Yishun Avenue 4 will no longer be home to Madam President Halimah Yacob.

In a press release on Oct. 2, 2017, President Halimah will be moving out of the estate in the north, citing security challenges.

A Ministry of Home Affairs press release said the security recommendation is for the president to move and she has agreed to make arrangements to move out to a new place soon.

The new location was not disclosed in the press release.

This is the statement in full:

MHA has conducted a careful assessment of the security arrangements for the President. It has informed the President that the security agencies face several challenges in ensuring her security and protection, if she continues to stay in her current home. MHA has therefore strongly advised the President to consider moving to another place. This will enable the agencies to ensure her safety and security with greater assurance.

President has accepted MHA’s security recommendation. She will make arrangements to move to a new place soon.

Yishun too public, perhaps

Although not elaborated in full, some of these concerns were previously speculated on. These include the high visibility of the president's movements on a daily basis and the ability to keep track of her whereabouts as a result.

The media, both mainstream and alternative, had previously portrayed President Halimah's Yishun Avenue 4 residence as no hindrance to her neighbours -- apart from the sight of the sizeable entourage of security vehicles to escort her to and from her home.

But what is certain is that President Halimah has been subjected to significant fanfare since getting sworn in on Sept. 14, as she was seen on video greeted by regular Singaporeans waiting at her void deck to cheer her on as she left for work in the morning.

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No other president has lived in the Istana since Yusof Ishak

While the Istana is the official residence of the President of Singapore, none of Singapore presidents have ever lived in it, except Yusof Ishak.

Benjamin Sheares, Devan Nair, Wee Kim Wee, Ong Teng Cheong, S R Nathan and Tony Tan all lived in their own private residences.

This leaves President Halimah with the distinction of being the second Malay president in Singapore to live in the Istana -- if she moves in.

This was after she was sworn in as the eighth president of Singapore after a highly controversial walkover, due to a non-existent presidential election initially reserved for Malay candidates, but where no other candidate qualified to run.

Update:

President Halimah has posted an update on her Facebook page:

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