As President Halimah Yacob's term comes to an end, she reflected on her role in her office, guarding the reserves and serving as Singapore's chief envoy.

On May. 29, President Halimah announced that she would not be running for a second term in the upcoming 2023 Presidential Elections.

Interview with Straits Times on her experience as president

In an interview with the Straits Times (ST), published on Jul. 30, President Halimah shared about her duty safeguarding the reserves, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Halimah shared that it was a "very rigorous process" as there were many discussions that took hours and numerous meetings with different ministries.

However, she noted that while the discussions were "robust" and the process was "rigorous", everyone knew they had different roles to play and was "professional about it", ST reported.

"My role is not to checkmate the government. No, my role is not that," President Halimah said.

"My role is to make sure that our reserves that are released are used in a manner that is meant for our national interests."

Honour and privilege to serve

She previously wrote in a Facebook post that it was a great honour and privilege to serve as the eighth President of Singapore, an experience that had been inspiring and humbling.

She called the role a "key institution" in Singapore's democracy, and an office that unifies the nation by embodying our shared values and aspirations as a people.

"The unifying role of the Presidency, working closely together with the Government to safeguard Singapore's future, has always been critical to our nation's success," she wrote back in May 2023.

Presidential hopefuls and issue of independence

Three presidential hopefuls have announced their intention to run for the upcoming presidential elections in 2023.

Each of them have expressed their views on the issue of the "independence" of the president.

"Most important is independence"

Businessman George Goh shared his thoughts on independence in an interview with Mothership on July 12.

Goh, chairman of Ossia International, spoke about his focus on his own campaign, to do his job well, and to make sure he can "carry out the work independently."

"Any other people come forward, they have to do one check. Whether they have political alliances in the past. For me, I don't have," Goh said.

"Above politics"

Another presidential hopeful, Ng Kok Song, former chief investment officer of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, emphasised that he had never been affiliated with any political party nor had he ever been a political figure.

Thus, he felt he would be a good candidate for an independent president who was "above politics".

"Singapore needs a president who is independent of any political party in order to safeguard the integrity of our institutions, both in fact and in public perception," he said.

"Integrity and independence of mind"

During the launch of his presidential bid on July 26, former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam emphasised that he held on to his integrity and independence of mind throughout his life.

"Now that I'm out of the government, if I'm fortunate to be elected as president, of course I'm no longer bound by collective decisions.

But I'm the same person. I don't have to change my colours like a chameleon. I'm the same person with the same integrity and the same independence of mind. That remains critical of the role of the President."

Top photos via MCI