest in the Presidential Elections.
Despite your initial reluctance and the tough competition, you still went ahead with the attempt.
I was touched by your sincerity that could be seen in all your speeches and your voice.
I am only 19 and did not have the chance to vote, but I am here to give my 2 cents worth on what I have seen.
Although you have lost the deposit of S$48k and only garnered less than 5% of the votes, you have gained the appreciation of thousands of Singaporeans.
They may not have voted for you but they know your courage and enthusiasm in helping people in need.
You have mentioned many times in your speeches about your mini-bond campaign to help the people.
However, in my humble opinion, it was not enough to prove to the people how you can be a unifying figure who speaks for them.
Singaporeans want the growing divides to be lessened.
You also did not leverage the advantage of knowing 4 languages as you hardly spoke during the rally.
I think it was a huge mistake to let too many speakers talk in your rally.
The main person should be you as you are the candidate for Presidency.
The people want to hear what you have to say, not others.
I know that you sincerely have the commitment to be a voice of the people but the points you spoke of were not enough.
With utmost respect to you, I will take Dr Tan Cheng Bock as an example.
Dr Tan garnered just 0.34% less than the current President-Elect.
This was due to the way he campaigned and his methods of getting connected to the people.
He stayed away from bread and butter issues, and did not promise anything he could not do as a President.
The people could not see the reasons to vote for you, other than knowing that you are a really kind and good man.
It was a pity that they did not have the chance to listen to what you have to say.
I think you will do better as a man than a President.
As President, you can only control the national reserves and attempt to influence the ruling party in decision making.
However, you cannot take part in any of them.
As a man, you can do much more than that!
I hope you will continue to help people in need, like the poor and lower-income Singaporeans.
Help can come in the form of educating other Singaporeans on the issue and not necessarily money.
There is still many things to point out but I think it is pointless as the PE2011 is over.
I agree to the things you want to do for Singapore but as President, many of which you have said is not possible.
The important thing is you have experienced and learnt from this.
I wish you all the best in whatever you do.
Finally, I want to thank you for everything you have done.
Many people will misunderstand you on the basis of rumours and stories.
As long as you stay true to yourself, don't be discouraged and carry on!
Yours sincerely,
Terence Tan.
9 comments:
Thank you Mr. Tan! Admire your courage to fight for your fellow citizens in the miniBond crisis. President or not, you're an excellent man, (most admirably) with a really good heart. You're a superhero in those who've heard your story, I was touched to know how you fought for your fellow Singaporeans. Whatever your future endeavors, poltician or not, I hope you will continue to champion valued social causes and tackle social issues to make a difference in everyones lives.
May the compassionate spirit in you live on forever.
With admiration,
Alex
Terence,
I know English well. I can handle simple conversation in Mandarin and Malay, but will need a written script and some preparation to deliver a speech in these languages . For Tamil, I can only manage a few sentences from a written script.
August 30, 2011 5:18 AM
Well said Terence! Mr. Tan, I believe you should continue being an activist rather than a President or a political figure. The sphere of influence as an activist might be smaller in relation to a political figure, but the important thing is that it impacts the lives of individuals who have fallen through the cracks.
I have posted a separate item in my facebook (www.facebook.com/kinlian) to ask for views on how to reduce the divide among Singaporeans. Please give your views there.
Help can come in the form of educating Singaporeans on the issue. Agree.
On the brighter side of things, we know we can still reach you through your blog, we can still learn from you and you can still speak your mind. All that wouldn't be possible if you had become the President because then,you can only speak on the advice of the PM and Presidential Council of Advisors.
You were really up against two political veterans, backed by well-oiled campaign machineries with decades of grassroot experience who gave very accurate feedback on ground sentiments. One of the veterans toned down his strong statements. It worked because it won the hearts of voters who don't want to see a cat fight in Istana. You were supported by rookie campaign volunteers who do not have the grassroot connections to understand ground sentiments and to tell you many of us believed at least one of the four candidates will lose his $48K deposit. This is detrimental to your campaign because once this belief takes root and we start believing you are the weakest candidate, some voters will exercise tactical voting and cast their vote to who we believe to be the second strongest contender. Another reason why the electorate sees you as the weakest link is because you are least known among the four. Mr Tan Jee Say has an edge over you because we got to know him since April.
I read the survey results on your FB. There were comments on your spoken English,the 'high-five' gestures and the low points of your campaign.We also see the President as an ambassador who represents Singapore and meets foreign diplomats and heads of state and when we see your wife, we also envisage how she would have looked among the wives of foreign dignatries. Those comments would never come into the picture had it been a GE. It's a pity that we didn't know that you are actually multilingual and that you write better than you speak.
You were the first to say you want to run for President, yet you got cornered by last minute entries. It was very brave of you to stay in the run.
I agree what Terence said here that people are skeptical if you can do most of the things what you promise in your rally speech and other speeches as you are bound by the laws of the Constitution.
Nevertheless, I believe people can tell you are sincere and wanted to change the life of Singaporeans. I reckon that even though you are elected as President, those things you wanted to change are going to be a uphill task and if not impossible to accomplish for you.
But I wish to see more of you and hear more of your views.
William
Dear Mr Tan,
I am here again to thank you for taking the effort and spending the time and money on coming up with the website.
You could have just kept the money and enjoy your life.
I will do my very best to help you when I am back in Singapore.
Words cannot describe my appreciation.
I do not think anyone else would do this even when there is so little support for you.
Thank you!
Terence Tan.
Dear Mr Tan,
I applaud your courage to take part in the Presidential Election 2011. People are growingly discontented with the current governing system. However, few are willing to step out. You are one of the few brave ones.
Here's my two cents worth on why you did not perform that well in this election.
1) You are lesser known than the other candidates. Though you often write in to ST forum giving your views on current issues, I believe many Singaporeans only heard of you during this election.
2) For certain groups of people, you were the 2nd choice candidate. For people who wanted moderate change, they would have voted for Tan Cheng Bock. For people who wanted radical change, they would have voted for Tan Jee Say.
3) Donating half of the presidential pay to charity does not help. Tan Jee Say has offered to donate even more. Personally, this does not impact my decision on who to vote. I believe that if the President is really keen on giving back to society, he/she will help in organising fund-raising activities, encourage more volunteers to step forward and will donate generously for these causes. The amount should not be limited to half of his/her salary. It's up to his/her discretion.
4) The issues that you championed are mostly beyond the powers of a president. The government functions in a similar way to how a company/organization functions. The President only looks at the high level overview. The MPs are the ones looking after the residents in their constituency and proactively fight for the residents' needs in Parliament.
Though you did not become the President of Singapore, I believe you can still contribute in your own way. The impact of your contribution may not be big as in nationwide but it is definitely big for those people whose lives you have touched. Perhaps you should consider other avenues in which you can better champion the causes you believe in.
I wish you all the best.
Yours sincerely,
Evelyn
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