Heft of Tharman Shanmugaratnam may deter others from contesting Singapore Presidential Election

Hello.

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the first to throw his hat in the ring for Singapore’s upcoming presidential election. On Thursday, Mr Tharman declared his intention to step away from a 22-year political career and serve in a role above politics.

But his heft may deter anyone else from contesting, says the Institute of Policy Studies’ Dr Gillian Koh. An uncontested election could rob Singapore of the opportunity to strengthen the legitimacy of the office.

As one race heats up, interest in another has cooled. The Singapore Turf Club will hold its last race in October 2024, marking the end of almost 180 years of horse racing in the country and leaving many in the racing community in shock. The Turf Club closure was a long time coming, says sports writer Mathew Scott.

The racecourse site will be handed back to the government in 2027 and redeveloped into public housing and other uses. Could land taken up by golf courses also be put to better use? Mogul.sg property expert Nicholas Mak looks at what other types of real estate are under-utilised and ripe for redevelopment.

We hope you enjoy the selection of commentaries this week.

Charlene Tan

Editor, CNA Commentary

Snap Insight: Heft of Tharman Shanmugaratnam may deter others from contesting Singapore Presidential Election

While Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is well-qualified for the role of Singapore President, a contest, if it happens, could reinforce the legitimacy of the office, says Dr Gillian Koh of the Institute of Policy Studies.

Temasek’s punishment over FTX sets unrealistic expectations for investing

Punishing the FTX investing team at Temasek sends an implicit signal to all Singapore investors that nothing short of perfection is ever going to be good enough, says David Kuo of The Smart Investor.

Appalling employee behaviour reflects airline woes, not just attitude problems

From China Southern Airlines to Cathay Pacific, airline employees have been caught making unacceptable remarks about their passengers. Given soaring air fares, you may ask yourself why you’re paying more for worse service, says London-based journalist Jacky Leung.

Pay transparency can be an effective employee retention tool for Singapore companies, but it is not a comprehensive solution on its own, say HR leaders Aslam Sardar, Dr Fermin Diez and Carmen Wee.

What do Singapore voters want from their elected president?

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has announced he intends to run for the presidency which will be held within the next three months. What exactly is the role of the President, why is the bar set so high in Singapore, and what do voters want from candidates in an open election? Steven Chia gets answers from Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, Felix Tan, associate lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University and Nur Ridhuan, a business analyst who will be voting for the first time.

Preparing ourselves against the phenomenon of tiredness of life in old age

With more attention paid to mental health issues over the years, there are things we can do now to guard against feeling tired of life in the future, say Singapore University of Social Sciences’ Sng Hock Lin and Valerie Ng.

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