Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob will stand as a candidate at the upcoming Presidential Election 2017.
The 62-year-old announced her intention to run for president at the Marsiling National Day dinner held at Marsiling Mega Sports Park on 6 August 2017.
She added that she will tender an official letter of resignation to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to step down from her positions as Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP), which is required under the Singapore Constitution.
“It took me some time to think about taking part in the election. I see this as an important part of my public service; serving the people of Singapore. The post of president is an extremely onerous one with a heavy responsibility,” said Mdm Halimah.
The Politician
Mdm Halimah has been an MP since 2001. She first served as a Malay MP for Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) before joining Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC following the 2015 Singapore General Election.
She has prepared a plan to ensure she properly hands over responsibilities as MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee to the other MPs in her GRC.
Mdm Halimah also previously served as the Minister of State (MOS) in the Ministry of Social and Family Development until 2013, when she became Speaker of Parliament.
The Unionist
Aside from her political career, Mdm Halimah was also involved with the Labour Movement, with a career spanning over 33 years, from 1978 to 2011.
In her time with the Labour Movement, she held various positions such as director of the Women’s Development Secretariat (now known as Women and Family Unit), director of the NTUC Legal Services Department, executive secretary of the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries, and deputy secretary-general.
“I spent 33 years of my life in the Labour Movement. They are my backbone. I’ve gone to unions to ask for their support personally and they have said that they will support me,” said Mdm Halimah.
The Presidential Election 2017 will be reserved for Malay candidates after parliament passed an amendment to the Presidential Elections Act on 6 February this year.
