Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Indian-origin becomes the 9th President of Singapore

(Credits : NDTV)

Singapore – Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Indian-origin has become the 9th President of Singapore. In the election for the President, he defeated 2 candidates of Chinese origin. Tharman got 70.4%, Ng Kok Song got 15.72% and Tan Kin Lian got 13.88% votes. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore congratulated Tharman.

After the victory Tharman said, “I have been deeply privileged to serve you in many ways over the decades – working on the ground as well as shaping national policies for a fairer and more inclusive society, and flying the Singapore flag high internationally”. On the other hand, the defeated and angry Tan Kin Lian said, reinstate the old way of election instead of Singapore election, which means the President is elected by Parliament. (This shows that Chinese will never accept the success of India or people of Indian origin. – Editor)

Tharman is the first President of Indian-origin elected by general public and third Indian-origin President of Singapore. In 1981, Deven Nayar was elected President by the parliament. Nathan worked as a President for 11 years, from 1999 to 2011. He had achieved unopposed victory. Since 1991, general public elects the President by voting.

(Credits : WION)

About Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Born on February 25, 1957, in Singapore, Tharman is a multi-generational Singaporean of Tamil ancestry from the 19th century. One of three children, Tharman is the son of Emeritus Professor K. Shanmugaratnam, a medical scientist known as the “father of pathology in Singapore”, who founded the Singapore Cancer Registry and led a number of international organisations related to cancer research and pathology.

(Credits : Mothership.SG)

Tharman is married to Jane Yumiko Ittogi, a Singaporean lawyer of mixed Chinese-Japanese ancestry, who is actively engaged in social enterprise and the non-profit arts sector in Singapore. The couple have one daughter and three sons.