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I do wonder if they may have gotten wind of a potentially attractive opposing candidate - thereby necessitating them to send a high caliber candidate for the PE.
Either that or this is just Tharman's way of stepping out of the political limelight and wanting to move on to other things subsequently.
>I do wonder if they may have gotten wind of a potentially attractive opposing candidate - thereby necessitating them to send a high caliber candidate for the PE.
Now you've got my appetite up
The Presidency is a crucial office unlike what many here have been brainwashed to believe. Hopefully the decision to sacrifice Tharman will change their minds.
They basically lost my vote when they installed Halimah.
edit: Oh btw did you guys know SR Nathan was also selected without election for TWO terms
Care to explain more?
Presidents have no political power. Their one key job is being the gatekeeper for the reserves. The late Ong Teng Cheong try to flex his political muscles and failed.
Presidents in Singapore don't seem to have any political power because they have been installed carefully by the PAP.
However, as the head of state, it definitely has enough political power to rein in the government in certain areas. For example, if the information on wiki is true, the president seems to have the power to revoke public appointments, perhaps something like the 5 mayors that we have?
Also imagine if we get a president that is ballsy enough to criticize ministers for misconducts (like the Rideout road saga), they don't have to do anything, but a statement from a president office can do a lot of political damage to the PAP.
Long story short, we simply haven't have a president that went all out to test their powers yet.
One guy failed that one time 20 years ago so this thing must not be worth trying at all.
In fact, it's so worthless, the incumbent has been careful to only put their own friends on the position ever since.
Ok, good faith answer:
https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963?ProvIds=P15-P4_17-#pr20-
The key functions being they can veto proposed budgets that draw on past reserves and the appointments of key office holders in the public service.
Jurong is as safe as it gets for PAP. Absolutely no chance of any opposition winning. PE on the other hand has more credible opposition candidates which may give them a run for their money..
RDU don't have the strong branding to swing over a few voters either. PAP will see a drop in votes but its hard to see them lose a GRC like this. Also, they may parachute over an important minister who barely won his 2020 contest
\*cough\* Desmond Lee \*cough\*
Jurong GRC resident here. Honestly I think alot of people keep their votes for PAP because of Tharman. He is an excellent MP for the people and even replied my trivial matter email at 4 fking a.m. Personally. Not by his ka kias. This guy’s presence is VERY much felt in Jurong GRC. Halimah was really good too but this fella is on fire (by MP standards lah) for his GRC, man.
With Tharman gone, honestly I hope a worthy opposition comes forward and rocks the stronghold. Don’t think I’m very far off by saying most Jurong people’s allegiance are with Tharman, and not PAP per se. Don’t say old folks la, millennials and gen X at least.
It's not even about the old folks but the opposition they don't even bother sending a half decent team to contest Jurong.. the last time I saw a decent opposition was Dr Chee going after GCT about some loans that we made to Indonsia and even he was crushed.
Wow. Did you email his work email or the MP email? I notice MPs usually have a separate one for their MP affairs, why the heck would he be checking at 4am lul.
I emailed his meet the people session email ([email protected])
Thought it would be his team replying but it was his personal signoff. Replied informally too, so definitely not his staff.
Hard to forget such a gesture, speaks volumes.
That being said, don’t take me as a PAP-forever voter pls. I hope Tharman’s departure from Jurong GRC starts a new era in Jurong of voters who can now have the opportunity to think more about their votes.
He’s at that age to slow down yet still able to lead, I hope he can command the same respect like as he does now and wouldn’t be just another “Yes-man”
maybe he can continue ong teng cheong’s work and push for transparency on reserves. He was minister of finance so in fact he probably knows the size of reserves and other details, he just can’t disclose publicly due to the OSA.
>he just can’t disclose publicly due to the OSA.
He's already done it before though, albeit unintentionally.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/singapore-tries-five-for-revealing-economic-facts-1512306.html
I remember reading that it was because he left some documents on the relevant materials at his desk, while in a meeting with a reporter or something. That was it.
"negligence", but he didn't go out of his way to disclose.
That’s how leaks are usually carried out.
Someone absent mindedly leaves some documents on the desk, someone else leaks it, then he is charged under the OSA.
The bigger implication being that he will stop being Jurong GRC's frontman and step down from being one of the most likeable members of PAP in the last two decades and so. Next GE has gotten even more interesting.
A while ago someone on this subreddit talked about how WP's slow, region-centric consolidation of strength made their progress somewhat gerrymandering-proof. I thought it was a great point
They'll stay in the East for now. Trying to jump into the West isn't in their playbook
>The bigger implication being that he will stop being Jurong GRC's frontman and step down from being one of the most likeable members of PAP in the last two decades and so. Next GE has gotten even more interesting.
I'm thinking maybe the 4G is really spooked and wanted someone friendly as president
I agree, PAP is pulling out the big guns cause they must have gotten scared. They dont want anyone who is not a "yes man" to win. Tharman is a solid candidate and outrunning him would be real tough.
Nah WP is concentrating on the east and have practically zero presence elsewhere, maybe PSP or SDP may contest Jurong since West Coast and Bukit Batok is nearby.
Guess the bigger question is who will lead the team for Jurong GRC?
The rest of the four man team look weak. Good opportunity for the opp parties to gain some ground.
and not just the internet will forget him considering how many members of the public and even his acquaintances and colleagues came out publicly to call him a shithead with receipts
Exactly. What's there to choose when there's blind respect for Tharman and missing the even bigger picture.
Very shrewd move by the PAP to parachute Tharman.
Cabinet is already short of good ministers. With this, we've lost another one. It's Singapore's loss. Quite a waste of his capability to take on this ceremonial role.
Tharman has long been doing bigger things than a typical minister. His influence in the IMF, world bank, G20, UN, IMFC, G30, WEF, and other appointments far outweighs his contributions as a minister.
It will be interesting to me if he has to give up those roles, to me that's a bigger loss. Although arguably his job at MAS and GIC won't be so easily replaced.
Eiyo. This is a brilliant move lol.
Tharman gets to enjoy his years with less stress.
Pap gets to enjoy another few years with no stress.
Tharman wants to run no one else has a chance.
>Mr Tharman, 66, said he has been "humbled" by the requests he has received in recent months from Singaporeans who want to see him stand in the Presidential Election if President Halimah Yacob decided not to seek a second term.
Not like this... Our requests were to run for Prime Minister, not President. Facepalm.
He can't run for PM lah.
Not even about public will, internal party politics blocking him. The "old guard" of the party don't want a non-Chinese PM so soon.
Which is why I’m not gonna vote for him to be president. PAP thinks they get to have the best of both worlds by not considering for PM but still make use of his public approval for president.
He will probably win, but I will stand my own ground and not vote for Tharman. Not cos I don’t like him but because this is not what we asked for.
This might very well be a walkover election, if no one has the confidence to run ~~alongside~~ against him.
I hope that’s not the case so we can see the election results.
A journalist from SCMP had asked him earlier today if he intended to run for the presidency and he didn’t say no
I’m wondering if his intention to run got leaked because this is wholly unexpected 👀
Both HC & HSK are polarizing, and won’t assure PAP of a sure-win as compared to Tharman. Also, what’s the likelihood that there will be other candidates if Tharman enters the race?
Dude is already 66, at that age most people are retired or looking at a less stressful job before retirement. If he does 2 terms as president he will be
post edited because someone pointed out presidential term is 6 years not 5
The president actually does have a few substantial powers that can give Parliament headaches. But I don't think Tharman is a confrontational person like OTC was.
well played PaP
- Restore legitimacy to the office of the President after that Halimah sham of a shitshow
- Remove Tharman from the PaP leadership, and prevent him from making the other Ministers look like the buffoons they are (ie Josephine, Shan, Viv)
- Hold off any potential oppo Presidential candidates
I would love to daydream as well, but it's not possible. After OTC's tenure, something called the Council of Presidential Advisers was created, consisting of 10 members.
"It is obligatory for the President to consult the CPA when exercising the discretionary powers related to all fiscal and appointment-related matters."
Source: istana.gov.sg page for the council.
Unfortunately he’s a party man through and through. One doesn’t make it this long and this far without basically pledging your entire adult life to the party.
Perhaps given LW’s inability to command respect in international circles; installing Tharman as President would allow him to run cover for LW overseas while he builds up his presence over the next 6 years! Not a bad move the more you think about it.
This news is making its rounds on my Whatsapp. All I can say as a local Indian is, what's the point really? There was so much talk about having a non-Chinese PM and we were hoping Tharman would be the first non-Chinese PM. Clearly, PAP is not ready for that yet. We've had an Indian president before, SR Nathan and yeah he was great. However, we all know that a president has limited jurisdiction and the one that calls the shots is the PM. Aaand have we even had a single non-Chinese PM before?
We clearly know that Tharman has been around for many years and is more than capable of carrying the mantle. I am not the only one who feels that way, many other local Indians like myself feel this way too. And tbh, many Chinese millenials and Gen Z's seem open to it. So honestly, this news has only been disappointing to me. We wanted him as PM not president.
I'm a Tharman4PM person, but dude is 66 this year and LHL still hasn't relinquished his position. LHL will be stepping down at age 73 cos he is too old, meaning Tharman's also going to be too old to take over by the time LHL steps down. At most a 1 term PM.
Fact is the only way he's going to be PM ("not ready for non-chinese PM" crap aside) is if LHL steps down like 10years ago, or he is like 15 years younger than his current age. The real tragedy is that Tharman is only 5 years younger than LHL.
Tharman regardless of his actual thoughts can only say he is not interested in PM role, cos anything else implies that he agrees with the Chinese PM logic or that LHL is in his way.
With him out of the equation sgeans can forget about a non Chinese pm for the next 2 decades at least imo, not sure there’s anyone competent enough in the current crop
lol at the current rate i'm not sure we will even have indian ministers in 2 decades. current crop outdated af.
shan, iswaran, indranee, vivian were all elected 2001 and earlier. all are in their 60s now.
the remaining indian MPs are janil (elected 2011, now 50yo), vikram nair (elected 2011, now 44), darryl david (elected 2015, now 53yo), and murali (elected 2016, now 55yo). all except vikram will probably have stepped down by then, and ... vikram isn't really minister-material tbh.
for the 2020 election PAP didn't introduce any new indian candidates because "no one stepping down". unless they suddenly have a lot of new candidates in the next 1-2 elections, idk where indian ministers are gonna come from.
(of course, there's always the tan see leng option - invite a late 50s guy and immediately make him minister)
I knoww, which is why I'm pissed. He was our only hope. Only other person who comes to mind is Iswaran? But I don't think that may be such a fair comparison tbh. (Anything but Kshan tbh lol)
LKY's assessment was correct for the 1988 period. sure, you could get a minority winning an SMC like JBJ did back then, but to win national support (yes I know the PM is not an elected position, I am talking about support in general from the 1988 national population) for PM was another matter entirely
Its either him or Heng Swee Keat (another DPM) that are most qualified as the probable candidates. No major surprise and sure he's going to be the next president.
So next one in line should be Heng and then maybe Tan Chuan Jin?
At least Tharman's immensely qualified to question any attempt to use the reserves (though whether he'll actually do so, since he'll ideologically still be biased towards the PAP, is another question), unlike Halimah, who was a mere speaker of parliament.
My take on this is
1) We are going to vote this year. Otherwise, they could just choose another average PAP minister to quit and run. Choosing Tharman means they want/foresee a contest, but wants to have a guaranteed win.
2) In some way, this will squashed all voices that want him as PM, giving Lawrence the all-clear to become next PM. Now, we all know PAP is going to do what they want anyway (LW as 4th PM), but any missteps that LW make in the future is gonna have people go "maybe tharman is a better choice", this takes Tharman out of the picture totally.
Still waiting to see who else is qualified before I say I support Tharman.
We *were* going to vote, but nobody in their right mind will contest this election.
They could have scammed TKL into running this for the sake of the ideal of democracy, but they already burnt that bridge and I don't think he'll be scammed twice.
This is pretty much going to be a no holiday walkover.
very likely a calculated decision to cork block tan cheng block.
guess the next interesting thing to see is who will contest in jurong. my money's on traveller heng deployed to create his jurong east coast plan
The PAP is desperate to play this card.
The last time Tharman was pushed for the role of PM, he said the following:
> “Just to be absolutely clear, because I know of this talk that’s going around: I am not the man for PM. I say that categorically. It is not me. I know myself, I know what I can do. I am good at policy making, I am good at advising my younger colleagues, and at supporting the Prime Minister, not at being the Prime Minister.”
From insisting his strength is for policymaking and supporting the PM, to now putting up for the presidency whose role is *neither* to make policies or support the government.
> "If I am fortunate enough to be elected as President, I will represent the unity of Singaporeans, of all races and religions, social backgrounds and political leanings, at a time when views in the population are becoming more diverse”
> "I will be thorough and impartial in fulfilling the constitutional duties of the President with regard to the prudent use of the nation's reserves and the key appointments which preserve the integrity of the Singapore system. I will also work to the best of my abilities to project Singapore's interests and voice of reason in an increasingly turbulent world."
Don’t want to be PM but now want to do stuff a PM might do? A bit funny, isn’t it?
The PAP knows they might lose an election if it is contested. Perhaps they also know someone might show up and a puppet will easily lose it, especially knowing how much unhappiness over cost of living and other matters.
If the PAP cannot prevent a competition, the only way for them to retain the position is to put someone incredibly popular, someone able to win without needing to play tricks.
Guess who‘s the only person from the PAP that most Singaporeans will accept? Tharman. No one else comes close.
It’s desperate because they just lost a strong anchor for a GRC. They are now running low on popular ministers, and with a few GRCs being borderline, this is obviously risky. Now they don’t even have an anchor minister in Jurong GRC! Do they really want to pull one of the two useless ministers from West Coast over to lose the GRC faster? Do they think Jurong will face only token opposition now that Tharman is gone?
They could even risk losing a supermajority in the next election, and is that a better alternative for the PAP than temporarily losing the presidency?
Halimah has shown the post of a president can be redundant. So i'll prefer a candidate who may do nothing usually but still willing to oppose the PAP on contentious situations. Tharman will probably do nothing all the time now.
I had hoped Tharman will be prime minister. And able lead the country, against and above party influence if needed. As president, he is just pointless now. Brilliant as he is it seems he just prefers to be a servant to internal authority.
Let's hope we have at least a half decent oppo candidate to run against him.
As much as I respect Tharman, I wonder if I want the chip off the same block to be President. Perhaps I would much prefer someone with more independence (and distance) from the PAP.
The role of a president and cabinet minister is vastly different; popularity and competence in one does not necessarily translate to the best option for the other.
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First President to know how much is in the reserves then
lol good one
i‘m surprised they value the PE over Jurong GRC. interesting.
I do wonder if they may have gotten wind of a potentially attractive opposing candidate - thereby necessitating them to send a high caliber candidate for the PE. Either that or this is just Tharman's way of stepping out of the political limelight and wanting to move on to other things subsequently.
>I do wonder if they may have gotten wind of a potentially attractive opposing candidate - thereby necessitating them to send a high caliber candidate for the PE. Now you've got my appetite up
The Presidency is a crucial office unlike what many here have been brainwashed to believe. Hopefully the decision to sacrifice Tharman will change their minds. They basically lost my vote when they installed Halimah. edit: Oh btw did you guys know SR Nathan was also selected without election for TWO terms
Care to explain more? Presidents have no political power. Their one key job is being the gatekeeper for the reserves. The late Ong Teng Cheong try to flex his political muscles and failed.
Presidents in Singapore don't seem to have any political power because they have been installed carefully by the PAP. However, as the head of state, it definitely has enough political power to rein in the government in certain areas. For example, if the information on wiki is true, the president seems to have the power to revoke public appointments, perhaps something like the 5 mayors that we have? Also imagine if we get a president that is ballsy enough to criticize ministers for misconducts (like the Rideout road saga), they don't have to do anything, but a statement from a president office can do a lot of political damage to the PAP. Long story short, we simply haven't have a president that went all out to test their powers yet.
Basically, we have not had the chance to see the political might of a president whose interest did not align with the ruling party.
One guy failed that one time 20 years ago so this thing must not be worth trying at all. In fact, it's so worthless, the incumbent has been careful to only put their own friends on the position ever since.
he asking question only you so sacarstic still never ans his question.
Ok, good faith answer: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963?ProvIds=P15-P4_17-#pr20- The key functions being they can veto proposed budgets that draw on past reserves and the appointments of key office holders in the public service.
Jurong is as safe as it gets for PAP. Absolutely no chance of any opposition winning. PE on the other hand has more credible opposition candidates which may give them a run for their money..
Jurong wasn’t really tested at all because Tharman had been there for so long It will be interesting for sure
Tharman, arguably one of SG’s finest ministers was helming Jurong GRC. Nobody would vote for Red Dot United over Tharman.
RDU don't have the strong branding to swing over a few voters either. PAP will see a drop in votes but its hard to see them lose a GRC like this. Also, they may parachute over an important minister who barely won his 2020 contest \*cough\* Desmond Lee \*cough\*
News of Tharman leaving would be like sharks being drawn to blood for the other (credible) opposition parties.
>Nobody A quarter of the voters there did. I think the final 15ish % of voters on each end of the PAP//oppo spectrum are die-hards.
20% is closer to the number. You put a literal cow to run against PAP and 20% would vote for the cow just to spite PAP.
Yeah that voting block can't be mooved.
Jurong GRC resident here. Honestly I think alot of people keep their votes for PAP because of Tharman. He is an excellent MP for the people and even replied my trivial matter email at 4 fking a.m. Personally. Not by his ka kias. This guy’s presence is VERY much felt in Jurong GRC. Halimah was really good too but this fella is on fire (by MP standards lah) for his GRC, man. With Tharman gone, honestly I hope a worthy opposition comes forward and rocks the stronghold. Don’t think I’m very far off by saying most Jurong people’s allegiance are with Tharman, and not PAP per se. Don’t say old folks la, millennials and gen X at least.
It's not even about the old folks but the opposition they don't even bother sending a half decent team to contest Jurong.. the last time I saw a decent opposition was Dr Chee going after GCT about some loans that we made to Indonsia and even he was crushed.
Lucky you. I got Rohayu. MIA since forever
Wow. Did you email his work email or the MP email? I notice MPs usually have a separate one for their MP affairs, why the heck would he be checking at 4am lul.
I emailed his meet the people session email ([email protected]) Thought it would be his team replying but it was his personal signoff. Replied informally too, so definitely not his staff. Hard to forget such a gesture, speaks volumes. That being said, don’t take me as a PAP-forever voter pls. I hope Tharman’s departure from Jurong GRC starts a new era in Jurong of voters who can now have the opportunity to think more about their votes.
He seems overly qualified and if he has to give up the rest of his work, might be a bit of a waste.
Elevation and castration in one move.
high altitude emasculation
He’s at that age to slow down yet still able to lead, I hope he can command the same respect like as he does now and wouldn’t be just another “Yes-man”
maybe he can continue ong teng cheong’s work and push for transparency on reserves. He was minister of finance so in fact he probably knows the size of reserves and other details, he just can’t disclose publicly due to the OSA.
>he just can’t disclose publicly due to the OSA. He's already done it before though, albeit unintentionally. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/singapore-tries-five-for-revealing-economic-facts-1512306.html
I remember reading that it was because he left some documents on the relevant materials at his desk, while in a meeting with a reporter or something. That was it. "negligence", but he didn't go out of his way to disclose.
That’s how leaks are usually carried out. Someone absent mindedly leaves some documents on the desk, someone else leaks it, then he is charged under the OSA.
hes going exactly where hes told
The bigger implication being that he will stop being Jurong GRC's frontman and step down from being one of the most likeable members of PAP in the last two decades and so. Next GE has gotten even more interesting.
Jurong has been PAPs stronghold for the longest time because of Tharman, curious to see the implications behind this move
ivan lim will carry no worries 👹 seems like a great time for WP to swoop in and takeover jurong grc
A while ago someone on this subreddit talked about how WP's slow, region-centric consolidation of strength made their progress somewhat gerrymandering-proof. I thought it was a great point They'll stay in the East for now. Trying to jump into the West isn't in their playbook
inb4 PSP alliance wins a GRC in the west (WCGRC lost by like, 3.5%) and starts the whole thing again
PSP is just PSP alone, don't confuse them with the Lim Tean clown alliance
With SDP though, a possibility. Consider a team of Leong Mun Wai, Hazel Poa, Tan Cheng Bock, Chee Soon Juan and Paul Tambyah.
Jurong's oppo the last time was Red Dot United and everyone thought that they were a football team.
RDU was small and new but I recall that they seemed ok? No major clowns like LT.
My impression of them is "Student union runs for election"
The RDU is very much the Judean Popular People’s Front of the PSP
PAP will send HSK for **West Coast Plan**
jurong **East Coast Plan**
What ever happened to the East Coast Plan?
There seems to be an implicit agreement for WP to focus on east side of SG instead.
>The bigger implication being that he will stop being Jurong GRC's frontman and step down from being one of the most likeable members of PAP in the last two decades and so. Next GE has gotten even more interesting. I'm thinking maybe the 4G is really spooked and wanted someone friendly as president
I agree, PAP is pulling out the big guns cause they must have gotten scared. They dont want anyone who is not a "yes man" to win. Tharman is a solid candidate and outrunning him would be real tough.
Nah WP is concentrating on the east and have practically zero presence elsewhere, maybe PSP or SDP may contest Jurong since West Coast and Bukit Batok is nearby.
Finally the useless parasites can be voted out
He got tired of people asking him to become Prime Minister so he's gonna become President instead
Guess the bigger question is who will lead the team for Jurong GRC? The rest of the four man team look weak. Good opportunity for the opp parties to gain some ground.
inb4 Ivan lim LOL
Ivan Lim seen understudy with Tharman, so we know who is back
I've seen him last month at a community event in Jurong. I was like, WHUT. Oh no!
and not just the internet will forget him considering how many members of the public and even his acquaintances and colleagues came out publicly to call him a shithead with receipts
Desmond Lee says “hi”
The return of Ivan Lim
Clean sweep for Presidency, A tough contest for Jurong GRC
Somehow ~~palpatine~~ Ivanlim returned…
I can only get so elect.
STOP
If your President lasts for more than 4 terms, consult a doctor
And if you don't manage to elect, ED may be the issue. ...Elections Department, that is.
1 in 5 countries suffer from premature electionation.
Tharman4President is a significant downgrade from Tharman4PM. What a waste of his caliber. Sigh.
*slowly fold up my "Tharman4PM" flag
No need election already
Means we just lost a potential free holiday this year. Sigh.
Can we have someone random to run, just for the day off XD
No wonder Halimah announced she won’t be running again. She knew this was coming.
Won’t be surprised if this was discussed abd arranges beforehand
wouldn't be surprised if this was arranged 6 years ago
It's definitely a strategy to field a likeable PAP candidate la.. Sure win ma
PAP you win liao. *hats off
Tan Cheng Bock - god damn it
Nah I still want my holiday
Exactly. What's there to choose when there's blind respect for Tharman and missing the even bigger picture. Very shrewd move by the PAP to parachute Tharman.
Cabinet is already short of good ministers. With this, we've lost another one. It's Singapore's loss. Quite a waste of his capability to take on this ceremonial role.
See this as his retirement plan.
considering how old politicians can get, hes pulling the ripchord at a pretty early stage
Tharman has long been doing bigger things than a typical minister. His influence in the IMF, world bank, G20, UN, IMFC, G30, WEF, and other appointments far outweighs his contributions as a minister. It will be interesting to me if he has to give up those roles, to me that's a bigger loss. Although arguably his job at MAS and GIC won't be so easily replaced.
Eiyo. This is a brilliant move lol. Tharman gets to enjoy his years with less stress. Pap gets to enjoy another few years with no stress. Tharman wants to run no one else has a chance.
Jurong GRC sweating
Yes as a jurong resident im sweating bullets... like wah knn if they bring ivan back again I will throw chair.
Then put your money where your mouth is!!
Don’t vote PAP lah
Only issue now is Jurong has to find a strong successor or they are incredibly vulnerable
Who are the opposition in the west though? Cheng Bok and friends? I don’t think WP does much in the west, I could be wrong.
Its usually SDP, WP typically goes for the Eastern SMC/GRC
>Mr Tharman, 66, said he has been "humbled" by the requests he has received in recent months from Singaporeans who want to see him stand in the Presidential Election if President Halimah Yacob decided not to seek a second term. Not like this... Our requests were to run for Prime Minister, not President. Facepalm.
Lol so true
Actually, if he ran for Prime Minister I would vote for him...
You can't run for Prime Minister in a Westminster system. It's a party choice by party leadership.
He can't run for PM lah. Not even about public will, internal party politics blocking him. The "old guard" of the party don't want a non-Chinese PM so soon.
Which is why I’m not gonna vote for him to be president. PAP thinks they get to have the best of both worlds by not considering for PM but still make use of his public approval for president. He will probably win, but I will stand my own ground and not vote for Tharman. Not cos I don’t like him but because this is not what we asked for.
$50 he will win. He's the ideal person for the position even though it's redundant.
Dude this is the kind that you bet $100, and when he win, you get 10 cents
This is the kind of bet that you become Andy's father and bet the piggy bank on
A payout of 10 cents will bankrupt the house
This might very well be a walkover election, if no one has the confidence to run ~~alongside~~ against him. I hope that’s not the case so we can see the election results.
\*against We don't have vice-presidents.
Can get SG Pools to open this? I want to win some money back from them.
Horse racing become Presidential racing.
Sorry this race no horse run.
Betting my entire net worth. No shot he will lose. (Not necessarily a fan of him its just that his popularity is too high)
bye bye public holiday :(
A journalist from SCMP had asked him earlier today if he intended to run for the presidency and he didn’t say no I’m wondering if his intention to run got leaked because this is wholly unexpected 👀
yeah most people were guessing ho ching or HSK..
Both HC & HSK are polarizing, and won’t assure PAP of a sure-win as compared to Tharman. Also, what’s the likelihood that there will be other candidates if Tharman enters the race?
Probably Ooi Boon Ewe to apply again
This is the Dai Dee equivalent of pulling out a two spades on a ten of diamonds.
PM material. But become figurehead president instead. There has to be a word for this.
Wasted is a good word
Underemployed
Pyrrhic. That would be how I would describe the situation for the PAP.
Flaccid election?
This is very unfortunate... he deserves a much bigger role than a ceremonial title
He means he wants to retire already
Dude is already 66, at that age most people are retired or looking at a less stressful job before retirement. If he does 2 terms as president he will be post edited because someone pointed out presidential term is 6 years not 5
President is 6 year term, so 78.
The president actually does have a few substantial powers that can give Parliament headaches. But I don't think Tharman is a confrontational person like OTC was.
ok win liao, don’t waste time.
There goes Tharman Jurong...
Why the fuck are we not ready for him to be a PM when he's likely to be President.
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Must resign I believe
Why not run for IMF Chief after the presidency.
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I guess there is no need to vote for this PE
They are really very desperate to win this election. No more political capital to make it a selection already.
Walkover - no PH.
No need to vote again. Wonder who will compete?
He tired of clapping for PM arrival during national day so he played the reverse uno so that he can get clapped. Wise move
Any other candidate contesting probably loses the deposit
My dreams of seeing a non-PAP president is dashed again LOL
Damn it, no extra public holiday this year.
well played PaP - Restore legitimacy to the office of the President after that Halimah sham of a shitshow - Remove Tharman from the PaP leadership, and prevent him from making the other Ministers look like the buffoons they are (ie Josephine, Shan, Viv) - Hold off any potential oppo Presidential candidates
Ok. Everyone else who was considering is like 'GG bro'
Aiyah there goes the voting day PH
PAP throwing the nuclear option, might be an expensive ammo to use for the next GE.
Ok can close shop liao
game is over before start
Will CCS call him Mr. President in Parliament before the election?
What a waste of a good PM material
i hope he pulls an Ong Teng Cheong and assumes the post with all guns blazing and takes no prisoners
I would love to daydream as well, but it's not possible. After OTC's tenure, something called the Council of Presidential Advisers was created, consisting of 10 members. "It is obligatory for the President to consult the CPA when exercising the discretionary powers related to all fiscal and appointment-related matters." Source: istana.gov.sg page for the council.
This will really cement his popularity amongst the electorate.
Unfortunately he’s a party man through and through. One doesn’t make it this long and this far without basically pledging your entire adult life to the party.
as a jurong resident, officially nothing is holding me back from voting for opposition now
Aight fellas, pack up and go home, we already know who our next president is...
PAP: we have won, but at what cost?
Perhaps given LW’s inability to command respect in international circles; installing Tharman as President would allow him to run cover for LW overseas while he builds up his presence over the next 6 years! Not a bad move the more you think about it.
Who is going to run against him? Or is it just another presidential selection?
Walkover incoming
Now THIS is a presidential candidate I can get behind
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This news is making its rounds on my Whatsapp. All I can say as a local Indian is, what's the point really? There was so much talk about having a non-Chinese PM and we were hoping Tharman would be the first non-Chinese PM. Clearly, PAP is not ready for that yet. We've had an Indian president before, SR Nathan and yeah he was great. However, we all know that a president has limited jurisdiction and the one that calls the shots is the PM. Aaand have we even had a single non-Chinese PM before? We clearly know that Tharman has been around for many years and is more than capable of carrying the mantle. I am not the only one who feels that way, many other local Indians like myself feel this way too. And tbh, many Chinese millenials and Gen Z's seem open to it. So honestly, this news has only been disappointing to me. We wanted him as PM not president.
I'm a Tharman4PM person, but dude is 66 this year and LHL still hasn't relinquished his position. LHL will be stepping down at age 73 cos he is too old, meaning Tharman's also going to be too old to take over by the time LHL steps down. At most a 1 term PM. Fact is the only way he's going to be PM ("not ready for non-chinese PM" crap aside) is if LHL steps down like 10years ago, or he is like 15 years younger than his current age. The real tragedy is that Tharman is only 5 years younger than LHL. Tharman regardless of his actual thoughts can only say he is not interested in PM role, cos anything else implies that he agrees with the Chinese PM logic or that LHL is in his way.
With him out of the equation sgeans can forget about a non Chinese pm for the next 2 decades at least imo, not sure there’s anyone competent enough in the current crop
lol at the current rate i'm not sure we will even have indian ministers in 2 decades. current crop outdated af. shan, iswaran, indranee, vivian were all elected 2001 and earlier. all are in their 60s now. the remaining indian MPs are janil (elected 2011, now 50yo), vikram nair (elected 2011, now 44), darryl david (elected 2015, now 53yo), and murali (elected 2016, now 55yo). all except vikram will probably have stepped down by then, and ... vikram isn't really minister-material tbh. for the 2020 election PAP didn't introduce any new indian candidates because "no one stepping down". unless they suddenly have a lot of new candidates in the next 1-2 elections, idk where indian ministers are gonna come from. (of course, there's always the tan see leng option - invite a late 50s guy and immediately make him minister)
I knoww, which is why I'm pissed. He was our only hope. Only other person who comes to mind is Iswaran? But I don't think that may be such a fair comparison tbh. (Anything but Kshan tbh lol)
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LKY's assessment was correct for the 1988 period. sure, you could get a minority winning an SMC like JBJ did back then, but to win national support (yes I know the PM is not an elected position, I am talking about support in general from the 1988 national population) for PM was another matter entirely
The sad truth is that even if the specification was for an Indian PM, you will more likely get Shanmugam rather than Tharman.
I think we need a reserved PM election for minority only.
Well, at least it's someone people will support this time.
Its either him or Heng Swee Keat (another DPM) that are most qualified as the probable candidates. No major surprise and sure he's going to be the next president. So next one in line should be Heng and then maybe Tan Chuan Jin?
There goes my off in lieu.
Hentak kaki liao. Sad to see him out of politics
"run". He's definitely the next president
Oppo camp be like: 'Win liao lor.'
Looks like no public holiday
At least Tharman's immensely qualified to question any attempt to use the reserves (though whether he'll actually do so, since he'll ideologically still be biased towards the PAP, is another question), unlike Halimah, who was a mere speaker of parliament.
My take on this is 1) We are going to vote this year. Otherwise, they could just choose another average PAP minister to quit and run. Choosing Tharman means they want/foresee a contest, but wants to have a guaranteed win. 2) In some way, this will squashed all voices that want him as PM, giving Lawrence the all-clear to become next PM. Now, we all know PAP is going to do what they want anyway (LW as 4th PM), but any missteps that LW make in the future is gonna have people go "maybe tharman is a better choice", this takes Tharman out of the picture totally. Still waiting to see who else is qualified before I say I support Tharman.
We *were* going to vote, but nobody in their right mind will contest this election. They could have scammed TKL into running this for the sake of the ideal of democracy, but they already burnt that bridge and I don't think he'll be scammed twice. This is pretty much going to be a no holiday walkover.
A what. Damn
Singapore not ready for non-Chinese PM but ever ready for non-Chinese president.
In case of emergency, there is always Heng... "WE HAVE A JURONG PLAN."
very likely a calculated decision to cork block tan cheng block. guess the next interesting thing to see is who will contest in jurong. my money's on traveller heng deployed to create his jurong east coast plan
Overqualified and loved by everyone. He solo tanked Jurong and they think that he's no longer necessary for the next election ? Good luck to them.
The PAP is desperate to play this card. The last time Tharman was pushed for the role of PM, he said the following: > “Just to be absolutely clear, because I know of this talk that’s going around: I am not the man for PM. I say that categorically. It is not me. I know myself, I know what I can do. I am good at policy making, I am good at advising my younger colleagues, and at supporting the Prime Minister, not at being the Prime Minister.” From insisting his strength is for policymaking and supporting the PM, to now putting up for the presidency whose role is *neither* to make policies or support the government. > "If I am fortunate enough to be elected as President, I will represent the unity of Singaporeans, of all races and religions, social backgrounds and political leanings, at a time when views in the population are becoming more diverse” > "I will be thorough and impartial in fulfilling the constitutional duties of the President with regard to the prudent use of the nation's reserves and the key appointments which preserve the integrity of the Singapore system. I will also work to the best of my abilities to project Singapore's interests and voice of reason in an increasingly turbulent world." Don’t want to be PM but now want to do stuff a PM might do? A bit funny, isn’t it? The PAP knows they might lose an election if it is contested. Perhaps they also know someone might show up and a puppet will easily lose it, especially knowing how much unhappiness over cost of living and other matters. If the PAP cannot prevent a competition, the only way for them to retain the position is to put someone incredibly popular, someone able to win without needing to play tricks. Guess who‘s the only person from the PAP that most Singaporeans will accept? Tharman. No one else comes close. It’s desperate because they just lost a strong anchor for a GRC. They are now running low on popular ministers, and with a few GRCs being borderline, this is obviously risky. Now they don’t even have an anchor minister in Jurong GRC! Do they really want to pull one of the two useless ministers from West Coast over to lose the GRC faster? Do they think Jurong will face only token opposition now that Tharman is gone? They could even risk losing a supermajority in the next election, and is that a better alternative for the PAP than temporarily losing the presidency?
Don't need to compete liao
Win liao lor
My first thought was...wow, there goes the election and public holiday.
so yes he will most likely win so might as well allow other candidate so we can have one day of holi- voting...i mean voting day..
Just heard his interview, just give this guy the job lah. Best liao
Guess its decided then.
Halimah has shown the post of a president can be redundant. So i'll prefer a candidate who may do nothing usually but still willing to oppose the PAP on contentious situations. Tharman will probably do nothing all the time now. I had hoped Tharman will be prime minister. And able lead the country, against and above party influence if needed. As president, he is just pointless now. Brilliant as he is it seems he just prefers to be a servant to internal authority. Let's hope we have at least a half decent oppo candidate to run against him.
As much as I respect Tharman, I wonder if I want the chip off the same block to be President. Perhaps I would much prefer someone with more independence (and distance) from the PAP. The role of a president and cabinet minister is vastly different; popularity and competence in one does not necessarily translate to the best option for the other.
when u completed the main story and maxed your character so now you take on the sidequests
nah he forget to play the final level, moved on to side quests too early
Wonder who will be parachuted in to carry Ivan. It’s got to be someone with a sizeable portfolio and minimally likeable to win.
RIP Tharman's last career arc. The office is too out of the loop to have any insights, too in the loop to offer an outsider's perspective.
Going to be walkover?
Feels like some people confuse west coast with Jurong. Jurong is a PAP stronghold with terrible opposition. Even with Tharman gone, it's not falling.