黑料社

#NotMyPresident starts trending in Singapore after elections confirmed to be a walkover

Photo: Halimah Yacob / Facebook
Photo: Halimah Yacob / Facebook

Not as if we didn鈥檛 expect it, but Halimah Yacob will be Singapore鈥檚 next president 鈥 and the country鈥檚 first female head of state.

It鈥檚 news that doesn鈥檛 sit well with many; citizens weren鈥檛 even able to vote for a president after all. The former stalwart of the ruling People鈥檚 Action Party (PAP) was the only one who was certified by a committee to be qualified enough to run for office, ensuring an easy walkover come Nomination Day on Sept 13.

With Halimah having the , the two other aspiring candidates didn鈥檛 even stand a chance. Farid Khan and Salleh Marican were denied the opportunity to run for the reserved presidential elections, even though it was believed that the committee would let them have a fair chance at it, despite both .

Obviously, Halimah meets the qualifications. Having entered politics in 2001, she quickly rose as a Member of Parliament before later becoming a Speaker of Parliament in 2013 鈥 therefore being the only one聽that fulfils all the qualifications of聽a candidate in the public sector.

Since she announced her intention to to run, many have accused it of being a charade. The popular presumption is that the ruling PAP changed the playing grounds by mandating that the next president will have to be Malay, thereby preventing former presidential candidate Dr. Tan Cheng Bock from running again, especially since he very nearly beat PAP stalwart Dr. Tony Tan in 2011.

As of today, that presumption simply entrenched itself further, and there鈥檚 nothing anyone can do. Halimah Yacob will be president by default, and the PAP鈥檚 strength grows even larger 鈥 perhaps a聽timely reminder that the voices of Singaporeans don’t really matter聽when it comes to how the country should be run.

 

#NotMyPresident

Halimah Yacob
Photo: YouTube screengrab

Similarly, the outpouring of public disappointment has grown even bigger, especially on social media since the news broke. And not just because the absence of election deprived everyone of a official public holiday.

Harking to the days when Americans started the #NotMyPresident movement after Donald Trump became president, angry Singaporeans started using the same hashtag to make their frustrations clear. It鈥檚 already trending on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Other strongly-worded opinions have started to emerge as well:

 




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