Does anyone else think there is a conflict of interest with Tony Tan as Prez?

[sharingan83]

A recent article in the Straits Times 30th June said that

"Independence is ultimately a matter of the mind, not of past institutional links", and that therefore there is every chance that Dr Tony Tan himself would be as independent as the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong was.

However, the point made actually misses a much finer point, and a much more crucial one, is that Dr Tony Tan, being an ex executive director at GIC, would be giving oversight over his own past work at the GIC, if he was elected president. Ong Teng Cheong was never in GIC's employ and never faced this inherent conflict of interest. Fine man Dr Tony Tan may be, but would you ask anyone to give oversight over his own work? Such a situation would fail any audit test immediately.

According to the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), an Independent Director is one "who has no relationship with the company... that could interfere, or be reasonably perceived to interfere, with the... director's independent business judgement with a view to the best interests of the company". An example the SID gives of such a relationship which does interfere, and qualifies the director non-independent, is that he or she must not have been employed by the company for the last 3yrs (http://www.sid.org.sg/main/good_practise_doc/good_practiceSGPNo72007).

Hence, according to the good practices of SID, no way Tony Tan can be perceived to be independent.

 

[tanwahtiu]

Just as the judge is the father of the defendant or plaintiff is a criminal case.

A recent article in the Straits Times 30th June said that



However, the point made actually misses a much finer point, and a much more crucial one, is that Dr Tony Tan, being an ex executive director at GIC, would be giving oversight over his own past work at the GIC, if he was elected president. Ong Teng Cheong was never in GIC's employ and never faced this inherent conflict of interest. Fine man Dr Tony Tan may be, but would you ask anyone to give oversight over his own work? Such a situation would fail any audit test immediately.

According to the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), an Independent Director is one "who has no relationship with the company... that could interfere, or be reasonably perceived to interfere, with the... director's independent business judgement with a view to the best interests of the company". An example the SID gives of such a relationship which does interfere, and qualifies the director non-independent, is that he or she must not have been employed by the company for the last 3yrs (http://www.sid.org.sg/main/good_practise_doc/good_practiceSGPNo72007).

Hence, according to the good practices of SID, no way Tony Tan can be perceived to be independent.