Tharman’s son rotated within MOF to pre-empt any possible potential conflict of interest

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s son Akilan was rotated to a different directorate within the Finance Ministry in July to pre-empt any possible potential conflict of interest, said the Finance Ministry and Public Service Commission Secretariat on Wednesday (Aug 30).

Akilan, who joined MOF in June 2022, was previously working in the reserves and investment directorate. No conflict of interest occurred in his previous work at that directorate, said the statement.

He is now working on education and manpower policies in the social programmes directorate in MOF.

“There is no conflict of interest between Akilan’s current job and his father’s candidacy for Presidency,” said the statement.

“The decision was made in July to rotate him and preempt any possible potential for conflict of interest situations in the presidential election.”

The statement on Wednesday came after several social media posts made on Wednesday, which included screenshots from the Singapore Government Directory’s website of Akilan’s previous posting in the reserves and investment directorate, and that he was the son of Tharman.

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Some of the posts had also brought up that Akilan was granted a disruption to full-time national service (NS), and questioned the reasons for it.

In the statement, MOF and the PSC Secretariat said that Akilan was treated like all other Overseas Merit Scholars, according to prevailing policies.

“Akilan disrupted from his NS in 2011, resumed his NS duties in 2015 and finished his NS obligations, like his other PSC scholarship peers who had disrupted,” they said.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, is among three presidential candidates in the race to be Singapore’s ninth President. THE STRAITS TIMES