Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian rejects insinuations that social media posts he made in past “objectify” women

SINGAPORE: The Presidential Election has found itself entwined with a fiery debate concerning the social media behaviour of Mr Tan Kin Lian, the former CEO of NTUC Income.

Facing scrutiny from the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) for his perceived objectification of women in social media posts, Mr Tan took to Facebook to defend his actions and reputation.

“I have been happily married to my loving wife for nearly 50 years… I made those social media posts openly and I invite the public to judge for themselves,” Mr Tan expressed in his detailed response.

Adding a layer of criticism for the media, he noted his disappointment in both mainstream and alternative outlets for turning a minor issue into a major point of contention.

“Calls were made for a clean and fair contest but it appears that the establishment are keen to win at all cost. I have faith that my fellow Singaporeans will not allow our electoral system to be debased by scurrilous attacks.”

The spark for this recent controversy was a TikTok video, which spotlighted Mr. Tan’s Facebook posts commenting on “pretty” girls.

Going viral with close to 300,000 views, the video inadvertently pushed Mr Tan into the limelight just as his presidential campaign was gaining momentum.

AWARE, responding to the widespread attention, made a statement on its Facebook page condemning Mr Tan’s consistent online behaviour. Their statement pointed out the dangers of objectifying women through casual posts and comments.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Tan, during a walkabout at Clementi West’s hawker centre, emphasized the light-hearted nature of his posts, suggesting that they serve as a way to engage with his followers.

He also mentioned that only a minority of people seem to take issue with his content, pointing out he receives criticisms even for benign posts about food.

Supporting her father, Ms Su Ling highlighted the importance of contextualizing comments, suggesting that a casual compliment shouldn’t automatically be equated to objectification.

“Women should have the confidence to reject the notion that a compliment on their looks ‘trivialises them’,” she commented on her Facebook page.

This heated debate emerges at a pivotal time. Last Friday, Mr. Tan, along with other notable figures like former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song, received their certificates of eligibility (COE) for the upcoming Presidential Election.

The formal submission of nomination papers by Mr Tan and the other two presidential hopefuls is anticipated to occur on Tuesday (22 Aug) at the People’s Association Headquarters.