Tee Keat: I won't be campaigning for ex-aide Tan

Incumbent Pandan MP Ong Tee Keat said he will not be campaigning for his former aide Allan Tan’s bid to become the constituency’s new parliamentarian as an Independent candidate. 

“He is an Independent candidate while I am in BN,” he pointed out at a press conference today. 

Although he is not given the mandate to defend his seat, he said he is willing to campaign for BN if anyone dared to ask him to do so, but he believed no such request would be made because they fear being associated with a party outcast. 

However, Ong fidgeted for answers when asked if he would also campaign for Gary Lim, who is the MCA candidate for Pandan. 

“I have no qualms, but then it is his choice (to make). But then again there is another element to taken into consideration. 

“If you want to sell the product, you must know what to sell. You must tell the people of its characteristics, advantages... but I don’t know him. 

“It is not that I am unwilling, and I am not being sarcastic, but if he were an old friend I would know exactly what to promote,” he said. 

Pressed repeatedly by reporters for a definitive answer, Ong said he would consider campaigning for Lim, but suggested the MCA president Chua is more suited for the task, since Chua sees Lim as a ‘winnable candidate’. 

[More to follow]