SINGAPORE, Aug 27 — Presidential candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam has called on all parties to avoid politicising the Presidential Election, in response to the public endorsement of his rival, Tan Kin Lian, by opposition politician Tan Cheng Bock.

"Mr Tharman has consistently urged, with respect to all his fellow candidates, that we avoid politicising the Presidential Elections,” said a spokesperson from his campaign team in a brief statement sent to the media today.

"The focus should be on each candidate’s individual character, breadth of experience and ability to contribute to Singapore’s future as Head of State.”

This morning, Dr Tan, a former candidate in the 2011 Presidential Election who later founded the opposition Progress Singapore Party, made public his support for Tan in a "personal capacity”.

Dr Tan said one reason he endorsesTan is the need for an independent candidate, adding that a President who "is with the establishment” may feel "uncomfortable” if he makes decisions that are contrary to the establishment’s.

Dr Tan was the latest opposition politician to throw his support behind Tan.

Fellow 2011 Presidential Election candidate Tan Jee Say, a member of the Singapore Democratic Party, was the proposer for Tan Kin Lian’s presidency bid, while the Peoples’ Voice’s Lim Tean and People’s Power Party’s Goh Meng Seng have also backed the former NTUC Income chief executive.

Earlier on Sunday, presidential candidate Ng Kok Song decried the opposition members’ endorsement of Tan Kin Lian as an attempt to "polarise” the electorate by politicising the election.

"It is a very unhealthy and worrisome development in this Presidential Election; the people concerned are confusing the people of Singapore,” said Ng. "Confusing (them) between a Presidential Election and a General Election.” — TODAY