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Singapore to have first Malay woman president

Singapore to have first Malay woman president
Halimah Yacop © The Straits Times

Former Speaker of Parliament , Mrs. Halimah Yacob is set to be Singapore’s first Malay president in more than 47 years, after the Elections Department (ELD) said on Monday (Sept 11) that only one individual qualified for the inaugural reserved Presidential Election.

Among those who submitted application forms, only one individual received both Certificate of Eligibility and Community Certificates, said the ELD in its statement which did not name the individual.

Madam Halimah will be Singapore’s eighth President and the first woman to hold the position as the country’s Head of State. The Returning Officer, Energy Market Authority chief executive Ng Wai Choong, will declare her as the elected President on Nomination Day on Wednesday, if her nomination papers are in order.

Former President Tony Tan’s six-year term expired on Aug 31 and Mr J Y Pillay — the chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers — has been the Acting President since Sept 1. There will not be a poll and Madam Halimah will start her term as President on Thursday.

The ELD said the Community Committee issued three Malay Community Certificates while the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) decided to issue one Certificate of Eligibility. 

It added: “The PEC and the Elections Department will not, in the first instance, publish the names of the unsuccessful applicants or the reasons given to them. This is to give effect to the recommendation of the Constitutional Commission that unsuccessful applicants should not be disclosed to the public, to reduce the prospect of potential applicants being dissuaded from stepping forward to contest the elections.”

But an unsuccessful applicant is free to publish the reasons given to him or her, ELD added.

In Mr Marican’s case, the PEC said it was satisfied that he held the most senior executive office in Second Chance and was principally responsible for managing and conducting its business and operations. However, his firm’s shareholders’ equity — which averaged about S$258 million in the last three financial years — was “considerably below” the requisite minimum of S$500 million.

“The Committee was unable to satisfy itself that (Mr Marican) had the experience and ability that was comparable to the experience and ability of a person who had served as the chief executive of a typical company with at least $500 million in shareholders’ equity and who satisfied Article 19(4)(a) of the Constitution in relation to such service,” PEC said.

Similarly, Mr Khan’s firm had shareholders’ equity of between S$254.3 million and S$263.25 million over the past three financial years. In a statement, Mr Khan said he accepted the decisions made by the PEC and the Community Committee. He thanked  his family and supporters for their “overwhelming support”.

“Unfortunately, it is not meant to be. Nevertheless, it has been a meaningful journey and a wonderful experience. Although I am disappointed by the Committees' decision, it will not stop me from continuing to serve the people. As before, I will continue to serve to the best of my abilities,” he added.

Mr Marican also thanked his family and supporters, and said that he would “continue to serve Singapore in other ways”. He said: “I am disappointed that the committee did not see it fit to give me the go-ahead to take part in the Presidential  Election.  But this doesn’t mean my work to help my fellow Singaporeans comes to an end. My team and I will regroup to see how the effort to help our disadvantaged sisters and brothers can go forward.”

Yusof bin Ishak, Singapore's first president | straits times
Yusof bin Ishak, Singapore's first president | straits times

 

This year’s Presidential Election has been reserved for the Malay community, following changes to the Elected Presidency scheme passed by Parliament last November. The changes allow for the election to be reserved for a particular ethnicity that has not had an elected representative for five consecutive terms. President Yusof Ishak was Singapore’s first President and the only Malay to have held the office till he died in 1970.

Source : TODAY

Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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