A Nation's Story in a Woman's Story
In September 2017, when Halimah Yacob's name became the most searched in Singapore, people were not merely searching for the political biography of a woman who reached the top. They were engaged in a deep national reflection: How did the daughter of a cleaner become president? And how did Singapore itself, that tiny island deprived of resources, transform within half a century from a poor fishing village into one of the wealthiest nations in the world?
The truth is that Halimah Yacob's story is not separate from Singapore's story. They are two parallel narratives, perhaps one single story. A girl born into poverty in 1954, and a nation born into hardship in 1965. Both started from zero. And both triumphed through willpower, education, and hard work.
Chapter One: The Roots – Halimah and Singapore Below the Poverty Line
Halimah the Child: Years of Struggle
In 1954, Halimah binte Yacob was born into a family that could barely afford their next meal. Her father was a security guard of Indian descent, and her mother was a homemaker of Malay descent. Singapore at that time was a British colony living on simple trade, with the vast majority of its population consisting of workers and the poor.
When her father died of a heart attack when she was eight years old, the small world of the child Halimah collapsed. Suddenly, she found herself responsible—still a child herself—for helping to support four siblings. She went out to the streets to work: a street vendor during the day, a cleaner in the evening, a waitress at one restaurant, a factory worker at another.
But she never missed a single day of school.
Singapore the Newborn: Years of Uncertainty
Seven years after Halimah was born, in 1965, Singapore was born as an independent nation. But it was a painful, Caesarean birth. It was suddenly separated from Malaysia, without an army, without water resources, without natural resources. It was a tiny island of 728 square kilometers, whose inhabitants lived on importing even their drinking water from their neighbor.
Unemployment reached 14%, and two-thirds of the population lived in crowded squatter settlements. There was no national university, no infrastructure, no clear vision for the future. Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister, said: "We felt like we were thrown into a turbulent ocean without a lifebuoy."
That was Halimah. And that was Singapore: poor, besieged, but determined to survive.
Chapter Two: The Ascent – The Ladders of Education and Economic Transformation
Halimah the Student: Law as a Path to Freedom
In 1960s and 1970s Singapore, a poor girl of Malay descent dreaming of becoming a lawyer was almost an impossible dream. But Halimah did not know the word impossible. She studied with frantic diligence, working during the day and studying at night, until she graduated from the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore in 1978, among the top students.
She did not stop there. She continued her postgraduate studies, specialized in social law, and worked in various legal fields. She knew that education was the only elevator that would transport her from the ground floor to the summit.
Singapore the Rising: The Great Transformation
In parallel with Halimah's academic ascent, Singapore was climbing the development ladder. It had no oil, no gold, no agricultural land. It only had the human mind. The state focused on education and technology, and established pivotal institutions: the Economic Development Board (1961), the Development Bank of Singapore (1968), and the National Wages Council (1972).
Singapore implemented its unique "tripartism" policy: continuous dialogue between the government, employers, and unions. This mechanism became the secret weapon of the Singaporean economy. The country transformed from wig and mosquito repellent industries in the 1960s, to electronics in the 1980s, then to financial services and biotechnology in the new millennium.
By 2011, when Halimah was appointed Minister of Community Development, Singapore's per capita income had exceeded $50,000. The poor girl and her poor nation had reached the summit together.
Chapter Three: The Summit – From Ministry to Presidency, From Development to Leadership
Halimah the Minister: Serving the Community
Halimah Yacob entered Parliament in 2001 as a member of the People's Action Party. She was not a classic eloquent orator, but she knew poverty from close quarters, and she understood the needs of society from within. She assumed the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports in 2011, then the Ministry of Family and Social Solidarity.
She worked on issues of women, children, and family, and dedicated herself to serving the underprivileged. She knew she represented the voice of the voiceless, because she had been one of them.
Singapore the Advanced: In Search of Identity
After half a century of astonishing economic growth, Singapore faced a new challenge: what was now required was not merely wealth, but justice, representation, and identity. The demographic composition was distributed among Chinese (77%), Malays (12%), Indians (8%), and other minorities (3%). But the presidency of the state remained exclusive to the Chinese majority since the death of the first Malay President, Yusof Ishak, in 1970.
The gap mirrored the gap between Halimah the working child and Halimah the lawyer. A rich but incomplete country. A diverse society with monolithic leadership.
In 2017, Singapore decided to close this gap. It decided that the presidency should reflect the diversity of society. And Halimah Yacob, the Malay Muslim woman, daughter of the poor, was the natural candidate.
Chapter Four: The Tenure – Halimah as President, Singapore in Crisis
The Walkover: An Uncontested Victory
In September 2017, Halimah Yacob fulfilled the candidacy requirements: at least three years of public service, and belonging to an ethnic minority. The election committee disqualified her four rivals for failing to meet the conditions, and Halimah won by a walkover.
Some wondered: Is this a real victory? But the more aware Singaporeans understood that the constitution itself had deliberately paved the way, because the state wanted to correct a historical imbalance. Halimah was not begging for power; she deserved it.
COVID-19: The Moment of Truth
Three years after assuming the presidency, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. Singapore, the island nation open to the world, was directly in the line of fire. Here emerged the crucial role of the country's president.
The Singaporean constitution makes the president the "Guardian of the Second Key." The government cannot withdraw a single dollar from the national reserves without the president's personal approval. Halimah Yacob approved the withdrawal of S$69 billion—the largest withdrawal in history—to fund the pandemic response.
It was not a formal approval. The president sat for days studying files, asking questions, scrutinizing, debating. She wanted to ensure that every cent would go toward saving lives, not toward political wastefulness.
This was the difference Halimah made: a president who does not merely sign, but who holds accountable.
Achievements of the Tenure: Six Years of Silent Work
In just six years (2017-2023), Halimah Yacob managed to transform the presidency from a distant ceremonial office into an institution close to the people:
1. In Social Work: She transformed the "President's Challenge" from a traditional charity initiative into a comprehensive developmental tool, and launched the "Empowering Lives Fund" to sustainably support disadvantaged groups.
2. In Diplomacy: She received the highest honors from Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, was appointed Honorary Professor at Nazarbayev University, and raised Singapore's name high internationally.
3. In Pluralism: She hosted the International Conference on Cohesive Societies in 2019, a global platform for interfaith and intercultural dialogue that became a recurring event.
4. In Confronting Racism: In June 2021, following painful racist incidents, the president issued a historic Facebook post asking: "Are these painful manifestations of hatred individual incidents, or do they reflect a larger problem?" She added: "Our greatest fear is how this prejudice will affect our youth and shape their minds."
5. In Bridging the People and the Presidency: She was the first president to live in public housing, launched "Open House at the Istana" four times annually, inaugurated the "Inclusive Garden" for people with disabilities, and released an animated film for children about the history of the presidential palace.
6. In Women's Rights: She supported the White Paper on Singapore Women's Development (2022), and publicly called for the repeal of a law exempting men over fifty from caning in rape cases.
Chapter Five: What Did Halimah Yacob's Tenure Leave Behind?
The Difference Between Before and After
Before Halimah Yacob, Singapore was a wealthy but reserved country, a prosperous but hierarchical society, an existing but distant presidency.
After Halimah Yacob, Singapore became a country where the cycle of success is completed: those who deserve it can reach it. The poor girl of Malay descent proved that the dream is possible, not only in America, but in Singapore too.
Three Messages in One Presidency
To Minorities: Your place is not on the margins. The summit is yours too.
To Women: Leadership is not exclusive to men. Motherhood and presidency do not conflict.
To the Poor: The past does not determine the future. Poverty is a starting point, not an endpoint.
The Final Word: A Closed Circle
In 2023, Halimah Yacob ended her presidential term. She returned to her private life, but she left behind a different Singapore.
The Singapore she received in 2017 was wealthy, strong, and stable.
The Singapore she handed over in 2023 was more humane, more just, closer to its people.
She did not build skyscrapers—Singapore already had them.
She did not multiply the GDP—the economy was at its peak.
But she built bridges between the people and the presidency, between the majority and minorities, between the rich and the poor.
Fifty years ago, she was a child working in the streets to eat.
Today, her name is taught in schools as an example of success.
Fifty years ago, Singapore was a developing nation that the world underestimated.
Today, it is a developmental model studied in universities.
Halimah and Singapore: two parallel stories, one spirit. Both started below zero, and both reached the summit through willpower, knowledge, and work.
This is the true legacy: not what we build from stone, but what we plant of hope.
Epilogue: What Comes Next?
In January 2024, Halimah Yacob published a tweet marking the new year. She was not speaking about her achievements, but about Singapore: "Our beautiful country. Together we build it, together we protect it."
Perhaps this is the conclusion. Halimah Yacob was not an ordinary president, nor was Singapore an ordinary country. It was an exceptional story of an exceptional nation, proving to the world that size does not matter, that the past does not determine the future, that a poor girl selling in the street can become president, and that the poverty one is born with need not accompany them to the grave.
Singapore taught the world a lesson: true wealth lies not in land nor in oil, but in the mind and will. And Halimah Yacob was the living embodiment of this lesson.
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