Can Singapore Elect An Independent President?

Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, NUS

21-Aug-23 07:30

Can Singapore Elect An Independent President?

Pause
Embed

Singaporeans on 1 September will elect their 9th President. There are 3 candidates to choose from, with Former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam touted as the front-runner in the race. But with the People Action Party’s clean image taking a hit from recent scandals, will this have any bearing on voters' decisions? We speak with Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, about the key issues on the minds of Singaporeans when they go to the ballot box.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Mark Tan

Presented by: Wong Shou Ning, Mark Tan, Philip See

This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories: politics, international, government

Tags: singaporean president, people action's party, singaporean elections,

Today’s Shows

6:00 AM

The 6AM Stretch

Thought-provoking discussions on ideas, people and events shaping our lives.

7:00 AM

World Market Watch

Joe Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist, US Trust-BOA Private Wealth Management tells us where international markets are heading.

7:15 AM

Morning Brief

We recap global and local headlines from today's papers and portals.

7:30 AM

Morning Brief

Pramod Anthe, Head of Institutional Equity Research at InCred Capital, discusses outlook of India's equities in 2026.

7:45 AM

Morning Brief

Independent Business Writer P. Gunasegaram weighs in on the High Court’s decision rejecting former Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak’s bid for house arrest.

8:00 AM

The Breakfast Grille

We revisit conversations on the Breakfast Grille in the past year about global trade and tariffs.

8:30 AM

Morning Brief

Dato' Seri Wong Siew Hai, President of the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) gives us an outlook for the sector in 2026.

8:45 AM

Morning Brief

(REPEAT) Independent Business Writer P. Gunasegaram weighs in on the High Court’s decision rejecting former Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak’s bid for house arrest.

9:00 AM

Opening Bell

(REPEAT) Joe Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist, US Trust-BOA Private Wealth Management tells us where international markets are heading.

9:15 AM

Opening Bell

(REPEAT) Pramod Anthe, Head of Institutional Equity Research at InCred Capital, discusses outlook of India's equities in 2026.

9:35 AM

People, Planet, Profit

We replay the 18th November episode on boosting Malaysia’s climate and disaster resilience with Avtandil Mekudishvili of PlanRadar.

10:05 AM

Open For Business

11:00 AM

Marketing Mojo

1:00 PM

The Breakfast Grille Repeat

We revisit conversations on the Breakfast Grille in the past year about global trade and tariffs

2:05 PM

Discovery Hour

An eclectic selection of BBC shows, curated with variety in mind.

3:05 PM

Beyond the Ballot Box

In this Best of 2025 replay, we revisit a conversation with Professor Edmund Terence Gomez on corruption and Malaysia’s political–GLC complex.

4:05 PM

Health & Living

In this ‘Best of 2025’ replay, we speak to mental health advocates about how stigma continues to persist in our society.

5:00 PM

Top 5 at 5

A countdown of the 5 biggest stories of the day, to catch you up on all you need to know!

6:00 PM

Talkback Tuesday

PROGRAMMES