12-6-2023 (SINGAPORE) On Monday (Jun 12), George Goh, the founder of Harvey Norman Ossia, declared his intention to run for the Singapore presidency, becoming the second individual to step forward after Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
According to a statement from his media team, Mr. Goh will be running as an “independent candidate.”
“He has no political party affiliations – past or present. He has no political baggage. He was never in the public sector. He is an entrepreneur who started working at the age of 16, and has since built a business empire spanning 14 countries,” the statement mentioned.
Mr. Goh, renowned for bringing the Australian electronics store Harvey Norman to Asia, had been speculated as a potential presidential candidate in recent days.
The 63-year-old currently serves as the chairman of Ossia International, an investment holding company listed on the Singapore Exchange.
Married with four children, he is also a co-founder of the charity Border Mission and holds a council membership at the Red Cross Society, among other roles.
In 2017, he was appointed as Singapore’s non-resident ambassador to Morocco.
To ensure his independence and run for the Presidential Election, Mr. Goh submitted his resignation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Jun 9, as stated in the press release.
President Halimah Yacob’s six-year term will conclude on Sep 13 this year. The 68-year-old announced on May 29 that she would not seek a second term. She became Singapore’s eighth President and the first female President.
DECISION TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT According to Mr. Goh’s team, he made the decision to contest the election in 2017, following the adjustment of eligibility requirements for private sector candidates. The requirements were raised from helming corporations with at least S$100 million (US$75.6 million) in paid-up capital to corporations with at least US$500 million in share equity.
“He was concerned that the more stringent conditions might lead to another uncontested election, as was the case in 2017 with President Madam Halimah Yacob, a former Speaker of Parliament. Although there are 1,200 such companies, not many are helmed by citizens. Most would also rather remain ‘private’ citizens,” the statement explained.
“This time, the establishment has endorsed Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as its candidate. Mr. Tharman has been with the People’s Action Party since 2001. He is a long-time Cabinet minister and has, since his civil service days, been closely involved in public finance policies and institutions.”
Mr. Goh questioned whether Mr. Tharman was the right choice to become President, given his close alignment with the ruling political party.
“This is especially so, given the President’s role in checking the government in the two important areas concerned with the national reserves and key public office appointments. To maintain the integrity of the office, the President must not only be above politics but be perceived as such,” the statement highlighted.
It further emphasized that Mr. Goh possesses the financial and technical skills required to scrutinize the government’s financial records and considerable managerial and leadership expertise, acquired both domestically and internationally, to assess a person’s suitability for an important position.
“All four of Singapore’s past elected presidents were political appointment holders or from the public sector. It is time to have a truly independent person with a fresh perspective to fulfill the role the elected president was created for,” the statement concluded.
Mr. Tharman announced his candidacy for President last week, stating that he will resign from the People’s Action Party and retire from all his government positions.
The former Deputy Prime Minister expressed the importance of having a contested Presidential Election during a press conference on Sunday, stating that he would “much rather win or lose with a contest.”
Prospective candidates can apply for a Certificate of Eligibility from Jun 13, which is the initial step to enter the presidential race. They must also submit a community declaration.
