Comment on Tan Kin Lian - bv Rex

Rex comments as follows,


For the sake of proper discussion, i will comment on the three objections raised against TKL:


"Petty".
I think people get this impression because of the recent case where TKL wanted to sue someone on the blog for publishing what TKL beileves are lies. I followed through the details, and i did find that the allegations were indeed very serious. It is not just a personal attack, but it was one with an anectdotal context, the truth of which is crucial to understanding the character of tKL. Therefore, i do not find it a all "petty" and anyone with a decent public reputation would logically consider legal redress. There is this issue of the election deposit. People are saying TKL is rich and should not be petty to ask for donations from his supporters who are not so rich. Well, in that case i will tell them go vote for Tony Tan, he'll never ask you for donations. You vote for the person whom you think serve Singaporeans better. Donation is voluntary, if you like you donate if you don't just shut up. Focus on a independent candidate with passion and conviction.


"Egotistical"
Who isn't egotistical to some extent? Tony Tan? Tan Cheng Bok? There is no saint on earth. You can be a President to serve people, but you also want a bit of satisfaction of some form of recognition and not receive insults. If TKL is egotistical to the extreme, he certainly would not have dirtied his hands with so many things post retirement. That are many many CEOs and retired civil servants enjoying their retirement in peace and enjoying their wealth. Why go through all this hassle to campaign for presidency... TKL passion to do something for the country is 80% real and maybe 20% ego, please be more observant. you can;t find anyone like him in Singapore, the rich men all take cover after retirement and play golf.


"Ïntolerant of Criticism"
To some extent nobody likes to be criticised. If you consider TKL intoleratn of criticsm, let us ask ourselves, how does Tan Cheng Bok or Tony Tan react to criticsm? Perhaps they are not tested? Do bear in mind we are selecting one out of three, have to apply the same standards. We tend to apply rigorous standards to TKL because maybe he has a user friendly blog for 4 years so we know the style. But Tony Tan and TCB are completely shielded from public access. How do you judge their reactions when criticised? You don't know. But for TKL, i think he is quite fair. Comments which are merely personal attacks are always removed from his blog. I think this is the right way to go. Comments which differ from his but politely written has always been published. I think he is fairly tolerant to criticisms if raised reasonably.


There is no perfect human being. Choose wisely the three Tan's.


Rex