Presidential hopeful Tharman Shanmugaratnam officially launched his presidential bid at York Hotel in the afternoon of Jul. 26.

Besides his wife, Jane Ittogi, he was accompanied by his public supporters: one proposer, one seconder, and eight assenters.

As part of the official election process, the latter 10 people will need to accompany Tharman when he delivers his nomination papers and certificates to the Returning Officer on Nomination Day.

Tharman's supporters, as he put it, are leaders "in all walks of life", including Banyan Tree founder Ho Kwon Ping, acclaimed filmmaker Royston Tan, and ex-inmate-turned-pottery-artist Kim Whye Kee.

Here's what you need to know about the people lending their support to Tharman's presidential bid.

Proposer: Thomas Chua Kee Seng

Thomas Chua Kee Seng will be filling in the role of proposer for Tharman's presidential bid.

Chua, 68, has served as president of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations since 2021, and is also an honorary president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

In addition, he was a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), serving two terms across the 12th and 13th Parliaments of Singapore (2014-2015, 2016-2018).

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Nanyang University in 1979, he started working as a management trainee in Teckwah, which was founded by his father Chua Seng Tek. He became Managing Director in 1989, and was appointed to Chairman of the Board in 2002.

Seconder: Mohammad Alami Musa

Acting as Tharman's seconder, Mohammad Alami Musa, 67, was President of Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) from September 2003 to August 2021.

A veteran diplomat, Alami has served as Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria for 10 years now.

He is also Head of Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Alami graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree in 1979 from the University of Singapore and joined the civil service as an engineer in the Ministry of Environment in 1981. He received his Master of Science (Civil Engineering) from National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1987.

He was awarded The Long Service Medal in 2005 and the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2010.

Assenters (in alphabetical order):

Hassan Ahmad

A distinguished humanitarian, Hassan Ahmad, 52, has performed aid work in Afghanistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, and China.

He has taken up leadership positions in numerous humanitarian organisations. He served as CEO of Mercy Relief twice, once from 2003 to 2006, and another term from 2008 to 2013.

He currently acts as a special advisor to the international humanitarian relief organisation, Humanity Matters.

Hassan holds a Higher Honours degree in Law from the United Kingdom, and has headed various original analyses for United-Nations-endorsed publications on sustainable development and risk management.

He has been approached by private companies and foundations to spearhead their humanitarian efforts as well. He helped set up the Lien Foundation's regional humanitarian arm, Lien Aid, in 2006.

In 2013, the construction firm HSL Constructor approached Hassan to help look after its corporate social responsibility portfolio. Together, they established the Corporate Citizen Foundation (CCF), where Hassan served as technical advisor and executive director.

Tharman, then Deputy Prime Minister, delivered a speech during CCF's launch in 2014, which can be found here.

Ho Kwon Ping

Banyan Tree Holdings Founder and Executive Chairman Ho Kwon Ping, 70, was once in Forbes' Singapore's 50 Richest Net Worth List.

Born to a diplomat father and an author mother, Ho spent his schooling years in several countries, including Singapore, the U.S., and Thailand.

An accomplished businessman, Ho serves as executive director of three companies: Banyan Tree Holdings, Laguna Resorts and Hotels, and Thai Wah Public Company.

He was also the former Chairman of the Singapore Summit, an event which brought together global executives and thought leaders to discuss international developments and their impact on economic growth, financial markets and industries.

Beyond his corporate portfolio, Ho is also a leader in Singapore's education sector. In 1997, he accepted the government's invitation and became the Founding Chairman of Singapore Management University's (SMU) Board of Trustees — a position he kept until he stepped down in August 2022.

As a published author, Ho also has an interest in writing. working as a journalist before starting his business.

In 1977, while writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review, he was detained under the Internal Security Act and put into solitary confinement for two months.

However, in a later interview, he said he did not hold any resentment toward the late Lee Kuan Yew for it and even attributed his stellar university grades to his detainment.

Given his innumerable honours and awards, it's no wonder that Ho is highly sought-after for his opinions. He is constantly invited to conferences, organisations, and educational institutes to give talks on international relations, leadership, and the business world.

Ho is married to former NMP and entrepreneur Claire Chiang,

Kamsinah Sadar

Kamsinah Sadar is the current General Manager of Tasek Jurong and the former Executive Director of PERTAPIS.

After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Accountancy from NTU, Kamsinah initially worked as an accountant in the private sector, before furthering her studies at James Cook University by obtaining a Master's Degree in Education (Leadership and Administration) in 2007.

In 2016, she obtained a postgraduate diploma in Islamic Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). That same year, she joined PERTAPIS as its Head of Business Development.

She became Executive Director at Pertapis in April 2021 and stepped down in February 2022, moving on to fill the role of General Manager at Tasek Jurong.

In 2022, she received a postgraduate diploma in leadership and social change from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

Kim Whye Kee

Kim Whye Kee, 43, is a former-inmate-turned-pottery-artist whose colourful life story deserves its own movie.

He's been imprisoned several times for multiple offences: being a gang leader, drug consumption, and extortion.

In his third stint in prison, Kim was caned nine times, an experience he said was impossible to be adequately prepared for.

In prison, Kim picked up pottery as being an artist was a childhood dream of his.

Tharman, then DPM, invited the painter Henri Chen KeZhan to an exhibition within the prison complex. Out of all the inmates' works, Chen singled out Kim's work for its potential, and subsequently funded Kim's education at LASELLE College of the Arts, where the former inmate graduated with second-upper class honours in its Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts programme.

While in school, Kim volunteered at Tharman's Meet-the-People Sessions in Taman Jurong where he helped residents write appeal letters.

On Tharman's prompting, Kim got together a few fellow ex-inmates like lawyer Darren Tan and started an initiative they called "Beacon of Life", which Tharman funded in its early days. The initiative sought to befriend and nurture youth at the risk of drug abuse.

Today, Beacon of Life is run by Tasek Jurong, and Kim owns his own pottery business, Qi Pottery.

Mary Liew

Mary Liew, 60, has been serving as president of the National Trades Union Congress since 2015. She is also the first female general secretary of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union, a position she's held since 2013.

In addition, she served as an NMP from February 2012 to August 2014.

Liew has been part of various government agencies and tripartite committees, including the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the National Wages Council, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board, the National Job Council, and the Future Economy Council.

Liew was also the first woman from Southeast Asia to be elected into the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) as an executive board member. There, she previously represented the Asia Pacific region, and now serves as the ITF’s vice president.

Representing Singapore, Liew was elected as a deputy member of the governing body of the International Labor Organization representing the Workers’ Group since June 2014.

Lim Siong Guang

Lim Siong Guang, 76, is a big name among civil servants. After all, he was the head of the civil service from 1999 to 2005.

A veteran in public service, he was previously chairman of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), as well as the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the CPF board.

He and Tharman worked in the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) concurrently, where Lim served as Group President from 2007 to 2016 and Tharman was a Director from 2004 to 2023.

In 2005, Lim, as the chairman of the ACRA, was one of 3 members in the Presidential Elections Committee who reviewed the qualifications of the late former President S.R. Nathan in the 2005 Singapore President Elections.

However, despite his age, Lim questions the concept of retirement. In an interview with Mothership in 2016, when asked about retirement, this is what he said:

"I think all of us need to be occupied. It's not just a matter of filling up time, but a matter of feeling that we have time to do something good. Contribute to the lives of people, help people succeed, help people grow, help people become better."

Outside of his contributions to the public sector, Lim is active in both education and philanthropy.

Since 2006, he's been a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, instructing on leadership and change management, as well as a Senior Fellow of the Singapore Civil Service College.

He is also the founding chairman of Honour Singapore, a non-profit organisation dedicated to "promoting a culture of honour and honouring".

Royston Tan

Royston Tan, 46, is an award-winning Singaporean film-maker. His work usually focuses on social issues.

One of his most famous films, "15", was released in 2003 and dealt with issues such as juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, and teen violence.

In more recent times, Tan's movie "HIGH", released in 2020, was an interactive film -- viewers were able to shape the plot by making choices at important junctures of the movie.

His films have been nominated for numerous international awards, including Taipei's Golden Horse Award.

Tan is the Creative Director for this year's National Day Parade (NDP).

Veera Sekaran

Professor Veera Sekaran is a Professor in Practice at the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS.

His education at NUS was funded by the lawyer Haridass Ajaib.

With a strong passion for nature, Sekaran has taken numerous appointments pertaining to horticulture, including Assistant Curator of Horticulture for Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, and Curator of Horticulture at Changi Airport.

He has served as Assistant Director at the National Parks Board, as well as Temasek Advisor for Mandai Park Development.

He is no stranger to the limelight, being featured in 2018's NPD, and was featured as a finalist in The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2019.

In 2008, he started Greenology, a company that aims to reconcile "nature, people and cities" by "developing urban greening solutions and creating resilient urban environments".

As part of his promise to repay Ajaib's kindness, Sekaran uses his company as a platform for social work, by hiring former convicts and children with special needs, as well as providing dementia patients with horticultural therapy.

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Top photo from Hannah Martens