Quotes from Tan Cheng Bock

The key message is I'm always trying to hope the Singaporeans will understand, is a question of every government must be... examined based on certain very fundamental principles to have a good government. You must have transparency.

I'm prepared to mentor any political group, even PAP chaps can come to me, I'll still mentor them. Because the objective must be very clear: you want to train people who will be good MPs. MPs who will think of Singapore first.

We want to build a compassionate and truly democratic Singapore where good values and people matter.

I believe in giving everybody a chance to join our party. Over time, we realized that some joined expecting what the party can do for them... We want the people, when they come and join the PSP, to do something for the country and not for themselves.

I would love to be a mentor to many people who want to go into the political arena, teach them the art of winning elections.

If those people who come in to join the PSP, hoping to extract something from the party for themselves, I think even if they leave, I will not feel sorry.

We got to put in place policies to ensure that those who are unemployed, what do we do for them?

I'm not sponsored by anybody but myself... I'm not sponsored by the PAP.

The most important thing for Singapore is stability.

I never forget a friend.

But at the end of the day, any president must try to unify Singapore... that must be in the heart of the man who wants to be the president.

To be a unifying person, I think first you must have acceptance.

If I become president, I want to make sure that we shouldn't live in fear. We should all be one people. We should all enjoy differences of opinion without getting upset.

At 18, they're old enough to drive. The girls enter university, and the boys enter into National Service. Since they have a duty to defend our country, these 18-year-olds should also have the right to elect their leaders. They are mature enough.

If you strongly believe something is wrong, you must speak up and stand by what you say.

You don't have to go and criticize your opponents, how bad they are and so on. It is a contest of ideas. I got my ideas, you got your ideas right. We will let Singaporeans decide.

We should not live in fear, we should all enjoy being able to express our views freely and openly, challenge each other on issues.

A truly united Singapore means having a Parliament that reflects all views, and not just the PAP view or the group-think of a single political party.

I was only a village doctor with a rebellious streak.

I began my career as a medical doctor in Ama Keng, a poor village in Lim Chu Kang. The people I cared for were ordinary Singaporeans. They were simple people who despite their hard work, had barely enough for themselves.

If you've got no base, it's very difficult to function as an MP. You cannot be a 'virtual' MP, you must be a proper one.

We are not starting a revolution. We are starting an evolution of change.