Tharman hopes to be unifying figure for S'poreans

He feels time is right for him to serve in the role, and to keep the social compact strong

- Goh Yan Han and Natasha Ann Zachariah

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said he hopes to be a unifying figure for Singaporeans amid fundamental changes in the country and across the world, as he put himself forward on Thursday as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

Mr Tharman said he felt that the time was right for him to serve in the role, should he be elected, and to keep the social compact strong.

"The president has to be a unifying figure at a time that people have more varied preferences and even more varied politics," he said.

He was speaking to the media outside Taman Jurong Community Club on Thursday, about three hours after he had announced his decision to resign from the Government and the People's Action Party on July 7 to stand in the upcoming election. His wife, Ms Jane Yumiko Ittogi, was also with him at the media doorstop event.

He had submitted his letter of resignation on Thursday to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who had accepted it.

Mr Tharman said it had been a difficult decision to make as he was very comfortable being a policymaker. "But I think we are entering a fundamentally different era," he noted.

Apart from changes within Singapore as the population and electorate mature, the world is now set up for crises - economic crises or pandemics, which are going to keep coming - as well as geopolitical conflict, he said.