As race to the Istana heats up, look past the election rhetoric
At close of nominations on Tuesday, three men with over a century of work experience between them will likely get the green light to contest the Sep 1 poll
ELECTION fever is in the air in Singapore these days, as the nation will soon find out who the next President will be.
Any lingering doubts about a walkover were firmly put to rest last Friday (Aug 18) when it was announced that three aspirants – Ng Kok Song, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Tan Kin Lian – had received the all-important Certificate of Eligibility (COE), one of several documents they need in order to stand as a candidate.
The stage is set for Singapore to witness its first contest for the presidency in 12 years, with nearly 2.71 million voters gearing up to cast their ballots on Sep 1 for who they want to occupy the highest office in the land.
Of course, getting the COE from the Presidential Elections Committee doesn’t mean a person is automatically qualified as a candidate.
Attention now turns to Nomination Day on Tuesday, the next big milestone to clear on the road to the Istana. The venue for the nomination proceedings is the auditorium of the People’s Association headquarters at King George’s Avenue, which is where Ng, Tharman and Tan will have to turn up to file their papers.
They will have to bring three main documents – the COE, which certifies a person is of integrity, good character and reputation, and meets the relevant public sector or private sector service requirements; a community certificate that states the specific community that the applicant is from; and a political donation certificate.
They will also each have to pay an election deposit, which has been set at S$40,500 for this election. This amount will be forfeited if a candidate is not elected and fails to secure more than 12.5 per cent of the votes polled.
Shortly after the nomination process closes at noon, the Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui will announce the successful candidates. So long as there are at least two names on his list, Polling Day will be officially confirmed and the nine-day campaign period will begin immediately.
Century of experience While the campaigning proper will kick off only on Tuesday afternoon, the three presidential hopefuls – well aware that time is simply not on their side – have in recent weeks been busy fanning across the island to connect with as many voters as possible.
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From temples to hawker centres, to shopping malls and markets, they have gone on one walkabout after another, shaking hands, taking wefies and greeting scores of people along the way.
Between the three of them, Ng, Tharman and Tan have a combined work experience of well over a century in both the public and private sectors.
Ng, 75, spent a total of 45 years in public service, starting his career at the Ministry of Finance in 1970 before joining the Monetary Authority of Singapore a year later.
He joined GIC in 1986 and rose through the ranks to become the sovereign wealth fund’s chief investment officer in 2007, a post he held for six years. He is currently the founder of Avanda Investment Management, an asset management company.
Since he declared his bid on Jul 19, Ng has reiterated that he has never belonged to any political party, which makes him stand out as an independent.
Of the trio, Tharman is the most recognisable face. The 66-year-old resigned from the Cabinet and the ruling People’s Action Party in July to prepare for his presidential bid, bringing the curtain down on 22 eventful years in politics.
The former senior minister said recently that he is no longer bound by collective decisions now that he is out of the government. He stressed, however, that he remains the “same person with the same integrity and the same independence of mind”.
Last Friday, he told the media: “I am just running on my track record, my purpose in life, and what I feel I can bring to Singapore in this next phase of our development.”
As for Tan, the former NTUC Income chief is making a second run for the presidency, having come up short during his first attempt in 2011 when he finished last out of the four candidates.
The 75-year-old was the insurer’s chief executive officer for 30 years from 1977 to 2007. After that long stint, he started a computer software business and travelled frequently to provide insurance consultancy in Indonesia.
He has said that, if elected, he will work with the government to ensure the responsible use of Singapore’s reserves for the present and future generations. He also wants to ensure that only qualified people hold leadership positions in the public service.
We will surely hear a lot more from these three men as the hustings kick into high gear, and they know that their every word and action will be carefully scrutinised. The electorate, meanwhile, should look beyond the rhetoric as they spend the next nine days to carefully consider whom they regard as the most suitable to be Singapore’s ninth President.
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