This won't stop me from serving people: Farid Khan

Mr Farid Khan, seen here when he submitted forms to contest the election, said he was disappointed, but accepted the decision.
Mr Farid Khan, seen here when he submitted forms to contest the election, said he was disappointed, but accepted the decision. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Presidential hopeful Farid Khan is disappointed that he did not qualify to run for president, but he has also accepted the decision.

The 61-year-old was told yesterday afternoon that the Community Committee has accepted that he belongs to the Malay community, but the Presidential Elections Committee did not find him eligible to run.

"I wish to thank Singaporeans, my family and friends for their overwhelming support since I first announced my decision to contest," Mr Farid said in a statement shortly after the Elections Department (ELD) announced its decision at 5pm yesterday.

"Unfortunately, it is not meant to be," he added.

Despite the setback, Mr Farid said that his bid for the presidency, announced in July, was nevertheless "a meaningful journey and a wonderful experience".

He added: "Although I am disappointed by the committee's decision, it will not stop me from continuing to serve the people. As before, I will continue to serve to the best of my abilities."

Mr Farid's campaign manager Borhan Saini declined to disclose why Mr Farid did not qualify.

The ELD said it had informed presidential hopefuls why they did not qualify, and it was up to them whether they wanted to disclose the reasons publicly. The Straits Times understands that Mr Farid did not meet the requirement that candidates from the private sector must have been the top executive of a company with at least $500 million in shareholder equity in the past three years.

Mr Farid is the chairman of marine sector services company Bourbon Offshore Asia, a subsidiary of French multinational marine company Bourbon.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 12, 2017, with the headline This won't stop me from serving people: Farid Khan. Subscribe