I was disappointed with my low score in the Presidential campaign. Please share your feedback in this survey.
Note: I have received over 100 replies within 8 hours! As the survey has reached its limit, it is now closed. You can now post your comments. (You can read the survey results in my facebook, www.facebook.com/kinlian.
Note: I have received over 100 replies within 8 hours! As the survey has reached its limit, it is now closed. You can now post your comments. (You can read the survey results in my facebook, www.facebook.com/kinlian.
71 comments:
It's alright, be a graceful loser as the winner has a tough fight.. dont act like TJS and make a fool of yourself..
Mr Tan Kin Lian. Thank you for stepping forward as the voice of us!
We hope you will continue doing so! You have my support
At least you have tried. Thank you Kin Lian for being the voice of the People. :)
You are a good person but not aggressive enough. I will take time to give you a detail response to your survey tmr. Rest well tonight.
It's not easy being in such an important election. However, as you mention many times that you are independent, that is clearly the problem. People out there, prefers to stand either here or there, either yes or no, right or wrong. Not much of sitting on the fence. Yes, it's true that the President should be independent from political groups, however, it's not working for citizens of Singapore. It is indeed sad to know you lost, yes perhaps really disappointing, but we all face failures in life. Many out there know you've tried :) You know you tried your best too, and that is all that matters.
Take care &
God bless you.
Sir, for what it's worth, I liked how you said with a smile that it's time to go chill with all your supporters who have worked so hard. As you said, you're going to keep on being the voice of the people and I think that's great. There's a lot you can do in your personal capacity too. Please don't lose heart, Mr. Tan!
thanks for speaking up but u wil have better chance in the GE elections as u r not suted to be a Prez.
Mr Tan, even though you lost.. i admire you for taking time to post this survey for feedback..
You stayed true to your cause...
I am sorry to hear about your low score. Admittedly I didn't vote for you. I wouldn't say it is your fault as because I wouldn't have mind you getting presidency.
However, I am very against TJS getting presidency. And I was worried that he would be able to sway 40% of opposition to his side. And it was obvious right from the start that TT and TCB was much more popular. There is a higher chance that they could win against TJS. Hence, it made sense to vote for either of them.
Furthermore, TT and TCB were more highly qualified than you to be the president and hence that also contributed to their higher votes.
Think about it this way: TT had the PAP supporters. TCB had a mix of PAP and opposition supporters. TJS had the opposition supporters... But for you... there wasn't really a ready pool of supporters. You had to garner supporters in such a short period of time... It was just not going to happen.
I hope you would still continue contributing to Singapore in whatever way you can and to not be too disheartened by the results.
I have given my detailed AAR of your campaign and hope you can consider my constructive suggestions (GE 2016) and move ahead.
I have voted for you and I like the you conducted your self during the election and during the mini bond issues. I have not seen you anywhere, I do not know you personally, I have no alliance or hidden motives to cast my vote to you. You have won support my support, which shows that you do have great leadership skills.
Presidency is not the only platform you can serve. Please continue your good work and continue to be the voice of the common people.
It was a tough, tight race. You were squeezed out, but so were the other non-PAP aligned candidates. Its a zero-sum game, no one won. Voters lost.
Dear Mr Tan,
thank you for your courage in stepping forward and your desire to serve singaporeans.
While the message of your campaign was notable and filled with worthwhile causes, overall the medium of television and public speaking proved to be your biggest stumbling blocks.
Please take this as constructive feedback, sir, and not criticism. Compared to the other three Tans, you were the least eloquent and fluent (both on TheOnlineCitizen debate special and the CNA broadcast).
You noticeably had difficulty thinking on your feet and conveying your message clearly and persuasively. You tended to make repetitive points. Unfortunately, your command of the English was also not as good compared to the other candidates, and your diction/pronounciation was weak. Some people have commented that you don't even know your name as you introduce yourself as Tan 'KIM' Lian.
You also have the habit of blinking many times before speaking. And whenever you posed a question to the other candidates, or when you were responding to answers, you kept smiling all the time. While you may have wanted to perceive yourself as friendly and approachable, this may have backfired. You appeared not to take the situation seriously, seemed awkward and unsure of yourself as well.
Hence, people need to have confidence that the future president needs to conduct himself with dignity and confidence, speak fluently, clearly and in good, proper English.
I believe this is why you failed to capture the hearts of voters. They feel you are more of a behind-the-scenes person... the president represents Singapore on the world stage and this is a very high-profile position. Relating to the people is good, but you also need to be comfortable in front of the cameras and speak spontaneously and intelligently.
Nevertheless, do continue to serve Singaporeans in your own unique capacity, sir.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
a true-blooded Singaporean
Wow you had less than 5% of the votes ... very, very disappointing. And this is despite all the so-called "good" work you have done. It is certainly a nightmare.
Dear Mr Tan,
I have deep respect for you - when you chose to speak up for the people in the Lehman Brother's crisis.
I was sadden by the outcome, particularly the low vote count on your part. It felt ridiculous. How could you have lost to TJS?
To me, you had quietly worked and contributed to Singapore in your own ways - through this blog, and your time in NTUC income. (But what has TJS done for the people - besides appearing in opposition for a few months? )
In my eyes, you are definitely a more sensible and steady man than TJS.
And seriously to the haters posting negative comments - ask yourself, what have you done for the people? Have you put yourself out in the line to speak out for the poor and for the sake of the common good? Even at the risk of losing your job - as Mr Tan Kin Lian had done? If you want to post negative comments - back it up and SHOW YOUR NAME, stop hiding behind the computer screen and being "anonymous", its cowardly.
Writing my comments and proud of Tan Kin Lian, a true Singaporean for Singaporean.
Cheers
Esther.
I am untterly disappointed with the results of this election.If you seriously wanted change, you should have withdrawn and passed your 5% to TCB. It was clear from the beginning that TJW was too high risk, and it was btw TT and TCB. Not that you are not qualified, it's just that your exposure wasn't long enough.
Your campaign had no clear direction.
Tan Cheng Bock's campaign came across as truly neutral and dignified; moreover, he has the track record of speaking out against his own Party even if his was the only dissenting vote in Parliament.
Tan Jee Say is clear about his political standing even if he is still pro-Opposition. At least he is vocal about our civil liberties and outspoken against the casino and frequently challenges Tony Tan.
You however claimed to be neutral and non political and yet you have the conspiracy buff, UFO fan, and ex NSP sec-gen Goh Meng Seng, endorsing you. And you took to the stage for SDP's rally. You had been writing articles which are not that neutral. You didnt like the casino but didnt speak out much about it during your campaign. Voters didnt know which end of the political spectrum you were on.
You seem to want to pander to neutral voters and the gov't at the same time. Ultimately, you just seem confused and a flip flopper.
TKL, you did alright. You stood on the side of all singaporeans. Being an independant, you are a good candidate for the presidency, however, a lot of opposition party reps would rather ally with another opposition offering rather than you in order to futher their own political interests. It is very rare for an independant to wiln elections even when their goals are honorable. You lost a lot of supporters to TJS not because he was a better candidate but because they have obeyed the call of social network like TR to unite and vote TJS enbloc. Don't listen to idiots like the guy above. Contiune to do what you feel is right and follow your conscience. This is how heroes are made. To all the jackasses who believed that TKL is the right guy and yet abandoned him and voted TJS to be "united", congratulations, you are still screwed, and traded your integrity for nothing.The results showed that the middle ground made up of the majority of voters, You had a good public record of helping people, but perhaps TCB's list is longer. The fact that you originated quite a few ideas that were later copied by the other candidates was an indication that you were on the right track. Choosing to fight a battle is not always about winning or losing. Its about standing for your principles, beliefs and being true to yourself. Your personal values of honesty, fairness, positive attitude, courage and public service is something I admire very much. I hope the results of this election will not hold you back from engaging the public in future. Thank you for giving Singaporeans a choice.
A few simple reasons:
1. All candidates are former politicians associated with political parties with you being an exception. You should have learnt from TJS and joined one just before the PE. Your chances will be enhanced
2. Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock are powerhouse candidates formerly associated with PAP. They have hordes of supporters in their wards and beyond. TJS managed to secure some 25% because he is seen to be an 'opposition candidate' and there is obviously a growing number of Singaporeans resenting the government policies. You are the odd-one-out.
3. In fact, I see the voters being divided into pro-PAP and anti-PAP. The pros support Tony Tan. They anti ones support TJS. Those who neither support nor resent them will be the in-betweens who will support TCB. All the other three candidates serve a certain purpose. You have essentially split the votes resulting in Tony Tan's slight win over Tan Cheng Bock. You should have made an honourable exit from this election. Do you know your 5% could have help TCB win the election? There could have been no better exemplification of votes-splitting!
Unless you prefer Tony Tan rather than TCB being the president, your decision to run for this presidency is not very wise.
I felt you were the best candidate for the job, but asking around my acquaintances and seeing how many likes the candidates had on facebook suggested to me that you did not have enough support to win against TT so i felt i had to vote tactically for TCB in an attempt to prevent our foreign reserves being under the power of the same ruling family. I hope you will run again in 6 years time, perhaps after raising your public profile doing advocacy and charity work or something. Keep up the good work and don't give up sir.
Don't give up sir.
Peter Gabriel Kate Bush Don't Give Up Lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVaK24LIDko
TKL,
Your 5 values, although very good, did not sell at all with the voters!
This is a good lesson for candidates in next GE 2016. Better be more careful when trying to sell values with Singapore voters.
On hindsight, you should have withdrawn from the race. Now you lost more.
You are still young. You are more suitable to play the role of MP.
You will become a super-MP like TCB in decade.
I was looking at factors you listed in the survey, and interestingly, you included "Highlight the weakness of the other candidates". It implies that you admitted having done so and that's despite the fact that you repeatedly mentioned wanting to focus on the "positive" aspects of candidates.
On the other hand, there is an important factor you omitted - yourself. My view is that you have so many character flaws that even people who do not know you do not want you anywhere near the Istana. It would be just too painful to see you representing the nation and its people.
You are better off not doing a post-mortem on the PE, but on yourself.
Hi Mr Tan, 9 days was simply too short a time for someone relatively new to political scene to garner enough support. Thank you for being courageous and I hope you do not give up the fight to be the voice of ordinary SIngaporeans.
When I attended your poor rally turnout of ~2000 voters I knew u will lose your deposit. Voters have doubts about your past, particularly the reason you gave for leaving NTUC was being challenged openly but remained unanswered.
First, I like to thank you for stepping forward to be a candidate.
Lesson to be learnt, remembered and internalized
Initially, you have considered to withdraw after getting the COE but somehow you may have listen to wrong advice to go ahead. So wrong advice is worse than no advice. You probably have listen to confirmatory advice to confirm what you believe but have forgotten to listen to negative advice to counter against your view. In other words, you may have fallen into the confirmatory bias trap.
If you think that you are the weakest among the four, then it is better to withdraw and stand in unity with the other 2 to avoid a big defeat and lose election deposit.
Your withdrawal may have change the outcome of what we see on 27 Aug.
This is supposed to be a lesson ought to have been learnt from 7 May GE2011 when someone, also the only one, by the name of Desmond who lost his election deposit when contesting a single ward in the East as he only managed to get single digit result.
Have this lesson being learnt?
The answer is clearly no.
Voting is about strategy. As the saying goes,
divide is to conquer, unite is to win.
The Presidency election is partisan in substance, TKL is not a politician, he can't beat the other candidates.
He should have a better score, but he cut himself off by mounting a personal attack on TJS on eve of election. This is a "democracy", everybody has the right to stand.
TKL is too petty in character to enter politics, just look at how thick a face TT has.
Nevertheless, he should be seen helping TCB a near goal, because of his last minute outburst. So critics, spare him for his mistake.
Oh no, not even Tan Cheng Bock grassroot XXX supporters plus neutral supporters can stop this disappointing result. Now, I know there is not much we can do to 35% of the voters. Only 25% are opposition supporters & only 4.91% of neutral supporters voted for Tan Kin Lian. Alternative supporters reduced to 30%, very disappointing. Tan Cheng Bock rebutted better, you are losing neutral supporters.
Please continue to be the voice of the people and do not be discouraged. I would like to see you around.
initially you were my 1st choice, but alas, seeing how you politicking - a) saying weaknesses / flaws of other 3 candidates (kinda like blaming/fault finding); b) saying your low point was when TJS entered the PE.
It's kinda really suckk.
Hey Mr Tan, I feel bad for your loss. (including the $! don't we all feel pain at losing money.. something rich people would never know) It's not that we didn't like you.. If there was only 2 candidates or even 3, the results would have been different. I reached your survey too late, so this is belated. Still hope you read this though..
Here are some of my thoughts:
While I watch rallies and having limited time, I really didn't know any candidates well, so what I want to look for would be:
1) Why they want to run for Presidency, their plans, what they promise to do and how to do it, and how Singaporeans can help to achieve this 'goal'.
2) how someone carries themselves
(i didn't appreciate TJS's almost aggressive tone, and personal agenda)
3) speech eloquence
(TJS didn't do well for me in this too)
4) then their background. I can do this online (importance in this order)
You did mention you were going to form a committee to find out 'what people wanted' but it's too vague.. Perhaps next time you could strongly attack several points that we identify with and feel frustrated about and start from there (when you hit certain key concerns, people are going to listen to you. For me, eg. it'll be social and economic issues: (the foreigners/rich in singapore, overcrowding, and public transport issues, increasing 'elitism' in Singapore - how some people think they're better than others, ALSO, I would VERY much like a president who would be active in conserving natural habitats and heritage; anti deforestation, prevention against animal cruelty), I would vote for one who addresses my concerns and is niche in what he wants to do that other people don't consider - like saving the environment, but when it's vague, it decreases credibility, and trustworthiness level.
Also, I think speech classes would help you tremendously. In this day and age, one needs to speak really good english to be taken seriously.
Lastly, kindness is NOT lost on people. The reason why we all love Mr Chiam was because he is exceedingly kind.
Those were the only 2 reasons why I did not vote for you in the end (Even though i wanted to.) I really hope my comment would not go to waste and will help! Hope to see you again though in another 6 years, and best of luck for your future! :)
Felicia
Personal view on using surveymonkey is that for such campaign, result from just 100 replies is not conclusive.
You should have used other means e.g. Facebook q&a or just some other means to get more inputs.
100 is just too little especially when options are a lot. Outcome can become skewed.
Kin Lian,
I am sorry to learn that you lose $48,000 of yor deposit. Like many feedbacks above, you should have withdrawn.
TT has the support of PAP hardcore supporters, TCB appeal to both PAP and some anti PAP supporters and TJS appeal to opposition supporters.
I did not vote for you as I know that I need to help to consolidate the votes to be with either TCB or TJS as I knew you being the weakest link, voting for you would be wasting my vote though I believe in your campaign. The rally response changed my mind voting for you. At that point in time, you could have still withdraw and conceed defeat by helping either TCB or TJS but instead you attack TJS and with that you lose a lot of goodwill including the future goodwill.
Now many people rightfully or not would blame you for the outcome of the election result. Many of us can see it but unfortunately you did not.
Dear Mr Tan,
I admire and respect you for your courage to stand for elections and I'm moved by your sincerity and efforts to help Singaporeans. I hope you will not be discouraged by the results. Thank you so much.
My 2 cents: Pro-opposition voted for TSJ (some having an axe to grind?)
Pro-ruling party voted for TT (happy or satisfied with the status quio).
Both TkL & TCB have the votes of those who wanted improvements but don't want to get sea-sick from too much rocking of the boat. I voted for TKL because of his values and actions even though I know his chances are slim after the low turnout at his rally. However many voted for TCB as his changes are higher. Perhaps the middle-grounders could've won if both TKL & TCB are able to work together as one candidate.
Mr Tan, the "weakest link" impression from the earlier Yahoo poll that went un-challanged,as you reflected, was probably the biggest cause of the swing from your supporters to TCB or TJS.
Let me say that it was my honour to support your cause.
Reply to 10:43 am
I was in favor of TCB at the start. I submitted the COE just to make sure that at least one of us was approved. Later, I changed my mind about cooperating with him, after his supporters made many personal attacks against me in the social media. If this had not happened, it would probably have been a different outcome.
I was also misled by external surveys that showed me ahead of him (which turned out to be unreliable).
rex comments as follows,
Hello Mr Tan, sorry to hear about your dismal performance at the polls. I have no doubt that you are a nice fellow with a sincere heart, but to put it bluntly, in the face of the scenario, you should not 不自量力。Here are my other views.
1. You just pasted on your facebook that you proceeded with the race based solely on advise of your Technical Manager. I find that rather lame. If you look around your own blog, it would have been crystal clear that the number of comments you get on daily basis trail very far behind the main TRE and TOC blogs. Sometimes you write very well and great points, yet 0 comments. This is a clear sign of problems, that netizens are not sure of you. In fact your score of 10,000 votes is just the same number of Lehman Victims. That means you hardly had a single supporter other than Lehman victims you helped... isn't that very sad?
Never mind about the tech manager claim that the survey results were rigged, you should have gut feel of what the odds are. Also i dont understand how the personal comments against you from what you call "TCB" supporters, should sway your judgement to remain in the race?
2. There are also several integrity issues which bothered me severely, towards the last part of your campaign.
a. You were very undignified to put up Youtube joke on tony tan's name "偷你蛋” video was very unfair. It may be a joke, it is well to circulate in third party blogs just for fun, but surely it should not be pasted on your own blog because it means you endorse personal insults. What happened to your HiFive values? Were you not digging your own grave?
b. You were unfair to judge that TJS is unqualified. do not forget that you are also in the same precarious position, re. the issue of being CEO. It was quite shocking to hear your comment on TJS.
c. You kept insisting that TCB knew little about Finance, even after he issued a rebuttal statement. Your correct response is to go on top of what TCB said and if you have further points, you could add. Insteady you kept insisting TCB knows little about Money. this is not a very good counter rebuttal.
Dr TCB is a good man. If you have bad things to say about him, it had better be very clear, else you lose votes by hitting a good man. Wrong Target, Mr Tan!!
I thought too that you should have withdrawn from the campaign in which case TCB would have been guaranteed winner and we would not end up with what i call a Freak Result of another PAP stooge in Lane 1.
Look at it this way Mr Tan. When Ipad1 came out everyone is ooh and ahh over it. Then Ipad2 came out. Nobody wants Ipad1 anymore. Life is like that. It was very clear to me even without the Tech Manager that the straw poll results were quite realistic.
c'est la vie.
rex
rex comments as follows,
sorry i made bad calcualtion mistake, your vote count was 100,000 not 10,000 so i think part of my anaylsis in my comments post, is not valid.
rex
My personal views
- Perhaps your approach of 5 values was too stretched. I can remember TCB's unifying statement, Tony Tan's championing of his credentials, TJS's check and balance, but I can only think of public service and fairness among your values. Sometimes, less may be more. After so much information was given throughout the campaign period, that one single value which embodies a candidate can be an important consideration when one finally decides his vote.
- I always felt you were too conscious or trying too hard since the early days leading to the whole campaign. Sometimes, you do not have to keep telling people you are good but people will still know. If you are trying too hard, maybe that was a hint of things to come.
- Your appearance, blinking of eyes (I didn't even notice until someone mentioned), speaking or smiling face did not bother me because I judge a person more than his or her appearance.
- I think the High-Five is not that bad, but you again tried to show too much in your logo. A lot of people I talked to cannot remember or describe your logo.
- I did not follow the PE campaign as closely as the GE, so my final decision was made near the end of the campaign after constantly changing my mind between you and a fellow candidate. In the end, sense (I could relate more to the other candidate) and sensibility (I felt my vote would be more worthwhile voting the other candidate) confirmed my decision and unfortunately you did not get my vote.
u got your 100K endorsement. infact u got a few thousands more than what u asked for last time 100k signatures to petition u to stand for the PE.
that's about all that u would get so please do not blame others for not supporting u cos u only asked for 100K supports.
Dear Mr Tan
I share your disappointment.
I believe you have done well in the campaigning.
I would like to share with you my own analysis of the Presidential Election 2011 results:
http://singaporeshortstories.blogspot.com/2011/08/presidential-election-2011-results-tony.html
If you had linked your 5 values to specific roles that the President needs to do, it would have given your stance more clarity.
All candidates could not demonstrate their capabilities, not even with examples of "what if" .
Except for TCB who said that in reviewing an appointee, he would look at the persons' values and orientation towards serving the people.
You could have broaden this and strengthen your 5 values.
In connecting the roles, good clear examples would have helped inform people about the 'can do & cannot do'.. focus on the 'can do'.
For example the transfer of reserves from one statutory board to another. This type of real issues could enlighten the voters and allowed them to understand what you can do, by asking thought provoking questions for Parliament to answer.
Yet, I appreciate your effort, time and energy in doing what you did.
You did not lose. You have been heard and you will continue to voice our concerns.
Thank you.
I hope you will continue to be our voice.
Groupthink.
It occurs everywhere.
Groupthink by choosing wrong battleground after knowing the opponents.
Hi Mr Tan,
I think your involvement in the Lehman minibond crisis might not turn into votes for you even though you championed for the cause for 10,000 people. Only those people who got back some money would vote for you but not those who got nothing such as the rich & highly educated who can afford to lose their money. Then you did not have the endorsement & support from NTUC even though you had served there as CEO for 30 years. People still had doubt & question on why you left NTUC because of your dispute with the board of directors of NTUC was not very transparent & clear. But I hope you can still continue with your good work & be a voice of the people. I had voted for you, keep up your good work.
Reply to 5:25 PM
The strategy group comprised of people from different background, who think quite differently. We discussed and come to an agreed outcome. There was no group-think.
The difficulty was getting the right information to make the best decisions - due to our limited finances and data!
Dear Mr Tan,
I think you have done your best. It's been about unfair as all the media highlights are basically just one candidate & not equally. Mr Tan, I thank you so much for coming forward to want to voice out for the people. We need more people like you. Where the nation comes first. It shouldn't just be about economic growth & the nations are cast aside. I wish you all the best!!!
Hi Mr Tan
I read what Ms Ivy-Singh Lim said at your rally in one of the local newspapers. Did she really say what was reported (something comparing her wealth with rest of Singaporeans)? When I read that, I was a bit pissed off, I am sure others will feel so. This may cost you some votes.
If you want to contest against PAP,you must have opposition support like Tan Jee Say and hardcore supporters' base like Tan Cheng Bock.
You need to have both numbers to win over PAP.
You cannot win election with just good campaign.
The hardcore supporters will not care about your 5 values or proposals.
Use the Zoom in/ Zoom out technique next time.
When speaking, zoom in to the role that you are able to do ( or cannot do ). Go deeper into details like:
"when I was in NTUC,.. there was this issue of blah, blah,blah..
or "when the lehman bros mini bond saga exploded, I confered with my closest friends in the industry and knew that one way to resolve this was...blah, blah."
Then zoom out: talk about the macro picture and how all this can fit in with your role ( role of president,MP,social observer,critique or whatever)
This Zoom in/out technique works all the time.. practice and you will get better.
Its a bit like telling grandmother stories.. but thats what human beings like to hear since caveman days.
We all love stories!
Mr. Tan,
I had noticed you had frequently relied on surveys conducted through your own blog. In the past, you had conducted such surveys for many topics like insurance and political views. In my opinion, the sample data collected is biased and not randomly selected. Also, many comments posted on your blog (e.g. anti-establishment, anti-insurance agents, etc) are also biased. Perhaps it will be a good thing to have other channels to gather feedback than to rely on the Internet.
Wilfred
Total No of Comment: 53
Best Comment: Rex (11:46am)
Your Reliable Friend: Rex
Agree with Wilfred on the use of surveys especially small sample size.
Do away with such surveys especially when the audience is always going to be pro TKL anyway. The audience should be diverse and 100 is too small.
My 2 cents worth
Hi Mr. Tan KL,
I am sorry that you did not withdraw from the 4-cornered competition, after you had received the certificate of eligibility; and I am sorry that you do not listen to the voices of people - to create opportunities for Tan CB. I am sorry that by statistics, your withdrawal would have swung enough votes to secure a win for Tan CB.
I am sorry, too, that you take things a bit too personal and overlook the big picture. This crushing defeat, I believe, is a good opportunity for you to do a deep reflection and to grow up.
Rex is spot on in his comments. You were the weakest link. You proceeded with a 4 way fight because of personal attacks from TCB supporters? You put yourself and all anti-establishment supporters in a lose-lose situation with this move. 65% are against Tony Tan and yet its this same 65% who are instrumental in sending Tony Tan to Istana, by a mere 7000 votes win. Such a pity and an irony. The biggest winner becomes the loser while the loser with only 35% mandate wins.
You fought the good fight. Please continue to be the Voice of the People. You should consider becoming an Nominated Member of Parliament so you can be non-partisan and speak out on behalf of the people.
Reply to 12:08 AM. I received many different voices and they give conflicting signals. Some of the voices were from supporters of other candidates, so I cannot act on their agendas. The voices from my supporters were that I should carry on. At that time, the middle ground was still unclear.
Reply to Loh Hon Chun
I have carried out many surveys. The results from 100 replies are quite reliable. In fact, if you compare the results for 25 and 100 replies, they are quite close for many types of questions.
I am aware about the inherit bias in the survey done through my blog. I ask questions that are not affected by the bias. I also take account of the bias in interpreting the results.
I carried out private surveys of the ranking of the different candidates using a different approach. They were sent to a random mailing list.
Yes. Rex speaks the truth but the truth hurts.
In reality, the decisive factor for winning the GE or EP is about 'what can you do for me?' Not so much about the personal value system, e.g. your 'high 5'. Because they are very subjective.
In general, it's good to understand and remember that the people fight harder for their interests than their rights.
However, the winner or the loser, all of us who make efforts to comment have, in fact contributed to the course of helping to raise the level of political awareness in Singapore. In this respect, I think many bloggers/Singaporeans appreciate your meaningful and great contribution too.
Mr Tan, sorry to tell you that I did not vote for you this time.
Hi Mr Tan,
Do not be too sad. Over 100,000 people supported you. You should be proud of your achievement. Your competition for this race was tough. 2 Dr Tan's and 1 power TJS. Perhaps with 1 less Dr Tan, your result would of been better.
Keep up your good work.
Some people are nice enough not to hurt your feelings and thus did not participate in your skewed survey. People who asked you to run for the fight may have been from the TT camp, knowing that your involvement will dilute the votes among the non-TT camp.
Not sure if you are someone who only listen what sounds nice to you. This is an area that you may need to reflect upon as well.
From the way I see it, you have projected an image of being straight-forward and an naive pawn to the TT camp.
As a result of your actions, you may have garnered unpopularity among TCB and TJS camps (amounting to over 50% of Singaporeans). TT camp may actually like you, for your contribution to TT's win. Although you did not receive the presidential title, citizens might be willing to confer you the title King - Sabo King, that is.
Too bad for Singapore this term. Let's move on.
Hi Mr Tan,
Actually u are not bad a person. We like yr smile n approachable nature. But ur goals and promises are unrealistic for a president role. Ur hi-5 is lame and overly friendly as a president. Also, Mrs Tan
appears to be overly dressed with heavy make-up. But we'd like u to be our MP or grassroot leader.
I must say that u are gracious and acted like a gentleman to admit defeat unlike TJS! And between u n TJS, I like u more.
Hi Mr Tan,
I didn't vote for you, but I must say you have gained my respect from the way you conducted yourself during the campaign and especially after the results were announced. You are a gracious loser, unlike TJS who is still whining and finding lots of excuses. The fact that you have started a survey to find out what went wrong shows a humility and willingness to face reality, regardless of how painful or embarrassing it might be.
Although I am still of the opinion that you are not suitable to be our president, perhaps you might consider running in the 2016 GE if you are genuinely committed to serve. All the best.
MS
Just my 2 cents worth. From my observations in the last GE and this PE, online polls and feedbacks are always skewed towards the anti-PAP. It is not an accurate representation of the actual ground sentiment and anyone using online polls and feedbacks to make a decision will almost certainly be taken by surprise of the actual results. There are many fake cheerleaders online whose purpose is to give a false sense of victory. Social media and online engagement is a double edge sword. What you click/write online and what you cross on the voting slip can be very different. Don't be deceive.
hi, i know your survey is closed. But i'd just like to share some thoughts about your campaign on PE. Initially I did not know you well enough to have wanted to vote for you. I don't think your campaign sells well because you don't have a defining image: 1) Tony Tan has got a wealth of experience to his advantage and garner PAP support. 2) Tan Cheng Bock has got a sense of personal touch. Very upright,caring and affable image.
3) Tan Jee Say has a distinctive opposition image.
The distinct political flavors of TT and TJS work for them as well as against them but important point is they both garner strong base support. TCB's strong image sells well too with the swing votes. Furthermore your high 5 slogan is too cute for a president. It tends to make you look immature and simple-minded.
From the day TJS U-turned and stepped forward to run for presidency, your chances are already very slim
If it is among TT, TCB and yourself, you would probably have garnered most of the anti-PAP votes. You would probably have ended up with the 25% + 4% votes
But with TJS in the race, the anti-PAP votes would have swung to him instead
It appears most voters do not want the EP to be too closely associataed with the PAP. Unfortunately your background cannot dis-associate from the PAP totally, as you are most symbolic as NTUC Income CEO. NTUC Income is associated with the PAP no matter how
You are still the most qualified candidate as the EP in my opinion. But things do no always go our way as intended
Thank you once again for stepping out to run for the EP, without which, the level of political awareness may still be very primitive
Jerome
4 over % vote is an achievement already.. :)
Dear Mr Tan, I must say I am not impressed the way you and your daughter blaming others (be it TJS or Yahoo etc...) for the big loss. Apparently you must learn basic stuff like try to be a gracious loser before you try anything else. Be mature and stop blaming others because it will get you nowhere and those bad loser image will be imprint on our mind when there come a time for voting again. Learn to appreciate those who supported you. Till now, you have never say a single "Thank you" to those who voted for you instead asking for the blood for those who caused your downfall, I am not impressed, boo!!!!
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