By all accounts, Tharman seems like a very decent man. He is absent the dismissive, obnoxious demeanor of Teo Chee Hean (Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security), the Mandarin entitlement posturing of Chan Chun Sing (Education Minister), or 2 combative rottweilers Indranee Rajah (Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development) and Grace Fu (Minister for Sustainability and the Environment) or fawning kings-in-waiting Lawrence Wong (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance) and Heng Swee Kiat (Dy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies). Tharman looks more like a stern bureaucrat than a politician.

As Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Tharman once made the anti-government statement that the policy of continual dependence on foreign labor is unsustainable. That certainly caught the attention of many in light of the extremely unpopular CECA, the Free Trade Agreement with India. A…

SINGAPORE: Having a contest for the upcoming Presidential Election is “important for me”, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Sunday (Jun 11) as he expounded on his decision to run for the Singapore presidency.

Political observers told CNA on Thursday after Mr Tharman announced his intention to run that having a strong candidate like him could have “drawbacks”, such as the election being a walkover as no one else may contest. 

They also noted that having another walkover would call into question the viability of an elected presidency. 

Madam Halimah Yacob became Singapore's President in 2017 after other potential candidates failed to qualify.

Responding to these perspectives, Mr Tharman told reporters on Sunday that he would “much rather win or lose with a contest”.