Halimah Yacob will be sworn in as the new and first female President of Singapore on Thursday 14 September 2017.
While their “walk over” victory is indeed historic, it also came with a tinge of controversy. It’s ironic that she was predicted to be President, but with her victory, many find flaws in the process that saw the presidency fall effortlessly on its rounds.
With the disqualification of two of her competitors, Halimah was crowned the winner without elections being held.
In her speech, Yacob expressed her deep joy at the victory won and assured the people of fair and committed leadership.
“I am a President for everyone, regardless of race, language, religion or creed. Although there are no elections, my obligation to serve you remains the same. “
Halimah Yacob’s Bio/Personal Life
Halimah Yacob was born on August 23, 1954 to an Indian father and a Malay mother.
She came from a very poor family and her father was a security guard. He died when she was 8 years old. To this end, Yacob was raised by her mother.
She attended Singapore Chinese Girls’ School and Tanjong Katong Girls’ School. For her higher education, she studied at the University of Singapore, where she obtained an LLB (Hons) degree in 1978.
Yacob made it to the Singapore Bar in 1981. By 2001, she had completed an LLM degree from the National University of Singapore. Seven years later, she received an honorary doctorate in law from the NUS.
The top politician and academic is a wife and mother. Halimah is married to Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee, a pensioner of Arab descent. Together they have five children.
Political strength of Halimah Yacob
The subtle but vibrant Amazon has set a record in the history of Singaporean politics.
For 3 years until the time of the presidential race (August 7, 2017), she served as Speaker of Parliament. This made her the ninth Speaker of Parliament and the first woman to hold the position.
In the same vein, she has become the first ever female President-elect and subsequently first female President of Singapore. She is the second president of the Malay minority ethnic group. The first was 47 years ago with the late Yusof Ishak’s win in the ’60s.
Regarding women’s empowerment, Halimah said in her victory speech, “Any woman can aspire to the highest office in the country if you have the courage, determination and will to work hard.”
Halimah Yacob’s race
Singapore is known for a harmony of multiculturalism and diversity. The Asian country has a population of 5.5 million, the majority of whom are of Chinese descent. Regardless of the number, Singaporean authorities opened this year’s presidential contest to candidates from Malaysia.
Halimah is racially mixed but identifies with Muslim Malay ethnicity.
Presidential controversy
As the only contestant to receive the certificate of attendance, Halimah’s victory was as easy as it came with arguments.
Unlike the last presidential election, no votes were cast to determine this year’s winner. Citizens interested in exercising their civil rights were disappointed that their votes were not counted this time.
Some have suggested that this was a government-rigged strategy to “pick” a leader of their choice. They called it a slam on meritocracy as Halimah was awarded the win regardless of her ability.
Prominent businessmen like Salleh Marican and Farid Khan were denied a license because they failed to meet the equity ratio set by the government last year.
Both men’s businesses had no minimum of S$500 million (US$372 million).
Interestingly, Halimah didn’t have it either. Her only success was her service as Speaker of Parliament. Constitutionally, having served in a particular position in public office was an added benefit.
On the issue of limiting presidential seats for Malaysian candidates, some other critics have reason to believe it was done on purpose to block any chances of former presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock to resume campaigning.
The said political titan has been stiff competition for Tony Tan, the president who is about to surrender.
Family; husband, daughter
Halimah is married to Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee, a retired businessman of Arab descent whom she met as a student at the University of Singapore.
The couple have five children together; two sons and three daughters.
Brief information (salary, house)
Birth name: Halimah binti Yacob
Birthday: August 23, 1954
Place of Birth: Singapore
Occupation: politician
Salary: S$1.54 million annual salary
House: An apartment on Yishun Avenue. For security reasons, however, Yacob is said to have moved into a three-story detached house on Bournemouth Road.