SINGAPORE, July 18 — The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) has accepted the resignation of Tan Chuan-Jin as its president, a day after he quit as Speaker of Parliament and walked away from his political career.
On Monday (July 17), both Tan announced his shock departure from politics following the revelation of an “inappropriate relationship” with Member of Parliament (MP) Cheng Li Hui, who has also quit politics.
In a statement today, SNOC said its executive committee had accepted Tan’s resignation. It did not specify when he offered to quit.
Tan had been SNOC president since 2014 and was re-elected for a third term in September last year.
The SNOC, established in 1947, coordinates the selection of Singapore athletes for competition at the major Games such as the Olympics, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the South East Asian Games.
The SNOC also said that under its rules, Jessie Phua, its most senior vice-president, will be appointed as its acting president at the next executive committee meeting.
The organisation also thanked Tan "for his years of service and contributions to the SNOC".
Tan also held other positions outside politics on the boards of several organisations such as the National Council for Social Services, Healthway Medical Group and Mandai Park Holdings, among others.
In response to TODAY’s queries, an NCSS spokesperson said that Tan had asked to stand down as NCSS adviser with immediate effect.
The NCSS is an umbrella organisation for more than 500 social service bodies in Singapore.
The organisation was “grateful for his leadership and support over the years particularly his passion in promoting volunteerism in the social service sector”, the spokesperson added.
In response to a query from TODAY on whether Tan will continue as its chairman, Healthway Medical Group said that the advisory board of the organisation “will continue until the end of its current term”.
The Singapore Exchange-listed company, which owns a large network of clinics and medical centres, did not elaborate.
In response to TODAY's queries, Mandai Park Holdings, which oversees Mandai Wildlife Reserve including Singapore Zoo, said Tan was appointed to its board in November 2017.
The spokesperson said: "I do not have any other information that I can offer for now."
Tan is also patron of several organisations during his time as Minister of Social and Family Development (MSF), including the Centre for Fathering and Club Rainbow.
The Centre for Fathering is a non-profit organisation to promote active and involved fathering here, while Club Rainbow is an independent charity supporting children who suffer from chronic illnesses.
Both organisations said that Tan has “stepped down from his role with immediate effect”.
Organisations distancing themselves from Tan
Some organisations which featured Tan on their websites initially made moves to distance themselves from him following the revelation of his relationship with Cheng, with some restoring the information or posts afterward.
On Monday, articles penned by Tan were temporarily removed from faith-based website thir.st and Salt and Light. Tan had been featured on the website where he talked about his Christian faith.
The articles were later restored with an editor's note included.
Edric Sng, editor of both sites, apologised for the removal of the articles and wrote that the pieces were "temporarily offline" as the team was "(contemplating) how best to approach them".
"As faith-based websites, we do our best to highlight examples of people living out their faith. While these are often everyday, everyman examples, in some instances, the newsmakers are high-profile figures, including politicians," Sng wrote.
He also stated that the articles would now be read in the appropriate context given that they were published before Tan's affair came to light, urging readers to adopt a "restorative posture".
Similarly on Monday, a photo was circulating online about the removal of Tan's photo from Raffles Institution's wall of notable alumni.
Tan had studied at Raffles Junior College during his school years.
In a statement to TODAY on Tuesday however, the school said that "Mr Tan’s portrait remains on the school wall together with other notable alumni of the school."
On the Dads for Life website, which is a movement by the Centre for Fathering, an interview that was done with Tan, who was their patron, was removed on Monday. As of Tuesday evening, the interview page was still inaccessible. — TODAY