Halimah Yacob
Halimah Binte Yacob (born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician. She is the incumbent President of Singapore after being elected in an uncontested election in the 2017 Singapore presidential election. She is the first female president in the country's history. Halimah won in an uncontested election, as no other presidential candidate was issued the Certificate of Eligibility. Previously a member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong GRC (situated from Bukit Batok East) from 2001 to 2015 and for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC (constituency of Marsiling) from 2015 to 2017. She was sworn in the following day becoming the second Muslim since Yusof Ishak in 1965. She was the 9th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore from 2013 to 2017, which she resigned to participate in the 2017 Singapore presidential election.
Early life and education
According to The Straits Times, Halimah is officially classified as an Indian Muslim as her father is ethnically Indian. She is also of maternal Malay descent. Her father was a watchman who died due to a heart attack when she was eight years old, leaving her and four siblings to be brought up by her mother.Her family was in poverty at the time of her father's death, and she helped her mother to sell nasi padang outside the former Singapore Polytechnic (now Bestway Building) along Prince Edward Road. Halimah was born at her family home on Queen's Street in Singapore, She was educated at Singapore Chinese Girls' School and Tanjong Katong Girls' School before she went on to the University of Singapore, where she obtained a Bachelor of Laws in 1978. In 1981, she was called to the Singapore Bar. In 2001, she completed a Master of Laws at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws by NUS on 7 July 2016.
Career
Before entering politics
Halimah worked as a legal officer at the National Trades Union Congress, and became the director of its legal services department in 1992. She was appointed as a director of the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies (now known as the Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies) in 1999.
Political career
Halimah entered politics in 2001 when she was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Following the 2011 general election, Halimah was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.[15] Following a Cabinet reshuffle in November 2012,[16] she became a Minister of State at the Ministry of Social and Family Development. She has also served as the Chair of Jurong Town Council. In January 2015, Halimah was co-opted into the PAP's Central Executive Committee, the party's highest decision-making body. At the 2015 general election, Halimah was the sole minority candidate for the People's Action Party group contesting the then-newly formed Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC. Halimah has spoken out actively against Islamic extremism, in particular condemning and disassociating from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Speaker of Parliament On 8 January 2013, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong nominated Halimah to succeed Michael Palmer as Speaker of Parliament following Palmer's resignation after he was revealed to have had an extramarital affair. She was elected Speaker on 14 January 2013, the first woman to hold the post in Singaporean history.
Trade union involvement
Halimah served at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as the Deputy Secretary General, Director of the Legal Services Department and Director of the Women's Development Secretariat. She also served as the Executive Secretary of the United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries. Halimah was elected as the Workers' Vice-Chairperson of the Standards Committee of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva from 2000 to 2002 and in 2005. In 2003 and 2004, she was the Workers' Spokesperson for the ILC Committee on Human Resources Development and Training.
2017 presidential election
While speaking during the debate on the Presidential Elections Amendment Bill on 6 February 2017, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing addressed Halimah as "Madam President" twice instead of "Madam Speaker", drawing laughter from the PAP MPs and leading to widespread speculation that Halimah would be the party's preferred candidate for the reserved presidential elections. On 6 August 2017, Halimah announced that she would be stepping down as Speaker of Parliament and MP of Marsiling–Yew Tee the next day to run for the presidency in the 2017 presidential election, which was reserved for members of the Malay community. She was widely viewed as the PAP's candidate for the election, and was endorsed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In an interview published on 11 August 2017, Halimah gave her views on the reserved presidential election. She said that it "shows we don't only talk about multiracialism, but we talk about it in the context of meritocracy or opportunities for everyone, and we actually practise it". Although some commentators have felt that the reserved election did not promote meritocracy, Halimah rejected that view, as she described, "All candidates have to qualify ... If we weaken eligibility criteria for those taking part in a reserved election, yes, then we are compromising meritocracy for representation. We are not - the same criteria apply to everybody". Regarding commentators who have questioned the lower qualifying bar for public sector candidates like herself, Halimah said, "It is an open, transparent system ... has been in place since 1991". On 25 August 2017, Halimah launched her official campaign website, including her campaign slogan "Do Good Do Together", which was criticised by many for being ungrammatical. She defended her slogan, explaining that it is meant to be catchy. In response to public queries whether Halimah broke election rules by campaigning ahead of the nomination day, the Elections Department clarified that its rule which forbids candidates from campaigning before close of nomination only applies to candidates who are nominated. Halimah's campaign expenses reached only $220,875 out of the $754,982.40 legal limit. Her expenses were used for promotional material, room rental, office supplies, food, transport and phone bills. Queries were also raised regarding Halimah's long affiliation with the PAP and perceived lack of political independence as she quit the party just one month ago to campaign in the election. Halimah responded by comparing herself to former President Ong Teng Cheong, who was also a PAP member before being elected. She also cited that she had abstained from voting in an amendment for the Human Organ Transplant Act in 2007. Former NMP Calvin Cheng suggested that Halimah does not appear to have the professional experience needed to manage the financial reserves. According to Publichouse.sg's estimate, her financial management involvement is only about $40 million, much less than the stringent $500 million shareholders’ equity requirement for private sector candidates. Being the only candidate to be issued a Certificate of Eligibility, Halimah became the eighth President of Singapore.] Tan Cheng Bock, a former presidential candidate, wrote that Halimah "will occupy the most controversial presidency in the history of Singapore. The Economist described her as "popular and able". She is also the nation's first female President and Southeast Asia's fourth female Head of State after Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines and Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia.
Reactions[edit]
Halimah's sudden resignation as sole minority MP in Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC has sparked calls for a by-election as the purpose of GRC is to ensure minority representation. The PAP government refused to hold a by-election, culminating in the filing of a lawsuit by Wong Souk Yee, a resident in the GRC. A hearing was set for 15 January 2018. On 13 September 2017, the Singapore Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in the High Court against the PAP government for refusing to call a by-election in Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC following Halimah's resignation from her post as the sole minority MP in her constituency. In a High Court hearing conducted on 23 January 2018, Wong's lawyer, Peter Low, argued that the Parliamentary Elections Act should be interpreted such that all MPs of the group representation constituency have to leave their spots when one or more seats are left empty, or when only one remaining MP is a minority candidate. He cited Article 49 (1) of the Constitution, which states that when "the seat of a Member… has become vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, the vacancy shall be filled by election" to support his argument. After the Elections Department announced that Halimah was the only possible candidate for the presidency, global media monitoring house Meltwater observed a significant increase in negative sentiment on social media surrounding the Presidential Elections from 11 to 12 September 2017. The data shows 83% of negative sentiment and 17% of positive sentiment. Following the announcement, a number of Singaporeans began using the hashtag #NotMyPresident on Facebook and Twitter to voice their disappointment. In response, The Straits Times reported that there was the use of #halimahismypresident by an "equally vocal group", urging "Singaporeans to rally round their next president". Halimah's decision to stay in her HDB flat at Yishun raised security concerns and was met with disapproval by netizens who highlighted the inconvenience caused by the Presidential motorcade as well as the additional cost in maintaining such security arrangement. On 2 October 2017, Halimah had accepted the government's decision to move her out of her Yishun flat to a more secure location. The government keeps track on the residence and security arrangements for her as well.
Presidency (2017-present)
Halimah was sworn in on 14 September 2017 as the 8th President at The Istana. Halimah made her first state visit as president to Brunei on 11 May 2018, where she witnessed the signing of a financial technology agreement and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to exchange information related to money laundering and terrorist financing between Singapore and Brunei. At the invitation of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Halimah was the first Singaporean head of state to visit the Netherlands since the establishment of relations between both countries on 7 December 1965.[59] The visit took place from 20 November – 24 November 2018. In September 2019, Halimah oversaw the signing of 8 memorandums with the Philippines, allowing Singaporean companies and small and medium-sized enterprises to expand in the areas of data protection, science and technology and skills training and development of human resources.
Advocate for gender equality
In 2019, Halimah advocated for companies to embrace gender equality, noting that it will increase innovation and business profitability during her speech at the Women's Forum Asia. She had also publicly voiced her views about a local podcast, Okletsgo, for their offensive remarks against women and asked the hosts of the show for an apology for their remarks.
COVID-19 response
In April 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, Halimah approved her in-principle for the government's request to draw S$21 billion from the past national reserves, aimed at subsidising wages of 1.9 million workers and preserving jobs and businesses. On 7 April 2020, the Supplementary Supply Bill was revised for the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets and the revised bill was asserted by Halimah on 9 April 2020. On 5 June 2020, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Second Supplementary Supply Bill for the Fortitude Budget, to allow for the government to draw an additional of S$31 billion from the reserves, aimed at securing employment for those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic as the country loosens restrictions after the circuit breaker. On 16 June 2020, Halimah assented to the Second Supplementary Supply Bill, which enacted the Second Supplementary Supply Act, to allow the government the additional requested funds to ease the effects of the pandemic. This marks the second time that the past reserves of Singapore were drawn in the financial year of 2020 and it was also the largest amount drawn from the reserves since Singapore's independence, with the funds totalling S$52 billion. She was the 2nd president to exercise the President's discretionary powers for this purpose, after President S. R. Nathan in 2009 for the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
Personal life
Halimah is married to Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee, a Malay of Arab descent, and has five children.] Halimah is a Muslim. After being sworn in as President, she was known to be the first President residing in a HDB flat. Her flat is a duplex in Yishun, consisting of one 5-room flat and one 4-room flat joined together by demolishing the median wall Halimah previously stated that she would not be moving out of her HDB flat during her term in office.On 2 October 2017, however, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that she would be moving out of the public housing apartment, due to security threats identified by security agencies from being the head of state.
7 Things You Never Knew About Halimah Yacob, SG’s First Female Muslim President
1. She's a strong advocate of mental health issues
It's no secret that Mdm Halimah has devoted much of her time and energy to supporting various social causes, from women's issues to helping the disadvantaged. That said, she's especially passionate about mental health issues, having served as the patron to Club HEAL (a local mental health organization) for several years. Fighting to debunk the stigma against persons with mental health issues, Mdm Halimah has even helped to establish two out of three of Club HEAL's rehabilitation centres, and also regularly goes out of her way to help those afflicted 💕
2. She's a little claustrophobic
All of us have our own fears, and Madam President is no different: she recently admitted in an interview that she's afraid of small spaces! In fact, once, when she was on a sleeper train travelling from Geneva to Paris, she was kept awake the whole night because the sleeping space was too small - it left her fearful that the walls would fall onto her.
3. The most difficult period for her was when her mother passed away in 2015
Citing her mother as one of themost influential people in her life, Mdm Halimah went through the saddest moments of her life when her mother passed away on Polling Day in September 2015. After spending the day before by her mother's side, Mdm Halimah had gone to the Polling Centre in Marsiling on the morning of September 11 when she received a call from one of her children informing her of her mother's passing. Understandably distraught, she spent most of the day privately with her family, overseeing the burial process and subsequently holding a religious ceremony. Remarkably, though, she pulled herself together and soldiered on through the day despite her thoughts being in disarray, joining her fellow candidates in greeting the media later that night. "If my mother was still alive, she would've reminded me of my responsibilities," she said of her decision, adding that it was her mother who has instilled her life's motto in her: "Work hard, don't let failure hold you back, and live moderately."
4. She nearly got expelled from secondary school
No stranger to adversity in her life, much of Mdm Halimah's childhood was spent helping her mother run her food stall when she wasn't occupied with her schoolwork. Between attending classes, studying, wiping tables and serving customers, though, exhaustion and fatigue weighed so heavily on her that she started cutting class regularly and almost got expelled for it. Eventually, it was one of her teachers' faith in her that spurred her on when she was told: "You could become someone great. I don't believe that you'll keep failing." The rest, of course, is history 😉
5. She wakes up at 5AM and exercises for 45 mins every day
Early to bed, early to rise: Mdm Halimah makes it a point to wake up at 5AM every day, a habit that she says her mother ingrained into her. In fact, her mother's own motto was: "If you don't wake up before the sun rises, then you're lazy." It's no wonder that Mdm Halimah herself has such an outstanding work ethic!
6. She's been breaking the glass ceiling since she started her career
She made headlines earlier this month upon becoming Singapore's first female Malay-Muslim president, but in all honesty, she's been breaking barriers ever since she started her career. Not only was she the first Malay-Muslim woman to become a Member of Parliament (MP), she was also the first female to hold the position of Speakerof Parliament. She even has her very own emoji! Undoubtedly, her successes have not come without criticism. When she first took office as an MP, she was regularly asked about who would take care of her children. Her response: upon gracefully pointing out that none of the male MPs were asked the same question, she stated that taking care of children is not solely a woman's responsibility -- it should be shared equally between husband and wife 😌
7. She and her husband had to save up for 8 months to buy their first sofa
Although the First Gentleman remains mostly out of the spotlight, Mdm President has often referred to him as her strongest pillar of support through thick and thin. University sweethearts who got married two years after graduating, things weren't always easy. The couple waited 5 years before purchasing their first flat together, and another 8 months before they bought their first sofa! Himself a businessman, the First Gentleman has also been lauded for reversing gender roles when he decided to work from home to take care of the couple's children in support of Mdm Halimah's busy and demanding career. Between her tireless commitment to social causes, her humility in leading a moderate lifestyle and her sheer resilience inthe face of hardship, Madam Halimah continues to inspire us from the bottom of our hearts. We're proud to call her our President! 😍
Outstanding Achievements
Meet Halimah Yacob, The First Female President of Singapore
Singapore made history this month when a Muslim hijabi was named its first ever woman president. Halimah Yacob, who was formerly the Speaker of Parliament for the city state, won the election by default after her rivals failed to meet the strict criteria for presidency.
This has somewhat tainted Yacob’s impressive achievement as the first woman to have ascended to the position, however, she has said that this will not change the way she plans to rule. “I promise to do the best that I can to serve the people of Singapore and that doesn’t change if there is an election or no election,” Yacob said according to Channel News Asia. Although the role of president is largely ceremonial, Yacob will have the power to veto certain key government positions and appoint a prime minister - the most powerful post in the country.
From humble beginnings
The 63-year-old politician comes from humble beginnings - she is one of five children raised by a single mother following the death of her father when she was a child. Determined not to let anything hold her back, Yacob studied law at the University of Singapore and became a legal officer for a trade union. She entered the political scene in 2001 and became the first woman Speaker of Parliament in 2013. “Given her track record and her commitment, there is no reason why Madam Halimah, as president, will not deliver on her pledge,” noted law professor Eugene Tan. “There are doubters of her legitimacy [but] we can trust that she will rise to the occasion.”
Ensuring no ethnic group is sidelined
This is the first election to enforce Singapore’s new law reserving the presidency for a certain ethnic group if they haven’t been elected for 5 continuous terms, or over 30 years. The law was created to ensure that a member of each ethnic group would have the opportunity to serve as president. Singapore’s population of 3.9 million is ethnically diverse - 74 percent are Chinese, 13 percent Malay, 9 percent Indian and 3.2 percent classified as other. The last time Singapore’s president was from the Malay minority was 1970, which is why they were the group chosen to represent the country during this presidency. “The process may be reserved, but the president is for everyone, is for all communities regardless of race or religion,” Yacob commented about the election process.
President Halimah Yacob hails athletes' 'incredible achievements' at major Games at Istana reception
SINGAPORE - More than 300 national athletes were congratulated by President Halimah Yacob on Wednesday (Feb 28) for their performances at the 2017 SEA Games and Asean Para Games in Kuala Lumpur and the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria. Addressing the athletes and officials during a reception at the Istana, she thanked them for flying the Singapore flag high at the three Games, as well as last month's Winter Olympic Games. The Republic's athletes recorded their best away haul at the August SEA Games with 58 golds, 58 silvers and 72 bronzes. A month later, the Asean Para Games contingent returned home with nine golds, 17 silvers and 24 bronzes - their biggest away medal haul. At the Special Olympics World Winter Games last March, Singapore won three golds, five silvers and three bronzes. On Feb 17, short track speed skater Cheyenne Goh also made history by becoming the first Singaporean to compete at the Winter Olympics, which took place in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 18-year-old finished fifth among sixth competitors in her 1,500m heat (28 out of 31 overall) and did not qualify for the semi-finals. Said Madam Halimah: "These are incredible achievements, and they were made possible because of your hard work, resilience and dedication. "You are an inspiration to other young aspiring athletes; a role model for your peers; and a source of national pride for all Singaporeans." She also thanked the coaches, national sports associations, officials, sport scientists and medical personnel for the support rendered to athletes. Noting that athletes are already gearing up for this year's Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Asian Para Games, the President wished them success, adding: "We will be cheering for you together as One Team Singapore."