2023 Singapore Presidential Election: Will Khaw Boon Wan Be The Establishment’s Choice?

It is not too early to talk about the next Presidential Election due in 2023 which is not that far off. Will Dr. Tan Cheng Bock contest again? And who will be the establishment’s candidate for the 2023 Singapore Presidential Election?

Dr. Tan Cheng Bock, founder of the Progress Singapore Party and former PAP MP for Ayer Rajah, will be 83 years old by then. Will he be too old?  Without going into whether he intends to run again and whether he will be eligible according to whatever new constitutional requirements and so on, he should not be seen as too old, provided he is still in good health. There would be a fair amount of sympathy votes which may make him a strong contender, as he has been seen as having been “robbed” of a second shot in 2017 following his near-election in 2011.

For now, however, let us focus on the establishment’s favorites. Of course, as they say, in politics, two years is an eternity. But, in this transition period in Singapore’s political history, with younger leaders taking over and older ones stepping down, some pieces are falling into place. The picture is getting clearer.

We are undergoing our version of Japan’s amakudari – “descent from heaven”, the institutionalized practice where Japanese senior bureaucrats retire to high-profile positions in the private and public sectors. In this case, we are looking for one to occupy the top of the pyramid.

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The pool of potential candidates for the next presidential election is not small. Former top civil servants? Why not Lim Siong Guan, the former head of the Civil Service? Why not indeed?  He is currently an advisor to the Group Executive Committee of GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. He was Group President of GIC from 2007 until his retirement at the end of 2016. Eminently eligible. Former Cabinet ministers? Plenty. Ex-ministers – George Yeo, Lee Boon Yang. Current ministers who may be stepping down – Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Teo Chee Hean. Also, a number of the members of the Council of Presidential Advisers would be suitable, if willing to step out of the shadows into the public spotlight.

The two factors that I believe to be critical in the selection of candidates are an impeccable public service record and totally sealed lips when it comes to the actual amount of Singapore’s reserves or sovereign funds. 

Tharman and Teo cannot be ruled out. 

Teo should be a good president. He even looks presidential. But does he want it? 

Tharman is better off somewhere where his expertise as an economist can be further tapped. The World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund beckons. He can continue to serve Singapore’s interests outside the country.

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I narrowed the top potential Presidential candidates to three. 

Lim Siong Guan is a strong possibility.

Ho Ching, PM Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, coming with her Temasek background, will be another potential candidate – if not 2023 then 2029. 

But the person who has caught my eye recently is Khaw Boon Wan.

I see him as a national and public servant par excellence. 

He did a good job containing SARS. He rescued the MRT from a massive mess created and left behind by incompetent incumbents. He was sent to oversee the transition of SPH. 

And, unexpectedly, the public learned that he was even responsible for overseeing the selection of Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as the PM-designate. 

He seems to be someone that the top national leadership trusts completely and is always ready to serve.

No reason why he cannot be the next establishment candidate for PE2023. None whatsoever.

Time to change MRT seats to face the front

A train ride, Singaporeans are finding out, may not be such a great way to get to work. It is getting too crowded and, as a study showed, maybe a reason people prefer to work at home. I agree.

People are more likely to want to return to their workplaces rather than continue logging in from home if MRT trains are, firstly, less crowded and, secondly, journey times are shorter. This was the finding of a Nanyang Technological University study published in Travel Behaviour and Society – a journal of the Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies – in January, according to a Straits Times report.

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For longer journeys, I often prefer to take a bus. Our buses are getting better and if you can find a quiet corner in a double-decker, they offer a far superior ride than being cooped up and hurled right and left in the MRT trains with their face-to-face seats rather than front-facing seats found in trains in other developed countries. 

Tan Bah Bah, consulting editor of TheIndependent.Sg, is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a local magazine publishing company.

 

Read also:

PE2023: Will Tan Kin Lian be a Goliath slayer? – Singapore News

PE2023: In the race, Lim Hng Khiang? Or Khaw Boon Wan? – Singapore News 

PE2023: Have a real contest or simply make it an Endorsed Presidency – Singapore News

PE2023: Let there now be a good contest between Tharman and someone we know quite well too – Singapore News

PE2023: Restore integrity of the presidency, let’s have a real fight this time – Singapore News