Tan Keng Yam Tony
Encyclopedia
Tony Tan Keng Yam ' onMouseout='HidePop("1884")' href="/topics/Singapore">Singapore
) is the seventh and current President of Singapore
. Until 1 July 2011, he was Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
(GIC) and Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH). He previously served as Chairman of Singapore's National Research Foundation and Deputy Chairman of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. In the late 1980s, Tan was Lee Kuan Yew
's first choice to succeed him as Prime Minister of Singapore
, but he declined. He later returned to Cabinet and as Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 2005, and Minister for Defence
from 1995 to 2003.
In August 2011, Tan won the Singapore presidential election
by a narrow 0.34% margin, and was sworn in as the seventh President of Singapore on 1 September 2011.
, topping his class. As an Asia Foundation scholar, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) where he completed a Master of Science (Operations Research). He later earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Adelaide
, and went on to lecture in Mathematics at the National University of Singapore
.
In 1969, Tan left the University to begin a career in banking with Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), where he rose to become General Manager, before leaving the bank to pursue a career in politics in 1979. From 1980 to 1981, Tan was the first Vice Chancellor of the new National University of Singapore (NUS).
In 2005, Tan was presented the NUS Eminent Alumni Award in recognition of his role as a visionary architect of Singapore’s university sector. In 2010, he was presented the inaugural Distinguished Australian Alumnus Award by the Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS) at its 55th anniversary dinner in recognition of his distinguished career, and his significant contribution to society and to the Australian alumni community.
(PAP) until June 2011, Tan became a Member of Parliament
(MP) in 1979. He was appointed as a Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Education
in 1979. He joined the Cabinet
in 1980, serving as Minister for Education
(MOE, 1980–81 & 1985–91), Minister for Trade & Industry
(1981–86), Minister for Finance
(1983–85), and Minister for Health
(1985–86).
Tan espoused a cut in CPF in the 1980s, which Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said would not be allowed except “in an economic crisis”.
Singapore saw a leadership transition that started shortly before the 1984 general elections
. Three months before the election, all the members of the PAP Central Executive Committee
(CEC)—except Lee Kuan Yew
—had left the CEC to allow the "second generation" of PAP leaders to take root. This leadership transition saw Tan replace Singapore's chief economic architect, Goh Keng Swee
, as Education Minister.
Before the 1984 election, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee had also pushed for policies that experimented with eugenics in Singapore, including a policy that favoured children of more well-educated mothers ahead of children of less-educated mothers in primary school placement
. However, in response to popular discontent and public criticism of the policy during and after the 1984 general election
(which saw the lowest votes for the PAP since independence), Tan as the new Minister for Education announced that the scheme would be scrapped. This announcement followed Tan's own May 1985 recommendation to the Cabinet to scrap the scheme.
, secretary-general
of the National Trades Union Congress
(NTUC), who felt the strike was necessary.
As Minister for Trade and Industry, Tan was concerned about investors' reactions to a perceived deterioration of labour relations and the impact on foreign direct investment.
In his analysis, historian Michael Barr explains that older [grassroots] union leaders" bore "increasing disquiet" at their exclusion from consultation in NTUC's policies, which were effectively managed by "technocrats" in the government. Unlike the previous NTUC secretary-general Lim Chee Onn, Lee Kuan Yew
's protégé Ong Teng Cheong in 1983 had an "implicit pact" with the trade unions—involving grassroots leaders in top decisions and "working actively and forcefully" in the interests of the unions "in a way Lim had never seen to do"—in exchange for the unions' continued "cooperation on the government's core industrial relations strategies". (In 1969 the NTUC had adopted "a cooperative, rather than a confrontational policy towards employers".)
Although striking was prohibited and trade unions were barred from negotiating such matters as promotion
, transfer, employment, dismissal, retrenchment, and reinstatement, issues that "accounted for most earlier labour disputes", the government provided measures for workers' safety and welfare, and serious union disputes with employers were almost always handled through the Industrial Arbitration Court, which had powers of both binding arbitration and voluntary mediation
. However, Ong felt these measures did not prevent "management [from] taking advantage of the workers", recalling in a 2000 interview in Asiaweek
: "Some of them were angry with me about that... the minister for trade and industry [Tan] was very angry, his officers were upset. They had calls from America, asking what happened to Singapore?" However the fact that the strike only lasted two days before "all the issues were settled" was cited by Ong in a 2000 interview with Asiaweek
as proof that "management was just trying to pull a fast one".
Separately, Tan initially opposed the timing of building the Mass Rapid Transit
in 1981 when it was raised by Ong. Tan held the view that the local construction industry was overheated at the time, and public housing should take priority.
(OCBC) as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1992–95, while retaining his seat in Parliament as a representative for the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency
.
and Lee Hsien Loong
were diagnosed with cancer in 1992, and 1993 Tan was asked to return to Cabinet in August 1995 as Deputy Prime Minister (1995–2005) and Minister for Defence (1995–2003). It was reported that he declined an offer of make-up pay, which compensated ministers for a loss in salary when they leave the private sector. Tan declared, "the interests of Singapore must take precedence over that of a bank and my own personal considerations".
In August 2003, he relinquished the defence portfolio and became the Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence
, while retaining the post of Deputy Prime Minister. He later persuaded the Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan
to abandon plans to demolish an old mosque in his constituency of Sembawang. Dubbed the “Last Kampung Mosque in Singapore”, it was later designated a heritage site.
Tan joined other dissenting colleagues in opposing the implementation of “integrated resorts
” with their attached casino
s to Singapore. Commenting on an MCYS
survey of gambling habits, Tan had said he was “appalled” that a newspaper headline dismissed the number of likely problem gamblers (55,000) as insignificant: “I don't think it's insignificant. Every Singaporean is important. Every Singaporean that gets into trouble means one family that is destroyed. It cannot be a matter of small concern to the Government.”
(GIC), and Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH).
Tan's tenure at GIC coincided with moves towards "greater disclosure in the investment fund’s activities amid mounting concerns about the secretive fund's influence after high-profile investments in UBS and Citigroup
." In September 2008 GIC issued the first of a series of annual reports on GIC’s portfolio management, governance, and people. Year 2008 was the year of the financial crisis
and in that year, GIC experienced a significant drop in its real rate of return which recovered subsequently.
Tan has served as patron of many organisations, including the Singapore Dance Theatre, the Singapore Computer Society, SJI International, the Duke-NUS Medical School, and the MIT Club of Singapore. Most recently, in May 2011, he was named as the first patron of Dover Park Hospice.
Tan was awarded a medal from the Foreign Policy Association
in 2011 for "outstanding leadership and service".
. Tan's campaign stressed his independence and his divergent views from the PAP government in specific policies, citing a remark made by East Coast GRC MP Tan Soo Khoon in 2005: “It is probably the first time that I have heard Cabinet Ministers, starting with no less than the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Tony Tan, expressing divergent views [on the Integrated Resorts question].” However, competing presidential election candidates and former PAP members Tan Kin Lian
and Tan Cheng Bock
questioned Tan's independence from the party. On 7 July, Tony Tan submitted his presidential eligibility forms.
On 29 July, Tan responded to online allegations that his son Patrick Tan had received preferential treatment during National Service (NS). "My sons all completed their National Service obligations fully and I have never intervened in their postings," he said. Tony Tan also noted that he had served as Defence Minister from 1995 to 2003, while Patrick Tan said that it was in 1988 that he been permitted by Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to disrupt his NS for "premedical studies
" in Harvard University
and an MD-PhD program
in Stanford University
under a President’s Scholarship and Loke Cheng Kim Scholarship. MINDEF clarified that, prior to 1992, disruptions were allowed for overseas medical studies, and longer periods of disruption were granted for those admitted to universities in the United States, where medicine is a graduate course. American medical students are required to complete
a "pre-medical component for a general undergraduate degree" before applying to medical school.
On Nomination Day (17 August), Tan unveiled his election symbol – a pair of black glasses which resembles the trademark spectacles he has steadfastly worn for years. His campaign materials which include caps, postcards and fridge magnets also carry the symbol. About 9,400 posters and 200 banners have been printed.
-affiliated unions (which have 128,000 members) had endorsed his bid. On 14 August, the leadership of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) also endorsed his bid.
The leadership of another four unions from the construction and real estate sector, which represent more than 50,000 members, endorsed Tan's bid on 16 August. Nine Teochew clan associations also supported Tan. Union leaders in three sectors – Transport and Logistics, Marine and Machinery-engineering, and Infocomm and Media – endorsed Tan on 17 August. They together represent 112,000 workers.
Tan received The Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI) endorsed Tan's presidential candidacy on 18 August 2011. It is also was the first Malay organisation to do so.
Speaking to reporters after a dialogue with the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation the following day, Tan remarked that it would be a "grave mistake" to phase out manufacturing in Singapore, which has been transitioning to a service economy
and an information economy
since the 1980s. He then went on to describe manufacturing as a "key pillar of Singapore's economy". Without the sector, he feels Singapore's economy will be "less resilient, less diversified" and there will be "fewer options for our young people and Singapore will lose."
On 15 August, following the National Day Rally speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
, Tan said that one point he found particularly interesting in Lee's address was whether Singapore would remain pragmatic in its policy making, or if it would turn populist. He added that the temptation to make populist decisions was affecting the presidential election, "with some candidates appealing to the public in ways that could go beyond the parameters of the Singapore's Constitution".
On 17 August, crowds jeered at Tan as he delivered his two-minute Nomination Day speech. According to the Straits Times, the jeers came from a vocal group of people who mostly supported fellow presidential candidate Tan Jee Say
. At a press conference later that day, Tony Tan said that while different points of view were to be expected in a campaign, it was disappointing to have people who would not even listen, and hoped that Singaporeans would listen to the views of all the candidates. He said, "I don't think that jeering or heckling is the right way to go about the campaign, particularly in a campaign for the president, which has to be conducted with decorum and dignity."
On the 1st Presidential candidate broadcast on 18 August 2011, while other candidates made promises in their first presidential candidate broadcasts on Thursday night, Dr Tony Tan refrained from making promises during the broadcast and focused on the role of the President instead. Speaking in English, Chinese and Malay, Tan said, "Some people argue that the President must take a public stand on current issues. I hear and share the concerns of Singaporeans. But policies are debated in Parliament and implemented by the Government. Others have said that the President must oppose the Government. That is a job for the Opposition. People interested in such roles should run for Parliament in the next General Election."
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) is the seventh and current President of Singapore
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
. Until 1 July 2011, he was Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves...
(GIC) and Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH). He previously served as Chairman of Singapore's National Research Foundation and Deputy Chairman of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. In the late 1980s, Tan was Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
's first choice to succeed him as Prime Minister of Singapore
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
, but he declined. He later returned to Cabinet and as Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 2005, and Minister for Defence
Ministry of Defence (Singapore)
The Ministry of Defence is a ministry of the Government of Singapore entrusted with overseeing the national defence needs of the Republic of Singapore. It is the headquarters of the Singapore Armed Forces...
from 1995 to 2003.
In August 2011, Tan won the Singapore presidential election
Singaporean presidential election, 2011
The Singapore presidential election of 2011 was the fourth Singapore Presidential Election, held on 27 August 2011. Nomination day for eligible candidates was held on 17 August 2011. Mr. S.R. Nathan, the previous President of Singapore, stepped down on 31 August 2011 when his term drew to a close...
by a narrow 0.34% margin, and was sworn in as the seventh President of Singapore on 1 September 2011.
Education and early career
Tony Tan was educated at St Patrick's School and St Joseph's Institution. As a Singapore Government State Scholar, he earned First Class Honours Degree in Physics from the University of SingaporeNational University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
, topping his class. As an Asia Foundation scholar, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT) where he completed a Master of Science (Operations Research). He later earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, and went on to lecture in Mathematics at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
.
In 1969, Tan left the University to begin a career in banking with Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), where he rose to become General Manager, before leaving the bank to pursue a career in politics in 1979. From 1980 to 1981, Tan was the first Vice Chancellor of the new National University of Singapore (NUS).
In 2005, Tan was presented the NUS Eminent Alumni Award in recognition of his role as a visionary architect of Singapore’s university sector. In 2010, he was presented the inaugural Distinguished Australian Alumnus Award by the Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS) at its 55th anniversary dinner in recognition of his distinguished career, and his significant contribution to society and to the Australian alumni community.
Cabinet member
A member of the People's Action PartyPeople's Action Party
The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....
(PAP) until June 2011, Tan became a Member of Parliament
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
(MP) in 1979. He was appointed as a Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (Singapore)
The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...
in 1979. He joined the Cabinet
Cabinet of Singapore
The Cabinet of Singapore forms the Government of Singapore together with the President of Singapore. It is led by the Prime Minister of Singapore who is the head of government...
in 1980, serving as Minister for Education
Ministry of Education (Singapore)
The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...
(MOE, 1980–81 & 1985–91), Minister for Trade & Industry
Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore)
The Ministry Of Trade and Industry is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation of policies related to the development of trade and industry in Singapore.-Mission:...
(1981–86), Minister for Finance
Minister for Finance (Singapore)
The Minister for Finance is an appointment in the Cabinet of Singapore and heads the Ministry of Finance. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was Second Minister for Finance, took over the ministership on 2007-12-01 when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong relinquished the Finance post ....
(1983–85), and Minister for Health
Ministry of Health (Singapore)
The Ministry of Health is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for providing information, raising health awareness and education, ensuring the accessibility of health services, and monitoring the quality of health services provided to citizens and visitors in the Republic of...
(1985–86).
Tan espoused a cut in CPF in the 1980s, which Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said would not be allowed except “in an economic crisis”.
Singapore saw a leadership transition that started shortly before the 1984 general elections
Singaporean general election, 1984
General elections were held in Singapore on 22 December 1984. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of the 79 seats, marking the first time since 1963 that they had not won every seat...
. Three months before the election, all the members of the PAP Central Executive Committee
Central Executive Committee (PAP)
The Central Executive Committee is the highest ruling committee within Singapore's People's Action Party and its "inner circle".-History:...
(CEC)—except Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
—had left the CEC to allow the "second generation" of PAP leaders to take root. This leadership transition saw Tan replace Singapore's chief economic architect, Goh Keng Swee
Goh Keng Swee
Goh Keng Swee was the second Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1984, and a Member of Parliament for the Kreta Ayer constituency for a quarter of a century. Born in Malacca in the Straits Settlements into a Peranakan family, he came to Singapore at the age of two years...
, as Education Minister.
Before the 1984 election, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee had also pushed for policies that experimented with eugenics in Singapore, including a policy that favoured children of more well-educated mothers ahead of children of less-educated mothers in primary school placement
Education in Singapore
Education in Singapore is managed by the Ministry of Education , which controls the development and administration of state schools receiving government funding, but also has an advisory and supervisory role in respect of private schools...
. However, in response to popular discontent and public criticism of the policy during and after the 1984 general election
Singaporean general election, 1984
General elections were held in Singapore on 22 December 1984. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of the 79 seats, marking the first time since 1963 that they had not won every seat...
(which saw the lowest votes for the PAP since independence), Tan as the new Minister for Education announced that the scheme would be scrapped. This announcement followed Tan's own May 1985 recommendation to the Cabinet to scrap the scheme.
Union disputes and conflict with Ong Teng Cheong
Tan was also known to have opposed the shipping industry strike in January 1986, the first for about a decade in Singapore, which was sanctioned by fellow cabinet member Ong Teng CheongOng Teng Cheong
Ong Teng Cheong was the first directly elected President of the Republic of Singapore. He was the nation's fifth President, and served a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999.-Early life:...
, secretary-general
Secretary-General
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
of the National Trades Union Congress
National Trades Union Congress
The National Trades Union Congress , also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress , is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore...
(NTUC), who felt the strike was necessary.
As Minister for Trade and Industry, Tan was concerned about investors' reactions to a perceived deterioration of labour relations and the impact on foreign direct investment.
In his analysis, historian Michael Barr explains that older [grassroots] union leaders" bore "increasing disquiet" at their exclusion from consultation in NTUC's policies, which were effectively managed by "technocrats" in the government. Unlike the previous NTUC secretary-general Lim Chee Onn, Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
's protégé Ong Teng Cheong in 1983 had an "implicit pact" with the trade unions—involving grassroots leaders in top decisions and "working actively and forcefully" in the interests of the unions "in a way Lim had never seen to do"—in exchange for the unions' continued "cooperation on the government's core industrial relations strategies". (In 1969 the NTUC had adopted "a cooperative, rather than a confrontational policy towards employers".)
Although striking was prohibited and trade unions were barred from negotiating such matters as promotion
Promotion (rank)
A promotion is the advancement of an employee's rank or position in an organizational hierarchy system. Promotion may be an employee's reward for good performance i.e. positive appraisal...
, transfer, employment, dismissal, retrenchment, and reinstatement, issues that "accounted for most earlier labour disputes", the government provided measures for workers' safety and welfare, and serious union disputes with employers were almost always handled through the Industrial Arbitration Court, which had powers of both binding arbitration and voluntary mediation
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
. However, Ong felt these measures did not prevent "management [from] taking advantage of the workers", recalling in a 2000 interview in Asiaweek
Asiaweek
Asiaweek, the English edition, was a news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its December 7, 2001 issue due to a "downturn in the advertising market," according to...
: "Some of them were angry with me about that... the minister for trade and industry [Tan] was very angry, his officers were upset. They had calls from America, asking what happened to Singapore?" However the fact that the strike only lasted two days before "all the issues were settled" was cited by Ong in a 2000 interview with Asiaweek
Asiaweek
Asiaweek, the English edition, was a news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its December 7, 2001 issue due to a "downturn in the advertising market," according to...
as proof that "management was just trying to pull a fast one".
Separately, Tan initially opposed the timing of building the Mass Rapid Transit
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
The Mass Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system that forms the backbone of the railway system in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987 establishing itself as the second-oldest metro...
in 1981 when it was raised by Ong. Tan held the view that the local construction industry was overheated at the time, and public housing should take priority.
Return to the private sector
In December 1991, Tan stepped down from the Cabinet to return to the private sector, and rejoined the Oversea-Chinese Banking CorporationOversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
The Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited , abbreviated as OCBC Bank , is a publicly listed financial services organisation with its head office in Singapore. OCBC Bank is one of Singapore's leading local banks, with group assets of more than 224 billion SGD. It has one of the highest bank...
(OCBC) as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1992–95, while retaining his seat in Parliament as a representative for the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency
Sembawang Group Representation Constituency
Sembawang Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the northern area of Singapore. The GRC consists of Sembawang, Woodlands, Marsiling, Admiralty, Canberra and Chong Pang...
.
Return to Cabinet
After Ong Teng CheongOng Teng Cheong
Ong Teng Cheong was the first directly elected President of the Republic of Singapore. He was the nation's fifth President, and served a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999.-Early life:...
and Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....
were diagnosed with cancer in 1992, and 1993 Tan was asked to return to Cabinet in August 1995 as Deputy Prime Minister (1995–2005) and Minister for Defence (1995–2003). It was reported that he declined an offer of make-up pay, which compensated ministers for a loss in salary when they leave the private sector. Tan declared, "the interests of Singapore must take precedence over that of a bank and my own personal considerations".
In August 2003, he relinquished the defence portfolio and became the Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security is an appointment in the Cabinet of Singapore, currently held by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean....
, while retaining the post of Deputy Prime Minister. He later persuaded the Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan
Mah Bow Tan
Mah Bow Tan is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently a Member of Parliament representing the Tampines Group Representation Constituency...
to abandon plans to demolish an old mosque in his constituency of Sembawang. Dubbed the “Last Kampung Mosque in Singapore”, it was later designated a heritage site.
Tan joined other dissenting colleagues in opposing the implementation of “integrated resorts
Integrated Resort
An integrated resort is a resort with a wide variety of leisure and entertainment attractions, all housed in one resort property. The first known integrated resort began in early 1980s in Malaysia, when Resorts World Genting was developed from a single hotel with casino facility to a variety of...
” with their attached casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s to Singapore. Commenting on an MCYS
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports is a ministry of the Government of Singapore tasked with, from the government's point of view, building a "cohesive and resilient" society in Singapore.The MCYS often pursues vigorous social engineering campaigns of varying effectiveness and...
survey of gambling habits, Tan had said he was “appalled” that a newspaper headline dismissed the number of likely problem gamblers (55,000) as insignificant: “I don't think it's insignificant. Every Singaporean is important. Every Singaporean that gets into trouble means one family that is destroyed. It cannot be a matter of small concern to the Government.”
Second retirement from the Cabinet
Tan stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence on 1 September 2005. After his retirement from the Cabinet, Tan became the chairman of the National Research Foundation, and deputy chairman of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. He was also the Executive Director of the Government of Singapore Investment CorporationGovernment of Singapore Investment Corporation
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves...
(GIC), and Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH).
Tan's tenure at GIC coincided with moves towards "greater disclosure in the investment fund’s activities amid mounting concerns about the secretive fund's influence after high-profile investments in UBS and Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
." In September 2008 GIC issued the first of a series of annual reports on GIC’s portfolio management, governance, and people. Year 2008 was the year of the financial crisis
Financial crisis
The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these...
and in that year, GIC experienced a significant drop in its real rate of return which recovered subsequently.
Tan has served as patron of many organisations, including the Singapore Dance Theatre, the Singapore Computer Society, SJI International, the Duke-NUS Medical School, and the MIT Club of Singapore. Most recently, in May 2011, he was named as the first patron of Dover Park Hospice.
Tan was awarded a medal from the Foreign Policy Association
Foreign Policy Association
The Foreign Policy Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world. Founded in 1918, it serves as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding of, and providing informed opinions on global issues...
in 2011 for "outstanding leadership and service".
2011 presidential election
On 23 June 2011, Tan announced that he would step down from his government-linked positions at GIC and SPH in order to run for the office of President of SingaporePresident of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
. Tan's campaign stressed his independence and his divergent views from the PAP government in specific policies, citing a remark made by East Coast GRC MP Tan Soo Khoon in 2005: “It is probably the first time that I have heard Cabinet Ministers, starting with no less than the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Tony Tan, expressing divergent views [on the Integrated Resorts question].” However, competing presidential election candidates and former PAP members Tan Kin Lian
Tan Kin Lian
Tan Kin Lian is the former CEO of NTUC Income. Since stepping down as CEO in April 2007, his activities have included organising public rallies for people who lost their money due to investing in Lehman Brothers' Minibond products to seek redress, and setting up FISCA, an organisation to teach...
and Tan Cheng Bock
Tan Cheng Bock
Tan Cheng Bock is a politician and physician from Singapore. Tan was a People's Action Party Member of Parliament in Singapore politics for 26 years and the first non cabinet minister elected into the People's Action Party Central Executive Committee .-Early life:Tan was educated at Radin Mas...
questioned Tan's independence from the party. On 7 July, Tony Tan submitted his presidential eligibility forms.
On 29 July, Tan responded to online allegations that his son Patrick Tan had received preferential treatment during National Service (NS). "My sons all completed their National Service obligations fully and I have never intervened in their postings," he said. Tony Tan also noted that he had served as Defence Minister from 1995 to 2003, while Patrick Tan said that it was in 1988 that he been permitted by Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to disrupt his NS for "premedical studies
Pre-medical
Pre-medical is a term used to describe a track an undergraduate student in the United States pursues prior to becoming a medical student...
" in Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and an MD-PhD program
Medical Scientist Training Program
Medical Scientist Training Programs are combined M.D. and Ph.D. graduate degree programs offered by a small number of United States medical schools with financial support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences , in recognition of the increasing need for scientists to bridge the...
in Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
under a President’s Scholarship and Loke Cheng Kim Scholarship. MINDEF clarified that, prior to 1992, disruptions were allowed for overseas medical studies, and longer periods of disruption were granted for those admitted to universities in the United States, where medicine is a graduate course. American medical students are required to complete
Medical school in the United States
Medical school in the United States is a four year graduate institution with the purpose of educating physicians in the field of medicine. It provides a major part of the medical education in the United States.-History:...
a "pre-medical component for a general undergraduate degree" before applying to medical school.
Campaign platform
Describing himself as "Tested, Trusted, True", Tony Tan said his past experiences will help him steer Singapore through the financial uncertainty lying ahead.On Nomination Day (17 August), Tan unveiled his election symbol – a pair of black glasses which resembles the trademark spectacles he has steadfastly worn for years. His campaign materials which include caps, postcards and fridge magnets also carry the symbol. About 9,400 posters and 200 banners have been printed.
Campaign endorsements
Tan's presidential bid was endorsed by the 10,000-strong Federation of Tan Clan Associations on 7 August. By 13 August 2011, the leaders of 19 NTUCNational Trades Union Congress
The National Trades Union Congress , also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress , is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore...
-affiliated unions (which have 128,000 members) had endorsed his bid. On 14 August, the leadership of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) also endorsed his bid.
The leadership of another four unions from the construction and real estate sector, which represent more than 50,000 members, endorsed Tan's bid on 16 August. Nine Teochew clan associations also supported Tan. Union leaders in three sectors – Transport and Logistics, Marine and Machinery-engineering, and Infocomm and Media – endorsed Tan on 17 August. They together represent 112,000 workers.
Tan received The Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI) endorsed Tan's presidential candidacy on 18 August 2011. It is also was the first Malay organisation to do so.
Campaign proceedings
After a closed door meeting with the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 11 August, Tan remarked that it is "not too early" for the government to have contingency plans in case an economic crisis hits Singapore, noting that "with his background and knowledge", he added that he was in a position to provide "a steady hand".Speaking to reporters after a dialogue with the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation the following day, Tan remarked that it would be a "grave mistake" to phase out manufacturing in Singapore, which has been transitioning to a service economy
Service economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments. One is the increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. Services account for a higher percentage of US GDP than 20 years ago...
and an information economy
Information economy
Information economy is a term that characterizes an economy with an increased emphasis on informational activities and information industry.The vagueness of the term has three major sources...
since the 1980s. He then went on to describe manufacturing as a "key pillar of Singapore's economy". Without the sector, he feels Singapore's economy will be "less resilient, less diversified" and there will be "fewer options for our young people and Singapore will lose."
On 15 August, following the National Day Rally speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....
, Tan said that one point he found particularly interesting in Lee's address was whether Singapore would remain pragmatic in its policy making, or if it would turn populist. He added that the temptation to make populist decisions was affecting the presidential election, "with some candidates appealing to the public in ways that could go beyond the parameters of the Singapore's Constitution".
On 17 August, crowds jeered at Tan as he delivered his two-minute Nomination Day speech. According to the Straits Times, the jeers came from a vocal group of people who mostly supported fellow presidential candidate Tan Jee Say
Tan Jee Say
Tan Jee Say is a Singaporean investment adviser, politician and former civil servant. He was a principal private secretary to former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and contested the 2011 general election under the opposition Singapore Democratic Party , but failed to win a seat...
. At a press conference later that day, Tony Tan said that while different points of view were to be expected in a campaign, it was disappointing to have people who would not even listen, and hoped that Singaporeans would listen to the views of all the candidates. He said, "I don't think that jeering or heckling is the right way to go about the campaign, particularly in a campaign for the president, which has to be conducted with decorum and dignity."
On the 1st Presidential candidate broadcast on 18 August 2011, while other candidates made promises in their first presidential candidate broadcasts on Thursday night, Dr Tony Tan refrained from making promises during the broadcast and focused on the role of the President instead. Speaking in English, Chinese and Malay, Tan said, "Some people argue that the President must take a public stand on current issues. I hear and share the concerns of Singaporeans. But policies are debated in Parliament and implemented by the Government. Others have said that the President must oppose the Government. That is a job for the Opposition. People interested in such roles should run for Parliament in the next General Election."