SINGAPORE — Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song said that the time has come for a non-partisan President, as the "ownself check ownself" system is not reliable. He was speaking during a Presidential Candidate Broadcast, which went on air on Thursday (Aug 24).

"I strongly believe that the time has come for the elected President to be non-partisan. In other words, a President who has not belonged to any political party, and a President who is not endorsed by any political party," the 75-year-old said. 

The Constitution requires that a candidate for presidency not be a member of a political party, but does not stipulate that the person can never have been a member of a political party.

Mr Ng said that Singapore can "no longer take for granted" that it will always have a good and honest government.

"An 'ownself check ownself' system is not reliable... We need an external check functioning like an independent external auditor in good corporate governance."

The phrase "ownself check ownself" was popularised by Mr Pritam Singh, who is now Leader of the Opposition, in 2015. He said then that it was unrealistic to expect the ruling People’s Action Party to act as its own guardian.

Mr Ng, a former chief investment officer with sovereign wealth fund GIC also said that if elected, he would not engage in “megaphone diplomacy” but would be ready to ask important questions, however difficult they may be.

"I pledge to work constructively and impartially with the government of the day to further the interests of Singaporeans," he said.

“I understand how the government machinery works and I know how to be involved effectively without being disruptive." 

The term "megaphone diplomacy" is often used in the context of international relations where one country's politician might make combative statements publicly rather than work quietly behind the scenes.

In stating that he would not engage in "megaphone diplomacy", Mr Ng appeared to be saying that if elected President, he would not be publicly critical of the Government even if he was raising matters of concern quietly.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority has allocated two time-slots for presidential candidates for their Presidential Candidate Broadcast: Thursday and Aug 30, which is two days away from polling day on Sept 1.

The broadcast allows candidates to deliver their campaigning messages in all or any of the four official languages — English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil — but it is not compulsory for them to deliver their campaigning messages in all four languages.

The maximum time allocated for each candidate is 10 minutes per language for each broadcast, and the content must be the same across all languages the candidate uses.

Mr Ng's pre-recorded speech was the first of the three to go to air.

The other two candidates were next in line — former Cabinet minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Mr Tan Kin Lian, former chief executive officer of NTUC Income insurance cooperative.

Mr Ng delivered one speech in English during the broadcast and did not speak in any other language.

KEY POINTS FROM SPEECH

1. Singapore has three treasures at stake:

• Financial treasure, being the reserves and national savings
• Social treasure, the harmony between the different races, religions and communities
• Public administration treasure, having national institutions that are mission driven and corruption free

These cannot be taken for granted. While the Government has “done well thus far” in keeping these three treasures safe since independence, Mr Ng questioned what would happen if something goes wrong with Singapore’s governance

2. "The time has come” for the elected President to be non-partisan.

“In other words, a President who has not belonged to any political party, and a President who is not endorsed by any political party," he said.

An “ownself check ownself” system is not reliable and Singapore can no longer take for granted that it will always have a good and honest Government.

“We need an external check functioning like an independent external auditor in good corporate governance.” 

3. He has 45 years of public service, investing Singapore’s reserves at GIC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

4. Mr Ng has also led the development of Singapore’s financial services industry through the creation of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange and Wealth Management Institute.

5. He will bring these experiences in safeguarding Singapore’s treasures and build up the country's institutional independence.

6. He has engaged many government leaders, corporate executives and investors around the world through his career. “These are valuable global networks that I can leverage on in Singapore’s interests,” he added.