Former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament and candidate in the Presidential Election 2011, Tan Cheng Bock had a meeting with lawyer and politician, Lim Tean at a Macdonald outlet in Choa Chu Kang Lot 1 Shopping Mall on Saturday.
This was shared in a Facebook post by Mr Lim on Sunday, saying “MacDonald’s breakfast with Dr Tan Cheng Bock at Choa Chu Kang. Sharing views over a Happy Meal.”
Mr Lim. who was formerly the Secretary General of the National Solidarity Party, had registered his party, “People’s Voices Party” in April this year and shared with TOC that he expects for his party to be approved very soon.
Speaking to TOC on the meet up, Mr Lim said, “We had a very interesting and wide-ranging discussion on the challenges which our country faces and what must be done to overcome these challenges for the benefit of all Singaporeans . I find Dr Tan to be a person of great warmth whose heart lies in serving Singapore and making it a better place for all”
Dr Tan had expressed his intention to stand for President prior to the Presidential Election 2017 but was barred from standing after the Parliament passed amendments to the candidate criteria, which made the election a reserved election for Malay candidates and required private candidates to be the CEO of a company with $500 million shareholders equity. Two Malay private sector candidates who submitted their application to stand as candidates, were disqualified as they were deemed not to have met the standards set in the new criteria, leaving Mdm Halimah Yacob “elected” as the President of Singapore as she was then the sole candidate.
During a forum organised by “Future of Singapore” last December, Dr Tan shared, “I’m prepared to mentor any political group, even PAP chaps can come to me, I’ll still mentor them. Because the objective must be very clear: you want to train people who will be good MPs. MPs who will think of Singapore first.”
He also said, “To be a unifying person, I think first you must have acceptance. I cannot just say well, I want to be a unifying figure…let me think more…options will not be closed off just yet.” when asked if he could be an unifying figure among the opposition parties.
Earlier in June, Dr Tan coincidently met with MPs from Workers’ Party during the breaking of fast in Bedok and took photos together with many questioning if there will be collaboration between him and WP.
He also attended a recent event at Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS)’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.