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Tag: President

  • Halimah Yacob Does Not Confirm Running For Elected Presidency

    Halimah Yacob Does Not Confirm Running For Elected Presidency

    With eight constituencies and many invitations from different organisations to break fast, Madam Halimah Yacob said her days have been packed all the way till Hari Raya, and time with family has been hard to come by.

    The mother of five children, all in their 20s and 30s, said she is thankful her family “accepts” her schedule.

    “I’ve broken fast at home on only a few days, all the rest of the days have been out,” she said.

    She was quick to add that she does enjoy breaking fast outside, particularly with her residents.

    Madam Halimah said that sometimes she does not even have time to have a proper meal between events.

    During such moments, she shared that she slips into nearby mosques “incognito”.

    “The good thing is that every mosque here provides something to eat, so it’s quite interesting to break fast and then perform my maghrib (evening) prayers before I go off to my event,” she said.

    In 2015, on Polling Day, Madam Halimah’s mother died as she was doing her rounds. This year will be the second Hari Raya that she will be celebrating without her, but it never gets easier.

    Said Madam Halimah: “What I miss about mum is her presence. Sitting there, she used to sit on the sofa, just having her there would mean tremendous comfort because she’s been the pillar of strength for me all the while.”

    Hari Raya is not just a time to celebrate family, but to also remember the loved ones lost, as she pointed out.

    With a laugh Madam Halimah said: “I cook lontong for breakfast every Hari Raya morning. So the children have asked me this year if I am going to cook and I told them I will see how.

    “But no lah, I will make it this year, every year I will cook it.”

    Other than lontong, Madam Halimah is looking forward to having time for herself this festive weekend.

    “That’s the wonderful thing about Hari Raya, at least the first two days will be off limits,” she said.

    When asked if she sees herself becoming busier in the future, on account of the upcoming presidential election which she is widely rumoured to be considering, Madam Halimah laughed, reiterating that she had a lot on her plate.

    “I’ve been very busy actually. My time is really packed and, of course, in Parliament as Speaker the last few years have been very packed,” she chuckled.

    “Our Members of Parliament have been pretty active filing motions and so on, so that has kept me pretty busy.”

     

    Source: www.tnp,sg

  • Farid Khan Kaim Khan, Chairman Of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, Said To Be Mystery Presidential Candidate

    Farid Khan Kaim Khan, Chairman Of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, Said To Be Mystery Presidential Candidate

    The mystery candidate said to be considering running for the Presidency is Mr Farid Khan Kaim Khan. He is the chairman of marine service provider Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific.

    Four men were at the Elections Department on Friday (June 16) to collect application forms for a potential presidential candidate they declined to identify. They would describe him only as a Malay/Muslim man in his early 60s, who is a chairman at a multinational company.

    But sources told The Straits Times that the man in question is Mr Farid, 62. They said he is giving serious thought to running for president but has yet to make a decision.

    He has been working at Singapore-based Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific for more than 10 years and is married with two children.

    The firm, which employs about 800 workers in the region, is part of French company Bourbon, which has more than 10,000 employees.

    Mr Farid is also the director of several other entities, including Greenship Holdings, which is also in the marine sector.

    One of the changes for the upcoming presidential election states that private-sector candidates must have run a company with at least $500 million in shareholder equity, to qualify automatically.

    The Straits Times understands that the shareholder equity of Greenship Holdings is about US$200 million (S$277 million), while that of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific is more than US$300 million.

    When contacted, Mr Farid declined to comment.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Getting To Know A Potential First Gentleman – Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee, Husband Of Hlimah Yacob

    Getting To Know A Potential First Gentleman – Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee, Husband Of Hlimah Yacob

    In this series of looking at our future president spouse, we take a closer look at Madam Halimah Yacob’s husband – Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee.

    After all, Madam Halimah Yacob is widely speculated to become the next president of Singapore.

    Americans joked that the male spouse of an American head of state should be called “First Dude”, “First Lad” or even “First Mate”

    A theoretical Mdm Halimah as Singapore’s president would make her the first female president of the country and her husband the ‘First Gentleman’

    “First Gentleman” or a “First Lady”, they accompany our Presidents to key state or diplomatic events, and are arguably, an important face of Singapore as well.

    So who is this Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee?

    University sweethearts.

    Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee graduated from the University of Singapore. He was Mdm Halimah’s university sweetheart and they got married two years after she graduated.

    He was a physics major.

    Determined and humble

    They were hopelessly in love but poor. He never believed in borrowing money just to make their lives better. As a result, the first flat that they moved into was spartan and un-renovated. They started with a rented room and then lived with relatives.  Together with the love of his life by his side, they eventually managed to save up enough to buy a five-room flat in Tampines for $75,000.

    He never forgot his roots and still lives in a HDB house with Mdm Halimah today. Together they have five children in steady succession.

    Strong family values

    Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee enforced the importance of communal living and taking care of elders to their children.

    30 years ago, he and Mdm Halimah bought two adjacent five- and four-room flats in Yishun, and knocked down the dividing wall so that the family can be even closer together.

    In his household, everything is family-sized and common property. The idea of sharing is very important. In a 2013 interview, Mdm Halimah shared that in their household, “You do not buy things just for yourself. You buy things to share with everybody.”

    He took care of his mother and lived under the same roof until she passed away in 1999. His mother-in-law too lived with them until recently, she passed away in 2015.

     

    Tri-lingual and a singer!

    Mr Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee is talented. Well versed in Malay and English, he could also sing well in Tamil!

    The pillar behind Mdm Halimah success

    Madam Halimah is a ground person. She never relies on official feedback channels alone but keeps her ears planted to the ground so that she can understand her residents better and help them in whichever way she can. Even back in MSF, she would visit voluntary welfare groups at least twice a week to find out their problems in implementing policies.

    Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee acts as the support pillar in her life. He is extremely proud of his wife achievements and never fails to give her  moral support and make time to accompany her to grassroots events and functions.

     

    The Singaporean Identity

    Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee promotes the Singaporean identity and yet takes pride in his own ethnic background.

    (Mr Mohamed and Mdm Halimah at an Arab association achievement awards ceremony)

    Alhabshee is an Arab family name and Singaporean Arabs have a history that stretches all the way to the island’s modern founding by Stamford Raffles.

    Even though they are a relatively small community, they have made prominent contributions to the country. The majority of the Arabs in Singapore are Hadhramis tracing their ancestry from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula called Hadhramaut, which is now part of the Republic of Yemen. Some of the more famous Arab families includes the Aljunied (al-Junayds), the Alsagoff (al-Saqqāf), and the Alkaff (al-Kāf) families.

    Assuming Mdm Halimah runs for the Presidency, will we be seeing Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee portrait up in the halls too, alongside Madam Halimah Yacob?

    Your pick.

  • Future First Lady Series: Getting To Know Mrs Maria Marican, Wife Of Presidential Hopeful, Salleh Marican

    Future First Lady Series: Getting To Know Mrs Maria Marican, Wife Of Presidential Hopeful, Salleh Marican

    In the first of our Future First Lady series, we take a closer look at the women who stand beside our Presidential hopefuls. Now, Singapore may not have an Office of the First Lady, but their roles are crucial, nonetheless. They accompany our Presidents to key state or diplomatic events, and are arguably, an important face of Singapore as well.

    We start with the wife of Second Chance CEO Salleh Marican, Mdm Sapiyah Abu Bakar. Mr Salleh Marican announced his intention to contest the election last week and collected his application forms from the Elections Dept yesterday on 5 Jun.

    So, who is Ms Sapiyah?

    1.   She has been married to Mr Salleh for 43 years and they have 4 children

    Mdm Sapiyah married Mr Salleh in 1974 and has 4 children, 3 daughters and a son. She is a housewife who appears to have a close relationship with her children.

    2. She is sometimes known as Maria Marican.

    A CSI search online throws up precious little information about Mdm Sapiyah – she has virtually no online presence. She does, however, have an Instagram account @mariamarican, with 1,000 followers (not too bad!)

    The name ‘Maria Marican’ is quite unusual, actually. Traditionally, most Malay wives keep their maiden name – and do not take on their husband’s last name.

    Perhaps, this is Mdm Sapiyah’s way of portraying herself as a more Westernised figure.

    3. Mdm Sapiyah aka Maria Marican is always well-dressed, and appears to have a fondness for fashion.

    Photos online of Mdm Sapiyah typically shows her glamorously dressed, such as photos of the Marican family at events like Prestige’s Crystal Anniversary Ball – an event for society’s creme da la creme. Her heavily lined eyes seem to be a personal trademark.

    We aren’t sure if this works in their favor though. Already, with Mr Salleh’s business background, people have likened him to Singapore’s Trump. And Melania Trump.

    Netizens, generally, had mixed reactions towards Mdm Sapiyah.

    Some appreciated her good looks (come on, she’s 65!)

    While others…

    And still others likened her to other famous figures, such as our friends next door.

    Come September, will her portrait be up on the halls of fame, alongside Encik Salleh Marican?

    Your pick.

     

    Source: www.thoughtssg.com

  • Singapore Malayus, You All Looking For President Or A Budayawan? Melayu Kecam Hingga Tak Beri 2nd Chance Ke?

    Singapore Malayus, You All Looking For President Or A Budayawan? Melayu Kecam Hingga Tak Beri 2nd Chance Ke?

    Y’all looking for a President or a Budayawan? You all talk cock why Malay cannot be this why Malay cannot be that then when got Malay representation you all damn kaninabuay. His company is worth over $200 million. Kau duit installment motor pun terkial-kial nak bayar lu rilek sua.

    Aku dah cakap dah. Our community punya minority complex one kind. Ada je tak kena. Penguasaan Bahasa Melayu dia kurang bagus, big fucking deal. Kau try aku letak camera depan muka kau suruh kau bertutur dalam Bahasa Ibunda. Korang English dah half past six the only English words you all know are “Please Make This Viral” lepas tu exclamation mark letak belasan lebih. Language can be learned, polished. Business acumen, resilience, kau ada?

    Kau takda. Also, how Malay you all want him to be? Kau expect dia pakai tanjak, keluarkan keris, bersyair depan reporters? And people actually have the nerve to make fun of how his wife look? She is swimming in money. Kau swim dalam apa? Hutang? Duduk depan TV tengok JUS hoping to get $10,000 dalam cabutan bertuah ke? Sungai.

    Orang tu baru je pick up his papers. He is not even approved to run as a candidate and the community is already being damn cibai. Way to go. Bangsa lain cuma tinggal ketawakan kita. Kalau macam gini toksah ada Malay president sua. Korang not ready, evidently. Korang keluar, take a drive, roll down your window, godeh-godeh your 12 inch glow in the dark dildo gearstick, blast lagu Despacito pun cantik.

     

    Source: Hafidz Abdul Rahman