Depending on your political disposition, you’d either be elated or gravely disturbed that Halimah Yacob will soon be Singapore’s president without any challenge at all, considering that a committee decided that she’s the only person qualified enough to run. Or, maybe you just don’t give a damn because none of us truly exist, and everything is meaningless anyway.
Either way, Halimah Yacob will be sworn in as the country’s eighth president tomorrow, and she’ll be the first female one. The two other aspiring candidates in the reserved presidential election — Farid Khan and Salleh Marican — didn’t even stand a chance as they were denied certificates of eligibility by the Elections Department. As expected and as confirmed, both their presidential bids failed due to them falling short of fulfilling qualifications for private sector candidates.
You see, under the revised rules for the Elected Presidency, candidates from the private sector need to have managed a company with a minimum shareholder equity of $500 million. As CEO of Second Chance, Salleh managed an average of $258 million for the last three years. Farid is the chairman of regional marine services company Bourboun Offshore Asia, which has a reported shareholder equity of around $413 million.
Both expressed the fact that they were already prepared for a disappointing outcome (which is quite a sad state of things). Nonetheless, both continue to be interested in serving the community through other ways.
As a public service candidate, Halimah more than fulfils the requirements to run as president. She’s been a longtime stalwart in the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), and has extensive experience serving the people as a veteran Member of Parliament, as well as a Speaker of Parliament. Of course, being a close ally to the PAP will also mean that perhaps she won’t do anything to shake up the nest while in the highest office of the land.
But truth be told, Halimah does stand head and shoulders above Farid and Salleh, with her extensive experience and know-how in politics and public service. Still, the sentiments among the ground remain highly truculent — Singaporeans didn’t even get the chance to vote in an already contentious presidential election that was only reserved for one particular race. The sense of helplessness is all the more palpable, because it’s yet another firm victory for the ruling PAP, whose arguable shifting of playing grounds keeps ensuring that they stay in power no matter the cost.
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