'I'm alright': Ng Kok Song apologises to supporters day after Clementi heckling incident

Last night (Aug 29), presidential candidate Ng Kok Song experienced something of a scare.

During his walkabout in Clementi Central, a member of the public hurled vulgarities at him and his team before shouting Tan Kin Lian's name while leaving the area.

Ng addressed the media this morning (Aug 30) at Hougang Hainanese Village Centre and spoke about the heckling incident.

"As you can see, I'm alright. I'm not hurt," Ng said before apologising to his supporters who had lined up to have photographs taken with him

When asked about what was going through his mind as the heckling was happening, Ng replied that he was actually unaware of it.

His focus was on the people walking up to him to grab a photo together.

"I wasn't looking around until I heard shouting and some sort of commotion. It was at that point that my security people came forward and said 'Kok Song, I think we have to stop because of the commotion and move you to safety," Ng explained. 

He has since taken extra precautions by having more security personnel at his walkabout. 

Tan's media team were informed of the incident last night and they released a statement, requesting "supporters to behave in a respectful manner to all candidates and members of the public".

The 30-year-old man who disrupted Ng's walkabout has since been taken to the Institute of Mental Health.

This was after he went to the police on his own to lodge a report about the incident.

Simply differences of opinion

Ng and fellow candidate, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, have been debating the definition of partisanship within a political context in recent days.

In a forum aired on Aug 28, Tharman had said: "Let's say you have a private company... or you have a fund management company that depends on government monies, does that make you not independent? Not necessarily."

Ng felt that this remark was clearly directed at him and that Tharman was "taking the point too far". 

However, when asked about the topic earlier today, Ng was reluctant to "reopen the subject".

He was keen to stress the point that he has deep respect for Tharman, and the pair are "good friends who worked together" in the past.

"Our differences are differences of opinion. When we speak about the presidency, I was concerned about the system, not the individual," Ng added.

ALSO READ: Ng Kok Song and fiancee Sybil Lau's answers to question on their wedding venue might surprise you

amierul@asiaone.com

No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.