SINGAPORE, Aug 14 — The intricacies of safeguarding Singapore’s past reserves are "not easy to understand”, said presidential hopeful Ng Kok Song.

And while he reckons that he and former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam are familiar with the subject, he believes the other potential candidates, George Goh and Tan Kin Lian, have yet to prove themselves.

Ng was speaking at a dialogue at the Huang Clan Association in Geylang on Sunday, in response to a question from a clan member on what he thinks sets him apart from the other presidential hopefuls.

He said that other than his independence, having not been part of any political party, he is also well versed in matters related to the past reserves, having worked in the public service for 45 years, first in the Finance Ministry and then the Monetary Authority of Singapore, before becoming the chief investment officer at Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

"Of course (former Finance Minister) Tharman understands (the past reserves), but I don’t think candidates such as (businessman and entrepreneur) George Goh and (former NTUC Income chief executive) Tan Kin Lian really understand. It’s not easy to understand, you need to have some expertise,” said Ng.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Ng further elaborated on why he believes he has a better understanding of the reserves than two of the other hopefuls.

"If you were to understand about the meaning of safeguarding the reserves, you will see that it is not a simple matter,” he said.

He added that while people can go to a government website and find out what the reserves are by definition, there are many intricacies surrounding them that many may not be able to understand.

Ng pointed out that in knowing the appropriate amount of past reserves for the Government to draw, the elected President needs to understand several things.

"He needs to understand the global economy... why such an amount of money is necessary because of the risky environment that the economy is then facing,” he said.

"I think it does require some financial competence, some understanding and knowledge of how the global economy works, how the Singapore economy is connected to the global economy... we mustn’t assume that it’s an easy thing.”

He said that his 45 years’ experience in helping to build the reserves thus qualifies him to understand the "intricacies of the reserves”.

"I think Minister Tharman also understands, but it is something which I think other candidates will have to prove, that they have a sufficient grasp of the responsibilities of the job in terms of safeguarding the reserves,” he said.

How Lee Kuan Yew inspired him to run for presidency

When asked by another clan member why he had decided to run for President, Ng said than other than his desire to safeguard the past reserves, it was also his wish to honour one of Singapore’s founding fathers, Lee Kuan Yew, that compelled him to do so.

"I think people of my generation know that it is because of Lee Kuan Yew that Singapore can enjoy our standard of living now, it was Lee who took our country from third world to first world, and I think many Singaporeans feel gratitude to Lee,” he said.

He thus decided to run for President as a way to thank the former Prime Minister.

"If not for Lee, I cannot have gone from a kampung boy to now standing for President,” he said. "So I feel in my heart gratitude, and I want to honour Lee and I want to thank the people of Singapore for giving me so much.”

He added that when he told his friends that he was planning to run for President at the age of 75, some of them advised him against it.

"But I tell them I want to do it for the benefit of Singapore,” he said.

Ng said that he was not doing it for money, as he would have to sell his business if he were to be elected, neither is it for power, fame or glory, as he "doesn’t need that”.

"I need to explain to the people of Singapore, why even at my age, I can still do something for Singapore,” said the executive chairman of Avanda Investment Management, an asset management company he co-founded in 2015.

Nomination Day for the Presidential Election is Aug 22 and the Presidential Elections Committee, which has the final say on whether a candidate qualifies based on the criteria set out in the Constitution, is expected to announce a few days before that who among the current four hopefuls will qualify.

Should there be more than one candidate who qualifies, the nation will head to the polls on Sept 1. — TODAY