Businessman Farid Khan may not be allowed to contest PE2017 after all

Businessman Farid Khan who announced his intentions to contest the reserved Presidential election this year may not be able to do so as he technically may not meet two requirements to be nominated into the race.

At a press conference held this week, 62-year-old Khan revealed that he is of Pakistani descent: “I am of Pakistani descent and my wife is of Arabic descent. Yet our family and relatives speak Malay and practise the Malay culture. So I am part of the Malay community.”

Although he was born in Geylang Serai and may consider himself Malay, the Presidential Election Committee may bar his nomination since the upcoming election is strictly reserved for Malays.

The only alternative that might allow Khan to contest in spite of this is if the Community Committee exercises its discretion to grant Khan a Community Certificate, certifying him as a Malay.

However, the new rule that private sector candidates have to helm a company with at least S$500 million in shareholder equity may pose a problem to Khan’s nomination as well.

Khan is the chairman of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific – a marine services firm with an equity of US$300 million, or S$415 million. Khan may only be able to qualify for the race if the Presidential Election Committee exercises its discretion to waive the S$500 million eligibility criteria for him.

Khan’s candidacy in the election that has been reserved for Malays has been trolled online, with netizens trolling that Muslims from other races should be able to contest if Khan is able to: