Unless you have been living under a rock, if not hor you would have heard the news that Tharman Shanmugaratnam has expressed his interest in running in the upcoming Presidential Election!
President Halimah says she has decided not to stand for re-election
Here are the things you need to know about Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who can potentially be the next President of Singapore.
1. Who is Tharman Shanmugaratnam?
Tharman Shanmugaratnam has been Senior Minister in Singapore, after serving as Deputy Prime Minister for eight years from 2011 to 2019.
He is also the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, and advises the Prime Minister on economic policies. Concurrently, he is also the Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Tharman has spent his working life in public service, in roles principally related to economic and social policies.
Besides serving as Deputy Prime Minister, he was Minister of Finance for nine years and Minister for Education for five years.
Experience gao gao ya.
2. Why is Tharman Shanmugaratnam so popular?
According to a Blackbox online survey commissioned by Yahoo Singapore in 2016, 69% of all 897 respondents said they would support Tharman to succeed PM Lee as Singapore’s next Prime Minister.
Maybe because Tharman was sibei passionate about helping workers bah. In case you didn’t know hor, he was the man behind various national schemes to support workers in Singapore.
For example, the Jobs Credit Scheme during the global financial crisis, the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) to uplift the low-wage workers, the Special Employment Credit to support older workers, and also the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) to help companies manage their labor costs, while still allowing employers to retain, develop and train workers.
He has also led the SkillsFuture programme, which was launched in 2014, with the aim of developing skills of the future, and opportunities for life-long learning and job upskilling among Singaporeans. He subsequently chaired the tripartite Council for Skills, Innovation and Productivity (CSIP) until May 2017.
In addition, Tharman is also the Chairman of Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute (OTCi) since 2002, and an advisor to several unions such as the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU) and the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees Union (SISEU) over the years.
In 2017, Tharman was awarded the Medal of Honour at National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)’s May Day Award for his contributions in improving the lives of Singapore workers. Tia gong this award is the labour movement’s highest award and not suka-suka anyone can receive one ya.
Shortly after the announcement, NTUC and Labour Chief Ng Chee Meng said that they “strongly support” Tharman’s intention to stand in the presidential election. Noting that Tharman has been a “longtime friend” of NTUC and the union leaders, Ng added that Tharman’s vision and wisdom, coupled with a certain unassuming sense of warmth and humility, has benefitted union leaders and workers far and wide in the past few decades.
So hor, if he is not the Prime Minister of Singapore, becoming President also very good lah!
3. How old is Tharman Shanmugaratnam?
Tharman Shanmugaratnam was born on 25 February 1957. This means that he is 66 years old this year. Lucky lucky!
4. How many people are there in Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s family?
Married to Jane Yumiko Ittogi, a lawyer by background, who is now actively engaged in social development initiatives. She is also a Chinese-Japanese descent.
Tharman and his wife have one daughter and 3 sons together.
So there you go, he has 1 wife and 4 children. 6 people in his family!
5. What is his education background?
Born in Singapore, Tharman attended the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) before graduating from the London School of Economics (LSE) with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
In 2011, LSE awarded him an Honorary Fellowship.
He subsequently obtained a Master of Philosophy degree in economics from the University of Cambridge, and a Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, where he received a Lucius N. Littauer Fellow award for his outstanding performance and potential.
6. How long has he been in politics?
Tharman made his political debut in the 2001 general election. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC.
After the 2001 election, Tharman was re-elected to Parliament four times at subsequent general elections in 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2020.
That means he has been in politics for 22 years at the time of this article.
7. What was he doing before he entered politics?
Before entering politics, Tharman started his career at the MAS, where he became its chief economist.
He later joined the Singapore Administrative Service and served in the Ministry of Education as Senior Deputy Secretary for Policy, before returning to the MAS where he eventually became its Managing Director.
In 2001, he resigned from MAS to contest in the 2001 general election as a candidate for the People’s Action Party (PAP).
8. What is Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s social media handle?
You can follow him on his Facebook here.
But alamak, he don’t have Instagram or TikTok yet.
