Former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has the background to be the President who will be best for Singapore, former GIC group president Lim Siong Guan said on Jul. 26.

Tharman has a "sharp and agile" mind, listens carefully and understands situations, he said.

Responding to why he chose to be Tharman's assenter and not Ng Kok Song, whom he also worked with

Lim had known Tharman for 25 years, first starting in the Ministry of Education. When Lim moved on to GIC, Tharman had already become a Cabinet Minister and was on the GIC's Board of Directors.

Speaking at a press conference for Tharman's presidential bid, Lim responded to a question by Mothership about why he had chosen to be an assenter for Tharman, given that he had also worked closely before with another presidential hopeful, Ng Kok Song.

Ng is the former Group Chief Investment Officer of GIC.

In response, Lim said that this had nothing to do with speaking against Ng, whom he had worked together with "for a very long time" in GIC.

He added, "We have to get candid in terms of the strength and the knowledge and the experience that they bring."

"(Every voter will have to) make our choice according to what we consider best for our futures," he said.

Tharman is capable of working with people "at all levels"

Lim said that when Tharman first entered politics, he was unsure if he would succeed as there are many "bright minds" who find it extremely difficult to relate to ordinary people.

However, his doubts were removed once he saw what Tharman was able to achieve at the grassroots level.

This convinced him that Tharman was able to work with people at all levels. "No doubts whatsoever," Lim said

Singapore is best off with a President who can work in a helpful manner with the government

Lim elaborated that Singapore is best off with a president who understands the complexities of government and can also work with the government in a helpful manner.

This is not just a matter of looking at proposals from the government and turning them down or approving them, but talking about the future of Singapore as a whole, he said.

This means looking at where Singapore stands in the international community, examining international relations and also how international space can be created for the country.

On the domestic front, this means understanding the domestic situation and being able to provide for the needs, interests, hopes and aspirations of Singaporeans.

Ng Kok Song's bid is good for Singapore

Lim added that he thought it was good of Ng to put himself forward and described him as a "great professional in his own sphere".

It is good for Singapore to have competition and a slate of well-qualified candidates from which they can pick the best, he elaborated.

Lim said:

"I think it's very good to have several candidates, because you begin to see people with different capacities, different capabilities, and you begin to think a lot more deeply about what's important for Singapore.

Going forward, what's the kind of government, what's the kind of President you think will best serve, to deliver the kind of Singapore we all look forward to."

Top photo by Mothership