Tharman Shanmugaratnam Held “Farewell Event” at Taman Jurong & Thousands of People Turned Up

We finally have an answer to which side of Singapore is best. The answer is the West side.

The reason? The West side has President Tharman, eh paiseh, we meant SM Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

(Please don’t POFMA us for that slip-up)

Tharman Shanmugaratnam Organises “Farewell Event” at Taman Jurong CC Exclusively for Taman Jurong Residents

On Saturday (24 June), SM Tharman held a “farewell event” exclusively for residents of his ward, Taman Jurong, in light of his step-down as Jurong GRC MP after 22 long years there.

His step-down comes after his announcement to run for the elected presidency, which, if you’ve yet to hear of—have you been living under a rock?

Well, in case you do live under a rock, you can watch this video to find out more about SM Tharman’s announcement to run for President in the upcoming Presidential Election 2023.

The name for his Taman Jurong “farewell event”, we’ll admit, is a little cheesy. It’s called “Taman Jurong will never leave my heart”.

We’re surprised he didn’t use a football analogy for the event name. Perhaps he should have called it the “Lionel Messi Farewell Event”. After all, SM Tharman is the GOAT.

Regardless, when a pun for Taman Jurong can be made using your name, of course it wouldn’t leave your heart.

The event was held from 9 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 8 pm at Taman Jurong Community Club and gave Taman Jurong residents the opportunity to snap a photo with their favourite President—eh, sorry; we promise we’ll stop making this mistake.

We meant their favourite MP, SM Tharman, and his wife, Jane Yumiko Ittogi.

At the event, residents also got to pen down their well wishes for SM Tharman.

Thousands Turn Up for the Event; Residents Started Queuing as Early as One Hour Prior to the Event 

According to Lianhe Zaobao, thousands of people registered and turned up to snap a photo with SM Tharman.

Only the best attendance for Singaporeans’ favourite MP and perhaps future President.

Call it kiasu, call it excitement—residents started streaming into Taman Jurong CC as early as 8 am, one hour before the start of the event.

A 71-year-old resident interviewed by Lianhe Zaobao shared that SM Tharman has been “very kind” to the Taman Jurong residents, recounting how the MP would check in on how her husband, who has Parkinson’s disease, was doing.

See? This is why the West side is the best side. Where else would you find another MP as well-liked as SM Tharman?

The 66-year-old entered politics in 2001 and has served as an MP in Jurong GRC for five terms.

However, SM Tharman will be resigning from the People’s Action Party (PAP) and stepping down from his positions, including as Jurong GRC MP, in light of the announcement of his presidential bid.

He will officially resign from all his government responsibilities on 7 July.