Presidential Hopeful Tharman Shanmugaratnam Weighs in on Iswaran CPIB Probe

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, elected on 13 Sept…hold on, we’re still in July, aren’t we? My apologies, let’s rewind that.

Presidential hopeful Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was seen mingling with the crowd in Teck Whye, probably just shaking hands and cooing at babies instead of asking people to support his candidacy, has broken his silence on the topic that’s been on everyone’s lips: the Iswaran CPIB probe. And given his former ministerial status and potential future presidency, you can bet that every word he utters carries weight.

Presidential Hopeful Tharman Shanmugaratnam Weighs in on Iswaran CPIB Probe

First off, he touched on the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), which technically falls under the Prime Minister’s purview. However, if the Prime Minister himself is under investigation, they’ll report to the President.

He emphasized that the agency has full autonomy to investigate any corruption, adding, “We’ve never had a Prime Minister (who) prevents the CPIB from doing its work. If ever the day comes, the president will be there…that’s the Singapore system.”

Speaking about our approach to corruption and the CPIB’s full control, he said, “It may not matter to some other countries, but Singapore is different and Singapore has to be different, because we don’t have much else.

“We’ve got our people with our skills and talents, much more now than when we started, but ultimately it’s the Singapore system.

“That’s what makes Singapore special, that’s what makes us admired around the world.

“So each time there’s a setback, treat the setback as an opportunity to strengthen the system, to display full transparency.”

Tharman Shanmugaratnam Talking About S Iswaran

Of course, he knows Iswaran personally and had this to say about him: “It’s not the end of his life or end of his future. He will go through with this. But let the investigation take its course, and let us not make judgments at this point. The system works and it must work.”

As of now, Tharman has officially hung up his politician hat; the seasoned statesman stepped down from public service last Friday after four decades to run for the Singapore presidency.

His last appearance in Parliament was on 6 July 2023.

The presidential hopeful also had this to say: “Singapore goes through ups and downs. Each time we hit a difficult patch, the good thing about Singapore is that we’ll make our way out of it. It will strengthen our system and we will become a better place.”

For a moment there, it felt like the President was already speaking.

You can also watch this video about his candidacy: