SINGAPORE: A bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu cognac that was signed by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was auctioned off for a hefty $38,888 at a charity dinner held at Jurong GRC, on Thursday (8 June) – hours after the veteran politician announced his plans to retire from politics to contest the upcoming Presidential Election.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam gripped headlines as soon as he announced his presidential aspirations on Thursday afternoon. That same night, he attended a charity dinner at the Ci Shan Tan temple. The dinner was attended by a crowd of 1,600.
According to the organiser of the event, who spoke to Channel 8 news, Mr Tharman arrived at the venue past 9pm and “everyone stood up to welcome him.” The organiser added that this type of welcome is given to Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam every year, not just because he is making a bid for the presidency.
Revealing that many people came forward to say hello to Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the organiser added that the ruling party politician has been attending such events for the past 20 years.
Mr Tharman reportedly delivered a speech on unity among Singaporeans – his first speech since he made his intention to run for President public. According to organiser Goh Peck San, who shared photos of the event on Facebook, Mr Tharman stressed the importance of unity among the people as Singaporeans are all on the same boat.
As part of the evening, Mr Tharman signed two bottles of Martell Cordon Bleu – a French cognac – to be auctioned off. One of the bottles, which normally goes for between $200-$300, was sold for a whopping $38,888.
Mr Goh said that the proceeds of the auction would go towards the Taman Jurong Education Fund.
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