Asia Sentinel, 17 Aug 2011
Almost by definition, PAP critics appeared excluded from Presidential candidacy. To qualify, a candidate must have held senior office for not less than three years in a government department or organization of equivalent size or complexity, including responsibility for paid-up capital of at least S$100 million.
Tan Jee Say has firm establishment roots. Indeed, he spent five years as principal private secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong before working with various banks and investment houses. This included a stint as regional managing director of asset management company AIB Govett Asia during 1997-2001, which enabled him to satisfy presidential election eligibility requirements.
Tan Jay See’s branching out from the comfort of state capitalist networks, so important to the professional and political routes of many recent PAP leaders and ministers, appears to have reflected and reinforced an independence of mind that ultimately led him to opposition politics. Full story
