TR EMERITUS

By Fang Zhi Yuan, Chief Editor

First, it was the unsolicited “apology” to Dr Chee Soon Juan for a post made more than a month ago.

Now, it was a “letter” from a reader about a speech made by the late David Marshall in 1994 criticizing the exorbitant pay packages of PAP leaders.  (read the post here)

Whereas his posts are previously focused mainly on financial matters, Mr Tan has been becoming increasingly vocal on national and political issues though he has been very careful so far not to comment on them directly.

Using letters sent to him by his readers, Mr Tan has been sending subtle signals that he does not see eye to eye with the PAP on many issues ranging from the handling of the minibond fiasco to their system of governance.

Most notably, Mr Tan has also allowed firebrand opposition leader Goh Meng Seng to use his rallies as a platform to criticize the ruling party. With due respect to Mr Goh, it is highly unlikely he will attract even half the crowd last week if he is the organizer instead.

In spite of his obvious posturing, Mr Tan has been most cautious not to sound too belligerent and antagonistic towards his ex-party comrades. After all, he has been one of them for the last 30 years and still maintain close ties with its senior leaders.

There lies his dilemma: he needs to differentiate himself from the PAP in order to have a valid ground to stand on in calling for “change”; but he may lose the support of the moderates if he start becoming too strident in his criticisms of the establishment.

During a recent interview with Singaporeans conducted by The Singapore Enquirer, almost all Singaporeans who have heard of Mr Tan had a favorable impression of him. However this is also the same group, while yearning for a credible voice to represent them in Parliament, continues to believe that the PAP is a good government.

The best course of action for Mr Tan now is to keep his cards close to his heart. With his growing stature, he could easily win a single seat constituency on his own as an independent without joining the opposition.

The minibond investors whom are indebted to him is a ready pool of volunteers for him to tap on in setting up a grassroots machinery to campaign for him.

As for the funding, he can easily cough it out from his own pockets or obtain sponsors who support his cause.

The prevailing sentiment on the ground is not to change the PAP or its “system”, but to have a stronger opposition in Parliament to check on them.

Though it is a misnomer, it is the unfortunate truth that most Singaporeans prefer “constructive” opposition leaders in the mould of Mr Chiam See Tong and Mr Low Thia Kiang who are not “confrontational” in nature to represent their interests in Parliament.

An aspiring politician must be shrewd enough to detect the ”pulse” of the electorate and to “sing” to their tune in order to stand a realistic chance of winning an election.

Mr Tan, though still consider a political novice by Singapore’s standards, have shown himself to be street-wise, cautious and steady enough so far.

He does not need to please everybody which is impossible. All he needs to do is to win over the middle ground and the battle is already half-won. His PAP background will be an asset rather than a liability.

The die-hard opposition will vote for him anyway and therefore he does not have to raise his anti-establishment rhetoric in order to win them over.

With his public proclamation of his political ambitions, the establishment will start to monitor his words and actions. Mr Tan needs to tread very carefully now and beware of who he associates with for once a “label” has been stuck, it will be very difficult to shake it off.

It is not the time for Mr Tan to “burn” his bridges with the PAP yet. In fact, he should start to mend the ties which have been strained due to his consumer activism for the minibond investors.

There is a strategem in the Sun Tzu’s Treatise of War: “The best time to attack is when your enemy’s guard is down.” Mr Tan needs to spend more efforts to reassure the establishment that he is not a threat to their interests.

And this will be the deciding factor of his electoral success in the future.

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