Tag: Singapore

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Predictability, stability are assets for small states in a changing world: President Tharman

By Clement Tan | March 28, 2025 | The Straits Times

LUXEMBOURG – Singapore will need to stay predictable and stable, while building deep expertise in some areas, to thrive in a changing world rife with uncertainties, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

He was speaking to Singapore media towards the end of his six-day trip on state visits to Belgium and Luxembourg. Other than national leaders, he also met business leaders in Belgium from sectors ranging from offshore engineering to biomedical technology and sustainability, as well as financial sector leaders in Luxembourg. 

“One thing that comes across very strongly in all the conversations we’ve had is that it is critical for us, as small countries especially, to be predictable, to be stable, and to always hold to our side of the bargain,” President Tharman told reporters.

“Singapore is not the cheapest place in Asia to do manufacturing or build ships or anything else, but their companies are making investments for the long term, and for them, it’s predictability and trust in Singapore that brings them to Singapore,” he said.

The first state visits by a Singapore leader to Belgium and Luxembourg come amid significant shifts in the world, with the Trump administration upending longstanding US commitments to the post-Cold War order and imposing trade tariffs on its closest allies.

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Singapore braces for ‘partisan’ vote for president, guardian of its vast reserves

By Clement Tan | August 31, 2023 | CNBC.com

SINGAPORE – As Singaporeans prepare to head to the polls this Friday to elect their ninth president, the campaigning has so far tested the narrow confines of the presidential office — underscoring simmering disenchantment at the status quo.

A largely ceremonial role with a six-year tenure, the Singapore presidency is conferred limited powers. One of its key roles is to guard the wealthy Southeast Asian city-state’s reserves, which remain a state secret.

Observers say some Singaporeans seem to believe the president’s custodial powers over the reserves allows the person to weigh more muscularly on fiscal and monetary policy decisions.

Other issues underscored on the campaign trail so far include underlying unhappiness about the high cost of living, unaffordable public housing and debate about heightened competition for jobs with foreigners. A lack of accountability among lawmakers also came to the fore as Singapore’s reputation for incorruptibility was recently hit by a spate of political scandals.

“The contest that has developed so far reflects the competing and even conflicting visions of the presidency,” said Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University who is a former parliamentarian.

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To preserve social harmony, Singapore has racial requirements for its next president

By Clement Tan | Feb. 14, 2017 | Quartz

At a time when right-wing nationalism is seeing a resurgence globally, Singapore’s move to ensure minority representation may seem almost progressive in comparison.

The city-state could soon have its first female Muslim president, after the government rubber-stamped changes last week that would see only the country’s Malay, Muslim minority—making up about 15% of its 3.9 million resident citizens—eligible to stand at September’s election to choose its head of state, a largely ceremonial role.

But since Singapore gained independence from Malaysia in 1965, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has in fact relied on a plethora of race-based innovations to maintain racial harmony between its majority Chinese population, and the minority Malay-Muslim and Indian ethnic groups. The latest move to designate that the president must be a Muslim is seen as another one of these measures.

“The government believes they have to engineer multiracialism,” said Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at Singapore Management University. “They regard the election of a minority as head of state as an important testament of Singapore’s nation-building journey. Attaining that end justifies the means.”

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