PE: Tony Tan hits out at "baseless allegations" made against

[Hensony]

PE: Tony Tan hits out at "baseless allegations" made against his sons

By S Ramesh | Posted: 25 August 2011 1147 hrs

 

SINGAPORE: On the final day of the Presidential election campaign, candidate Dr Tony Tan has hit out at allegations made against his family, in particular, his sons.

 

He said he is saddened by the personal attacks which have no basis at all.

 

Speaking to the media on Thursday after touring Chong Pang Market in Sembawang with his wife, an area he's familiar with since his days as MP, he said the personal attacks are designed to distract Singaporeans from the key issues in the Presidential election campaign.

 

He said: "I am outraged by the false allegations that have made this (a) smear campaign - the lies, (the) baseless allegations and the attacks on my family.

 

"These personal attacks and allegations are baseless, they are all lies. They are designed to distract Singaporeans from the true debate and the role of the President and the future of Singapore.

 

"I am saddened by such personal attacks because it sets a wrong tone in Singapore.

 

"Our politics should be based on debate on issues and real problems and not on personal attacks on myself or family members which have no basis at all.

 

"I hope we should stamp this out because if this goes on, it will lower the tone of politics in Singapore and doesn't do anybody any good."

 

Dr Tan's sons responded on Thursday with a statement to refute allegations about their National Service (NS) record.

 

The trio - Peter, Patrick and Philip Tan - said they have fulfilled all obligations in accordance with the rules, regulations and deployment policies of Mindef (Ministry of Defence), and that allegations concerning their NS circulated on the Internet and reinforced by Dr Tony Tan's opponents, are lies.

 

Last month, Patrick Tan had posted a statement on his father's Facebook page to refute allegations that he had received preferential treatment during his National Service in 2000, after he returned from overseas studies.

 

Dr Tony Tan was the Defence Minister from 1995 to 2003.

 

Wrapping up his campaign, Dr Tan added that on the whole, it had been a dignified one, although there had been some strong statements made once in a while.

 

He said this was to be expected in the heat of the hustings.

 

And he hopes that the overall tone of this year's Presidential campaign would set the tone for future ones.

[Hensony]

TT is pissed.... But I remember there is an idiom: Where there's smoke, there's fire.

 

Is there any basis of the preferential treatment? Is it really a smear campaign? Or is it another case of skeletons out of the closet?

[Bystander50]

There is something called a Certificate Of Service after completing NS.

For their age, SAF is still using the little green booklet called reservist booklet. Why ain't these shown to dispel the allegations?

 

As long as they show it out clearly stating their appointments held as a NSF, how do you expect people to believe? They did not even clear some of the doubts where the clarifications are as good as not clarifying at all.

 

I may tend to agree that he did not ask for special treatments for his son. But those people at CPC would have taken the initiative to place them at relaxed vocations for fear of breaking their ricebowls. As what we always say "ai zi dong" (automatic in hokkein).

 

So, the CO or that person doing the allocation should come and speak out.

 

 

[Itsec]

so how???

 

do the PAP way... throw those who made false accusation in lor...

 

this will silence everybody...

[Damienic]

Baseless allegations? He should know deep inside if they are true. No further need to elaborate. Pple are not blind as he thought.

[Tarzan666]

Like dat nia?

Then dunno how to refute?

 

At least give WP kinda reply, point by point address it..

[Mllcg]

just give us to shut us up la. lol

[Curahee]

He nv elaborate on why ppl r making baseless allegation. Maybe he should explain and clear the issue in the interview but he didn't. Give me an impression he is like trying to deny and siam the issue.

[Acemundo]

like what is rationale for patrick to serve as medical researcher for tropical soil disease for MINDEF when such projects ought be and more appropriately taken up by hospitals and universities?

[Kyrios]

Oh no if he is elected..will he order a shutdown on all social media like what China does? After all he said ""I hope we should stamp this out because if this goes on, it will lower the tone of politics in Singapore and doesn't do anybody any good."

 

Police state liao..

[Hensony]

like what is rationale for patrick to serve as medical researcher for tropical soil disease for MINDEF when such projects ought be and more appropriately taken up by hospitals and universities?

 

I find it hard to accept that Patrick served as a medical researcher at a young age of <21. At that age, how much could he contribute? This type of research should be under the purview of someone more knowledgeable and experienced.

[Mllcg]

I find it hard to accept that Patrick served as a medical researcher at a young age of <21. At that age, how much could he contribute? This type of research should be under the purview of someone more knowledgeable and experienced.

 

understudying someone?

[Acemundo]

I find it hard to accept that Patrick served as a medical researcher at a young age of <21. At that age, how much could he contribute? This type of research should be under the purview of someone more knowledgeable and experienced.

i think so too.

 

after years of being in technology and science line, i know the word research often conjures up image of grandeur and wisdom. but the reality is that it is exercise of expanding out of something vague or nothing meaty or significantly researched so far. its end result could be 0 or something that takes the world by storm. it is always the reasoning of the latter that proponents of research will cite as justification yet the end result is more often than not the former.

Edited August 25, 2011 by Acemundo

[Mllcg]

Oh no if he is elected..will he order a shutdown on all social media like what China does? After all he said ""I hope we should stamp this out because if this goes on, it will lower the tone of politics in Singapore and doesn't do anybody any good."

 

Police state liao..

 

president dont have that high power what. only parliament can order it.

[Gearoil]

How come nobody seem to know about the background of his wife Mary?

[Felipe]

if the allegation is baseless, that means the son did serve combat NS, and was not working as a researcher for some soil disease.

[Darryn]

like what is rationale for patrick to serve as medical researcher for tropical soil disease for MINDEF when such projects ought be and more appropriately taken up by hospitals and universities?

 

Well if MINDEF has such things, then it may not be so unusual that Patrick did it -

What would be more useful at this point to shut down the discussion and serve as a "proper answer" would be (for example)

For MINDER to say

During that period we had 17 research projects underway, we posted 84 understudy medical students out of a total of 137 active in NS to work on those projects.

 

Note - the figures were pulled out of my backside

 

If MINDEF were to release this sort of explanation, then how the sons were treated would not be seen out of the normal.

 

Same for the son that got the deferment for what was it - 12 years?

 

If MINDEF were able to release information like (again from my backside)

Of the 500 folk that were due for NS in the same year he was, 345 got a deferrment of more than 8 years, and 100 got a deferrment of 12 years with 1 gettinga deferrment of 15 years, then again, what do we have to say?

 

If on the other hand it turned out that of the 500 folk med students that were due for NS that year, only 2 got a deferrment extending to 12 years, and there were actually only two research projects underway with 5 NS Men being posted to them then it would be pretty apparent that something was up right?

 

The devil is always in the detail - and we don't have any detail.

 

 

One thing that you can be 100% sure of - all three sons DID complete their national service, and their paperwork, postings and completion documents will be fully in order. What I would stake my life savings on is that they did not "get out of" their statutory obligations.

[Darryn]

if the allegation is baseless, that means the son did serve combat NS, and was not working as a researcher for some soil disease.

 

Not neccessarily - there are many many people that don't serve a "combat" stint. My own BIL was a police clerk, another new citizen I know about got SCDF. Does that mean they got favourable postings because of their positions?

 

Presupposing that MINDEF does have such research projects - then somebody has to work on them right?

 

What would be good information to have would be just how many people do serve such a posting? Was this "regular" or something that must be applied for? What are the criteria for the decision?

 

 

I also know that my wife's doctor, when he goes for NS he is in the medical office - he is not running around a field with a gun.