Tharman welcomes 'any number of corners' in presidential contest

SINGAPORE: Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday (Aug 11) that he would welcome “any number of corners” should there be a contest in the 2023 Presidential Election.

Speaking to reporters after an event at LASALLE College of the Arts to launch centenary celebrations of the college’s founder Joseph McNally, Mr Tharman said that he strongly favours a contest as it gives the winner a stronger mandate.

"We now know when Polling Day is, I'm sure many Singaporeans are happy that it's on the first and not the second (of September)," he said.

"But I would urge that everyone think hard about the future we want, then go and vote and then have an enjoyable long weekend."

Mr Tharman's comments came after the writ of election was issued on Friday.

Nomination Day is set for Aug 22. If more than one candidate qualifies to run in the election, Polling Day will be on Friday, Sep 1. It will be a public holiday if there is a contest.

"I look forward to an honourable contest, with respect being given to all the candidates. I think each of the candidates who have put themselves forward so far brings their own track records, their convictions and their perspectives on what they'd like the presidency to be," Mr Tharman said.

"We should each be judged and evaluated on the basis of what we bring Singapore. So I urge that we respect all candidates, and we have an honourable contest in keeping with the dignity of the presidency."

He added: "Whether it's a two-cornered, three-cornered or four-cornered (election) is something that I don't decide. I would welcome any number of corners in this contest."

Four people, including Mr Tharman, have declared their intention to contest the election. 

The other three presidential hopefuls are businessman George Goh, former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song and former NTUC Income CEO Tan Kin Lian.

Mr Tan, who finished last in the 2011 Presidential Election, held a press conference on Friday to formally launch his second bid for the presidency. He believes that he will be the "only candidate from outside the establishment".

A former People's Action Party member, Mr Tan said the party today is "more towards the elite and not towards the ordinary people". One of his supporters asserted that Mr Tharman's proposer, seconder and assenters "represent the elites – the establishment, big institutions, chambers of commerce".

When asked to respond to that, Mr Tharman said it was not a fair description of his proposer, seconder and assenters, whom he had introduced on Jul 26 at a media conference.

Mr Tharman's proposer is former Nominated MP Thomas Chua, president of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Association and honorary president at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

His seconder is Mr Mohammad Alami Musa, Singapore’s ambassador to Algeria and head of studies in inter-religious relations at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Mr Mohammad was also president of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) from 2003 to 2021.

Among his eight assenters are filmmaker Royston Tan, businessman Ho KwonPing, general manager of Tasek Jurong Kamsinah Sadar, ceramicist Kim Whye Kee, founder of Greenology Veera Sekaran and former head of civil service Lim Siong Guan.

"One of them is an ex-inmate, one of them has been in a social service organisation, activist on the ground for many years. It's actually quite a varied group of people, one has been ... involved with the environment for many years, starting from working in NParks and then moving on to becoming a pioneer in the greening of our surroundings," Mr Tharman said.

"So it's quite a wide range of people, I would say."

He added: "Let's not try to cast very simple aspersions on any candidates. I respect all the candidates that have come forward. I do think they bring something to the contest, I honestly think so. Let this be a fair contest on the basis of each person's attributes and track record."