THE former NTUC income CEO is not pleased that he is being ignored.

And he said so yesterday at the Speaker's Corner in Hong Lim Park.

Speaking to a crowd of about 500 people, Mr Tan Kin Lian said: 'I remind MAS (the Monetary Authority of Singapore) that I am speaking on behalf of about 1,000 investors.

'If 1,000 voices are not loud enough, I wonder what will make our officials hear?'

Nevertheless, it was clear that he is not giving up.

The 60-year-old stood on a makeshift stage embellished with rubbish bags labelled 'DBS High Notes' and 'Hard Earned Cash for Trash'.

He told the crowd of the three petitions he sent to the MAS last month, which have drawn 2,277 signatures in all.

Said Mr Tan, who has taken up cudgels on behalf of investors burnt in failing and failed structured products: 'Some people say writing petitions is no use, but do we give up?'

The answer he got was a unanimous roar of 'No', followed by loud clapping from the crowd.

Speaking to The New Paper on Sunday after his speech, Mr Tan noted that all he wanted was a dialogue with MAS.

He continued: 'Decisions can't be made in an ivory tower. They should listen first before discussing a possible fair solution.'

Too slow

On Thursday, The Straits Times quoted MAS as saying that it cannot respond to particular groups or individuals writing to it as it has to be 'fair and transparent' to everyone.

But Mr Tan isn't about to stop trying for a dialogue.

He said: 'I will continue to do what is necessary. I will speak, I will write in my blog until there is a solution that is fair and that is seen to be fair by many.'

He also plans to continue with fortnightly speeches at the Speaker's Corner till the end of next month.

While Mr Tan noted that MAS has responded to the crisis through press statements, he feels that these actions have not been effective enough.

Mr Tan noted: 'It's too slow and many people are still uncertain, why don't you have a dialogue?

'People need to know what you are doing, so I hope MAS can carry out an investigation and at least tell the public what are their findings.'

Mr Tan looks like a man on a mission. The toll of the long hours and 'not much sleep' is etched on his face.

Even so, during the event, he charged from one group to another, taking questions from investors and shaking hands with others.

While Mr Tan said he 'has a lot of stress' and that his health has suffered, he declined to elaborate.

He acknowledged gratefully that he had the help of 30 to 40 volunteers, people who have 'unconditionally helped' him.

However, he admitted: 'My resources are limited and I don't have the power of the Government.'

So, would he try to run for office to bring about change?

The response was curt. 'I won't answer that,' Mr Tan said. 'It has nothing to do with the issue.'

Neither does he feel that because he is no longer in NTUC, he has problems getting heard.

Be transparent

'In fact, if I were in NTUC, I wouldn't have had the time to do what I am doing now,' he said.

Mr Y S Kwan, 46, a business operations manager who lost about $50,000 in minibonds, attended Mr Tan's speech for the first time yesterday.

He was among many investors who were new at the Speaker's Corner meeting. Some had learnt on Friday that their investments in Pinnacle Notes Series 9 and 10 were almost certainly worthless.

Said Mr Kwan: 'I think he's going about it the right way and I agree with his approach.'

Like Mr Tan, he called for an investigation that would be both transparent and objective.

He added: 'Publish the findings so at least future investors can learn.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on November 16, 2008.