Dr Tony Tan (photo: channelnewsasia.com, Hester Tan)
SINGAPORE: Presidential hopeful Dr Tony Tan has refuted online allegations that one of his sons received preferential treatment during National Service (NS).
In a statement posted on Friday night on his Facebook page, Dr Tan — who served as Minister for Defence from 1995 to 2003 — said his son, Dr Patrick Tan, served the latter part of his NS during the tenure.
" My sons all completed their National Service obligations fully and I have never intervened in their postings," he said.
Having spent over three decades in public service, Dr Tan said he is " acutely aware of the scrutiny to which public figures are subjected" .
" Responsibility and integrity governed my choice to serve Singapore for over three decades, motivated me to run for President, and are values I have lived by and instilled in my family," he added.
Dr Tan said he is " deeply disappointed" by the rumours. " I am confident that Singaporeans are savvy enough to see through these distractions and will make up their minds based on solid facts and focus on the real issues at hand," he added.
On Dr Tony Tan’s Facebook page, a netizen named Jessica Tan posed the following question: " ’Elected President candidate Dr Tony Tan helped his son to escape military National Service. He had arranged for his son to do civilian work (research work at National Cancer Centre) and be paid NS salary. It is legally right but morally wrong ?.’... can Dr Tony Tan verify the above statement?"
Earlier on Friday night, Dr Patrick Tan also issued a statement on his father’s Facebook page chronicling his NS stint.
Dr Patrick Tan said he entered NS in 1988 and completed Basic Military Training and his Junior Term at Officer Cadet School.
He was awarded a President’s Scholarship and a Loke Cheng Kim Scholarship to study medicine in the United States, where medical training " typically comprises of a pre—medical degree followed by a graduate medical degree" .
He returned to Singapore in 2000 " ready to complete" his NS, and was attached to the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute.
At that time, he said melioidosis — also known as " soil disease" — was a serious concern to MINDEF as it had been affecting soldiers in the field and " is a potential bio—terrorism threat" . " I was instructed to apply the knowledge I had obtained in my MD PhD to study melioidosis," he added.
Throughout his NS, he maintained he received an NS man’s salary and fulfilled all requirements of NS.
He said: " The current allegations — mostly posted anonymously on the Internet — are false. It seems clear that such rumours are intended to hurt my father, which makes it all the more painful for me." —
TODAY