WHY DID GEORGE YEO BACK OUT?

By Koh Jing Wen

Contributor

 

He has almost 90,000 fans on Facebook. He updates his page almost every day, offering his supporters glimpses into his personal life. Every single one of his status updates receives dozens, even hundreds, of ‘likes’ and comments, and for the past two weeks, many of those comments were messages of support, urging him to run for President. 15 of his young supporters even turned up at the Elections Department to collect the nomination forms while he was overseas.

 

In the past one month or so, George Yeo’s popularity has skyrocketed. However you explain it – whether it was because he attracted much sympathy following the loss of his Aljunied seat, or because he garnered much respect for conducting himself with dignity following the blow – Mr Yeo’s defeat at the May 7 general election was probably the best thing that happened to his political career. That is, if he decides to carry on with his political career, now that he has ruled himself out of the Presidential Elections for the second time in five weeks.

 

Had he chosen to run, he would almost certainly have been a favourite to win. The PAP garnered 60.1 per cent of the votes at the general election, and the same voters could certainly have been counted on to vote for Mr Yeo – seeing as he was one of the more popular PAP ministers, and indeed, one of the least deserving of being voted out. Even opposition voters have sympathised with Mr Yeo, drawn by his message of wanting to reform the PAP. His stature, intellect and seven years of experience dealing with foreign leaders would have almost certainly set him apart as the best man for the job.

 

So, why has George Yeo pulled out? Let us speculate as to the possible reasons:

 

 

1) The possibility of a second defeat in three months was too much to bear

 

Though Mr Yeo was very much the good sport in the days leading up to the cabinet reshuffle – he gamely cracked jokes about his election loss and even shared photos of him moving out of his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – it was apparent that he was distraught on Polling Day, when the results were announced. Shortly after delivering his concession speech, he departed the scene in a huff, refusing to speak to reporters until his final press conference as Foreign Minister two days later.

 

Mr Yeo has had a distinguished career as a scholar, military officer, Parliamentarian and minister. The fact that he became the most senior PAP leader to lose his seat in any general election since Singapore’s independence was, quite frankly, rather unfair – there were others who were far more deserving of that ignonimous fate. He put his defeat down to the “irresistable tide” of anti-PAP sentiment on the ground, a tide that he was unable to stem despite his best efforts.

 

With the PAP being returned with 81 out of 87 seats in Parliament, the Presidency remains as the final bastion of independence in the entire political structure. As such, Mr Yeo might have calculated that voters would favour a President with no previous affiliation to the PAP, which might result in him becoming the first politician in Singapore history to lose two elections in three months – the thought of which would be enough to dissuade almost anyone, especially one who, prior to May 2011, had an unblemished track record.

 

 

 

2) At age 57, he is too young to be President

 

As we have been reminded in recent weeks, the constitutional role of the President is a largely ceremonial one – the head of state may not initiate any policy decisions, he may only veto decisions made by the government. As such, the Presidency has been viewed almost as a retirement job for senior politicians, diplomats and civil servants. President S R Nathan was 75 years old when he was first elected, and President Wee Kim Wee was 70. The other names mooted as potential candidates, Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Dr Tony Tan, are in their 70s, while Mr Tan Kin Lian is in his 60s.

 

Mr Yeo might have reasoned that at 57, he is too young to “retire”, and probably contribute in other areas, whether these are political or not. He has been active in reviving an ancient university in India – a project he started when he was Foreign Minister – and has promised to see the project through to completion. He could possibly also set his sights on a role within ASEAN, drawing upon his diplomatic experience to foster ties between countries.

 

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been serving as a special envoy to the Middle East following his depature from Downing Street, and former United States President Bill Clinton is actively promoting his Clinton Global Initiative. It is not impossible for Mr Yeo to take on a similar role within ASEAN, although no South East Asian leader has attempted to do so before.

 

 

 

3) He did not obtain the endorsement of the PAP

 

It could have been that Mr Yeo’s decision not to run for the Presidency had something to do with his party bosses. Although all Presidential candidates are required to be independents, the PAP has traditionally given its endorsement to one candidate, usually after internal deliberations on who the party would like to field.
Mr Yeo may have rubbed some PAP leaders the wrong way when he plainly said that the party needed to be transformed during the general election campaign – an explicit admission that it had lost its way. He promised to be the “voice of the people in government” if elected, implying that the rest of his cabinet colleagues were not in tune with sentiments on the ground.

 

There have been conspiracy theories regarding Mr Yeo having been “sacrificed” by the PAP leadership, which apparently already had intelligence that Aljunied was going to be contested by the Workers’ Party leader Low Thia Khiang. Others have said that Mr Yeo belonged to a faction within the PAP that was led by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, and all members of this faction – Mr Yeo, Mr Lim Boon Heng and Mr Goh himself – were wiped out of the cabinet in one fell swoop following the election. Of course, these are unsubstantiated rumours, but in the event that they hold any truth at all, naturally the PAP would not want Mr Yeo to be President.

 

Of course, Mr Yeo could still have run without the endorsement of the PAP, but he would risk coming up against a strong PAP-backed candidate in a possible four-cornered fight which would also include Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Mr Tan Kin Lian. This would result in the “opposition” votes being split, further diluting his chances of winning.

 

 

 

4) He is truly a ‘free spirit’ and does not wish to be constrained by the Presidency

 

Though the role of President is largely ceremonial, the holder of that office has to follow strict protocol guidelines. The President has to live in the Istana, has to be surrounded by a team of security officers wherever he goes, and has his schedule planned for him by his staffers. Judging from his Facebook posts, it appears that Mr Yeo enjoys the same simple pleasures as the rest of us – having local dishes at kopitiams and going for jogs at East Coast Park. He would not be able to do any of these things if he were to be President.

 

Indeed, it was said that President C V Devan Nair was so stifled by his palatial prison that he soon fell into depression and started to turn to alcohol – the vice which would ultimately lead to his fall from grace. Luxurious as it may be, the Istana is a heavily barricaded compound which is cut off from the rest of the world, and for someone who is a “free spirit”, having to live within its four walls for six long years could be viewed as being akin to being placed under house arrest.

 

At his final press conference at MFA, Mr Yeo said that he would not be running for the Presidency because he was not temperamentally suited to the role. He later said that he would reconsider his decision because many of his supporters had urged him to do so. Perhaps he did precisely that, and decided that he had to let his supporters down because he cherishes his freedom too much.

 

 

 

–

 

The author is an occasional blogger and political commentator. She holds a degree in political science from the National University of Singapore, and is currently working as a freelance copywriter.

 

 

 

 

–

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Share