Parliament pays tribute and bids farewell to Tharman, NMPs

SINGAPORE - Tribute was paid to Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for his contributions over more than two decades in public service in his final parliamentary sitting on Thursday.

On Friday, the 66-year-old will step down from his posts as Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, and resign from the People’s Action Party

to run for the Singapore presidency.

“We will miss SM Tharman in this chamber, not least his commanding presence and his erudite speeches. SM’s greatest gift is, really, in making very complex economic principles sound simple,” said Leader of the House Indranee Rajah. “We also will miss his wit and his dry humour. I think most of all, we will miss a friend and a fellow Member of Parliament.”

Ms Indranee listed

Mr Tharman’s contributions since he joined politics in 2001

as an MP for Jurong GRC, including as Minister for Education, Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. He has also been chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, deputy chairman of sovereign wealth fund GIC, where he chaired its Investment Strategies Committee, and chairman of the Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council.

During his time as Finance Minister, SM Tharman’s Budget statements boosted Singapore’s economic growth and helped steer the country through the global financial crisis from 2007 to 2009, said Ms Indranee, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Among the major policies he brought in were the net investment returns framework, which provided additional resources for government spending, and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher scheme to help lower- to middle-income Singaporeans.

As Education Minister, Mr Tharman introduced the Direct School Admission scheme and removed streaming in primary schools.

In his economic and manpower portfolios in Cabinet, he pushed for inclusive growth that benefited all Singaporeans. He led the SkillsFuture programme and paid particular attention to uplifting wages and improving retirement adequacy for lower-wage workers through measures such as the Progressive Wage Model, Wage Credit Scheme and the Workfare Income Supplement.

Ms Indranee also thanked the current cohort of Nominated MPs (NMPs) whose 2½-year terms will end on July 20.

The nine NMPs are Mr Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab, Ms Janet Ang, Mr Mark Chay, Mr Cheng Hsing Yao, Professor Hoon Hian Teck, Professor Koh Lian Pin, Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, Dr Shahira Abdullah and Dr Tan Yia Swam.

Ms Indranee said this cohort of NMPs was sworn in during the most unusual of circumstances amid the global Covid-19 pandemic,

having to observe safe distancing in the House

and wipe microphones and tables with disinfectant wipes.

“The fact that this all now seems to be in the distant past shows how far we have come and what an amazing journey was made in these last 2½ years, a journey that this cohort of NMPs walked with us.”

She highlighted the milestones the NMPs helped reach during their tenure, including tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, supporting households through the rising cost of living, unveiling the Singapore Green Plan, debating the White Paper on Women’s Development, repealing Section 377A and supporting the GST Bill.

While Singapore still faces many challenges, Ms Indranee said it is in a much better place than it was two to three years ago and is poised to move forward with the Forward SG exercise to refresh its social compact and make the country fairer and more inclusive.

“By their participation in this Parliament, they have helped to achieve this current state of affairs,” she added. “On behalf of this House, I would like to place on record our appreciation to the NMPs and SM Tharman for their contributions to this House and service to the nation.”