President Tony Tan has declared that he will not be standing in the next Presidential Election as it will be a reserved one for Malay candidates.
On Tuesday (8 November), President Tony announced his decision after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered the speech in Parliament on the Constitutional Amendments. PM Lee stated that the next Presidential Election due in 2017 will be reserved for Malay candidates, based on the hiatus-triggered model.
President Tony wrote, “As I said in my Presidential Message to Parliament yesterday, the institution of Elected Presidency has to stay relevant with time and our local context.”
He also stated that he looks forward to seeing a Malay President after 46 years. The first and last Malay president that Singapore has was the first President of the country, President Yusof Ishak.
President Tony noted that his priority remains unchanged, saying, “I will continue to focus on performing my current role as President as well as I can for the remainder of my term, strengthening community ties, and forging better international relations for Singapore.”
