Ho Ching, the former CEO of Temasek and now chairperson of Temasek Trust, has sent her congratulations to president-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam after he secured a "clear mandate" from Singaporeans to win the 2023 presidential election.

She also gave a "huge vote of thanks" to all three candidates who ran in the election.

Her views were made known in a Facebook post on Sep. 1.

On Sep. 1, Tharman won the election by a landslide 70.4 per cent to be Singapore's ninth president.

The other presidential candidates Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian earned 15.72 per cent and 13.88 per cent of votes, respectively.

Thanking candidates for their 'courage'

Ho observed that many Singaporeans voted early and then went across the Causeway to Malaysia for a short holiday, taking advantage of the long weekend.

Her post also recognised Tharman's "personal popularity" to get a "clear mandate", and respected Ng's and Tan's "courage" to run in the presidential election.

Ho thanked the three men for their "courage in coming forward to offer themselves as candidates" and to have "provided Singaporeans a choice... in the face of the personal popularity" of Tharman Shanmugaratnam from the start.

Lauding Singapore's 'multi-racial meritocracy'

Ho also praised Singaporeans for upholding "multi-racial meritocracy", which she affirms as "one important core value of Singapore".

She wrote:

"Singaporeans and Singapore has also sent a strong signal to the world on one important core value of Singapore - that of multi-racial meritocracy in a multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-cultural Sg."

'Many more PEs to come'

Calling Singapore's presidency a "very young institution in a very young nation", Ho expressed her hope that aspiring candidates will still have the courage to campaign in future presidential elections, and that Singapore may "forever be an exceptional nation."

She wrote: "The candidates who come forward and how Singaporeans make their choice will shape the institution for better or for worse."

She also stressed that each president's behaviour and performance will influence the development of the presidency itself.

Ho's views on the presidency were made known previously in earlier posts.

Top image from Ho Ching and Mothership.