Former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob will grow to be Singapore’s first Malay president in over 47 years after the Elections Department (ELD) said on Monday (Sept 11) that just one person was eligible for the inaugural reserved presidential election.
Of those that submitted application forms, just one person received each an eligibility certificate and community certificates, ELD said in its statement, which didn’t name the person.
Madam Halimah can be the eighth president of Singapore and the primary woman head of state. Term Officer, Energy Market Authority chief executive Ng Wai Choong will declare her elected President on Wednesday, nomination day, if her nomination papers are correct.
Former President Tony Tan’s six-year term expired on August 31, and JY Pillay – chairman of the President’s Council of Advisors – has been acting President since September 1. There can be no vote and Madam Halimah will begin her term as president on Thursday.
The ELD stated that the Social Commission issued three Malay Community Certificates while the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC) selected to issue one Certificate of Eligibility.
He added: “PEC and the Department of Elections will not, in the first instance, publish the names of rejected candidates or the reasons given. This is intended to implement the Constitutional Commission’s recommendation that undisclosed candidates should not be disclosed to the public in order to reduce the risk of potential candidates being discouraged from participating in the elections.”
However, an applicant who has rejected an application may publish the explanations given to him, ELD added.
In Marican’s case, the PEC expressed satisfaction that he held a top senior management position at Second Chance and was primarily answerable for the management and conduct of the corporate’s business and operations. However, his company’s equity – which averaged around A$258 million over the past three financial years – was “well below” the required minimum of A$500 million.
“The Commission was unable to satisfy itself that (Mr. Marican) had experience and skills comparable to those of a one who served because the CEO of a typical company with at the least $500 million of equity capital and who satisfied Article 19 section 4 letter a) the Constitution within the scope of such service,” stated the PEC.
Similarly, over the past three financial years, Mr Khan’s company’s equity was within the range of S$254.3 million to S$263.25 million. In a press release, Khan said he accepted the selections taken by the PEC and the Community Committee. He thanked his family and fans for his or her “tremendous support.”
“Unfortunately this just isn’t the case. Nevertheless, it was a very important journey and an ideal experience. Although I’m disenchanted with the Committees’ decision, it’s going to not stop me from continuing to serve residents. As before, I’ll proceed to serve to one of the best of my ability,” he added.
Marican also thanked his family and supporters and said he would “proceed to serve Singapore in other ways”. He said: “I am disappointed that the commission did not see fit to grant me permission to stand in the presidential elections. However, this does not mean that my work to help my fellow Singaporeans is over. My team and I will regroup to see how the effort to help our disadvantaged sisters and brothers progresses.”
This 12 months’s presidential elections were reserved for the Malay community following changes to the presidential election program adopted by parliament in November last 12 months. The changes allow elections to be reserved for a selected ethnic group that has not had an elected representative for five consecutive terms. President Yusof Ishak was the primary president of Singapore and the one Malay to carry the office until his death in 1970.
Source: TODAY
