Former Singaporean deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected president on Friday, earning a landslide victory in the city-state’s first contested vote for the largely ceremonial position in more than a decade.
Singaporeans headed to the polls that were closely watched as an indication of support for the ruling party after a rare spate of scandals, but the longtime stalwart of the party won more than two-thirds of the vote over two rivals.
“I believe that it’s a vote of confidence in Singapore. It’s a vote of optimism for a future in which we can progress together and support each other as Singaporeans,” said Shanmugaratnam, who is also the city-state’s former finance minister, in a speech before the results were announced. “I’m humbled by this vote. It is not just a vote for me, it is a vote for Singapore’s future.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
He won 70.4 percent of the vote to win a six-year term.
His main rival, Ng Kok Song (黃國松), a former chief investment officer of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), which manages the country’s foreign reserves, conceded after winning only 15.7 percent of the vote.
“The result is clear,” he told reporters, adding Shanmugaratnam “has indeed earned a mandate from the people of Singapore.”
Shanmugaratnam acknowledged the “changing and evolving” nature of Singapore, notably its diversity, and said he believes the election was seen as “another milestone in that process of evolution.”
There are stringent requirements for the position, which formally oversees the city’s accumulated financial reserves and holds the power to veto certain measures and approve anti-graft probes.
While the presidency is a non-partisan post under the constitution, political lines had already been drawn ahead of the election to replace incumbent Halimah Yacob, who ran unopposed for her six-year term in 2017.
Shanmugaratnam was viewed as the favorite for the position and had resigned as a member of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and as a senior minister in the cabinet ahead of the election as all presidential candidates must be independent.
The 66-year-old economist is said as having the government’s backing and was questioned about his independence during the campaign.
The city-state’s government is run by the prime minister, currently Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) of the PAP, which has ruled Singapore continuously since 1959.
“Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin,” Lee said in a statement. The US sent a congratulatory message to Shanmugaratnam that pointed to “mutual respect, shared values and common interests” with Singapore.
Observers said the vote would indicate the level of PAP support ahead of general elections due in 2025 or discontent after recent scandals that include a corruption probe into the city-state’s transport minister and the resignations of two PAP legislators over an affair.
Another candidate, former insurance executive Tan Kin Lian (陳欽亮), 75, had gained the support of several opposition leaders, but only picked up 13.88 percent of votes.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS