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Ng Kok Song lost. But he did Singapore a favour running for president
He made this race more respectable and encouraged us to reach for higher ideals around the presidency.
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It’s been an uphill climb for Mr Ng Kok Song (in pink shirt) but he fought a valiant fight and closed off with a most magnanimous conclusion, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Elections are often remembered for who won rather than who lost. And indeed, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam will go down in history books as Singapore’s first Indian president to win an open election, and a sign of the big strides Singapore has made as a multicultural society.
Yet the man of these past three weeks ought to be Mr Ng Kok Song – the former GIC investment chief who had thrown his hat into the ring to give Singaporeans a contest.
