Skip to main content

First Woman Declared President In Singapore

Halimah Yacob has been declared Singapore’s eighth president on Wednesday after a “walkover” election that saw no vote after other contenders no longer ran for the position.

Mrs. Yacob, 63, had been the only candidate deemed eligible to stand in the country’s Elections Department, having held a key public position as Speaker of Parliament for three years.

The other two contenders, Salleh Marican and Farid Khan, were both denied eligibility, having fallen short of a constitutional rule that required any candidate from the private sector to have led a company with shareholder equity of at least 500 million Singapore dollars (372 million dollars).

Following the announcement, Yacob thanked her supporters in a speech, calling it “a proud moment for Singapore, for multiculturalism and multiracialism.”

Mrs. Yacob is Singapore’s first Malay president in 47 years, and the first woman to occupy the president’s office.

While some have applauded the historic moment, the election has also drawn public criticism due to what was seen as a lack of democratic process.

Mrs. Yacob addressed these concerns, saying “I am a president for everyone, regardless of race, language, religion or creed.”

The president is vested with the responsibility of overseeing the country’s national asset reserves but does not hold any of the executive powers of the prime minister or members of the cabinet.

Mrs. Yacob is expected to be sworn into office on Thursday.

The last Malay to hold the presidency was Yusof Ishak, whose image adorns the country’s banknotes.

Halimah Yacob

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Just In: Finally Buhari Is Dead

The baby, whose manhood was chopped off by his step mother in Niger State, Dauda Buhari, is dead. The Director General of Child’s Right Agency, Mariam Kolo, disclosed that Buhari died in Wada village in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state, after a brief malaria illness. Speaking with Punch, on Wednesday, Kolo said Buhari had “slight malaria which made his temperature to rise and he died even after he had been administered his prescribed drugs.” Kolo revealed that Buhari died at a time he was scheduled to undergo a genital transplant in the United Kingdom, UK. The DG said the sickness was not a relapse on his health, as he was doing extremely well after a series of corrective surgeries. Expressing sadness over the death of the baby who is now over a year old, Kolo said the case of the stepmother who is currently being remanded in the Old Minna Prison would be determined. Recall that Buhari’s step mother, Bara’atu Rabiu, had on June 18, 2016, cho...
5 comments
Read more

NANS REVIEWED THE CUT_OF MARKS THAT JAMB PEGGED

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to call for the scrapping of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) if it failed to reverse the low cut off points for admission into universities and polytechnics. JAMB had  reviewed the cut-off marks  for admission into tertiary institutions. The exam body​, ​alongside stakeholders​,​ had fixed the minimum cut off marks for admissions into universities at 120 and polytechnics and colleges of education pegged at 100. The stakeholders added that institutions were at liberty to raise their cut off marks for admission above the minimum set by JAMB. But NANS National Public Relations Officer, Bestman Okereafor, in a statement on Saturday said the body “will not hesitate to call for the scrapping of JAMB if the decision is not withdrawn without further delay.” “The national leadership of the apex students governing body, National Association of Nigerian Studen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coutinho submits transfer request

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has submitted a transfer request, hours after the Premier League club released a statement saying he is not for sale.CoutinhoCoutinho stated his desire to leave via email. The club rejected the request.On Wednesday, the Reds  rejected a 100 million euros bid  (£90m) from Barcelona for the 25-year-old, who is out of today’s  trip to Watford with injury.In a statement on Friday, the club’s owners said its “definitive stance” was that “no offers will be considered”.Speaking at an earlier news conference previewing the league match at Vicarage Road (12:30 BST kick-off), Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the Brazilian would miss the season opener because of a back problem.
Post a Comment
Read more