Is Tharman Shanmugaratnam too old to take over as prime minister?

Senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is now 65 years old. He is 5 years younger than the current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Is Tharman too old to take over as prime minister?

Apart from age, we have to consider his credentials, experience and capability.

Tharman entered politics in 2001 and over a period of 20 years, he held the office of minister of education, minister of finance, deputy prime minister and now the senior minister.

He had also served with distinction as Singapore’s representative in several international bodies, including the G20 Eminent Persons Group, the International Monetary Fund and in the United Nations. He is well known and respected internationally.

He is not a newbie politician who needs several years to learn the ropes of leading a nation.

What about his age? At 65, is he too old to take over the reins of power?

Heng Swee Keat, who was 4 years younger than Tharman, was earlier selected to take over from Lee Hsien Loong. Heng entered parliament in 2011, 10 years later than Tharman.

If Heng was suitable at 61, would 4 years make a lot of difference in considering age?

Donald Trump became President of the United States at the age of 71 years. Joe Biden took over this office at the age of 78 years. Ronald Regan was 69 years when he became president in 1981. He was considered to be quite old then, but he served two terms and retired at 77 years.

Xi Jinping was elected in 2022 to serve the 3rd term as leader of China at the age of 69 years. He will continue as president of China and may serve another 10 years in this office.

By the standards of the presidents of the two most powerful nations in the world, Tharman can hardly be considered as too old to take over from Lee Hsien Loong.

We should rule out age as being an important factor. If Tharman takes over, he should be able to serve at least 10 years as prime minister of Singapore. He looks healthy enough.

The other reason given by the ruling party, that Singapore is not ready for a non-Chinese prime minister, has already been debunked by several public opinion polls.

The current leader selected by the MPs of the ruling PAP party is Lawrence Wong. At the age of 49 years, he is 16 years younger than Tharman.

While we cannot diminish Lawrence Wong based on his younger age, it is generally accepted that he has less political experience and lower international stature, compared to Tharman. For a small country, the international stature of the leader is important.

Was it a wise decision for the ruling party to bypass Tharman as the next leader, in favour of a younger minister? We will know in a few years time.

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