The eligible candidates for the Presidential Election 2023 has been announced and Tan Kin Lian is one of the three who can run for President.
Let the games begin, as some may say.
And indeed, the game has begun for Tan Kin Lian. Albeit, not in a good way.
Tan Kin Lian’s “Pretty Girl” Posts Under Scrutiny
Earlier this week, a video compiling screenshots of Presidential-hopeful Tan Kin Lian’s Facebook posts went viral on the social media platform TikTok.
While speaking to Channel News Asia, Tan says that his “pretty girl” posts were uncomfortable to a “small minority” of people but “quite fun” to many.
His posts triggered public outrage, including the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE).
On 21 August 2023, AWARE released a statement, voicing out concerns over Tan’s presidential bid considering his history for “objectifying women”.
The women rights group said that the Presidential Election Committee should not just take financial and management qualifications into consideration.
They should consider candidates’ “wider societal impacts” as well.
Tan Kin Lian Posts a Pointed Response After “Pretty Girl” Saga
On 22 August 2023, Tan posted a response to AWARE’s statement on his Facebook page.
Tan says that he “totally reject” Aware’s allegations towards him about objectifying women.
He pointed out that he has been “happily married” for nearly five decades and have two daughters and three granddaughters.
He also called out the media, both mainstream and alternative, for “attempting to make a mountain out of a molehill”.
“This is gutter politics at its worst.”
In a follow-up post, Tan said that Aware is now losing respect for being involved in a smear campaign:
Daughter Responds As Well
Tan wasn’t the only one to respond to the matter; his daughter also gave her opinion as well.
Pointing out that Aware’s objection to her father’s comments were “a bit overblown”, she felt that “a light-hearted compliment given to a good looking person, whether a man or woman, should never (sic) be equated to “objectifying” them”.
Women should have the confidence to reject the idea that a compliment on their look “trivialises them” or “reduces them solely to their appearances for personal entertainment”, she said.
The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) said that they were unaware of Tan’s “pretty girl” posts before issuing a certificate of eligibility to him.
And because they were unaware, the issuing of the certificate of eligibility cannot be taken as them endorsing his social media posts.
However, they were “not legally entitled to revisit their earlier decision”. In short, cannot take back.
“Any additional facts regarding a candidate which come to public attention after the candidate’s certificate has been issued, would be for the electorate’s consideration and assessment before casting their votes.”
If the matter had came to light before the certificate of eligibility was issued, it would have been part of the committee’s consideration.