From grass-cutter, janitor to shipping bigwig — President next?
SINGAPORE — When Mr Farid Khan and his family were living in Jakarta from 1995 to 2004, his children sometimes spent their birthdays with kids at orphanages. At other times, they would invite their friends and disadvantaged children to birthday parties thrown at home, as well as share their gifts with the guests.
SINGAPORE — When Mr Farid Khan and his family were living in Jakarta from 1995 to 2004, his children sometimes spent their birthdays with kids at orphanages. At other times, they would invite their friends and disadvantaged children to birthday parties thrown at home, as well as share their gifts with the guests.
“We have brought up both our kids to be caring persons and aware of the unfortunate… I remember the times when the (less fortunate) children receive their gifts from my daughter. It was really touching to see their happy faces,” said the 62-year-old aspiring presidential candidate, who was working for an Indonesian marine company at that time.
His lifelong concern for the needy and less fortunate is one reason behind Mr Farid’s determination to run for the highest office of the land — so that he can lend a hand to groups in society that have fallen through the cracks, “so that nobody gets left behind”.
In fact, his 24-year-old daughter, Ms Raeesah Khan is already doing her part to help others in her own way, through the Reyna Movement, a non-profit organisation which she founded in April last year.
Through the organisation, Ms Raeesah supports Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and empower women in the region through community engagement and upskilling programmes.
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According to Mr Farid, such empathy for the needy runs in his family because he and his wife, Madam Naeemah Shaik, have taken pains to ensure that their daughter and 18-year-old son, Yusuf Khan, do not grow up as coddled members of the silver-spoon generation even though they are surrounded by the trappings of wealth.
Mr Farid is currently the chairman of marine service provider Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, a regional firm he set up in 2005. His family of four lives in a three-storey bungalow in Kembangan.
“My wife is very strict with them. They have been taught to be thrifty a very young age and they have to do chores at home … We have been staying around the Eunos area and have frequented the same hawker centre, shops and family doctor for as long as I can remember,” said Mr Farid, who had spent the last four decades working his way up in the marine industry.
Yusuf, a mechanical engineering student at the Institute of Technical Education, takes on delivery jobs with UberEats to “get extra pocket money”, said Mr Farid.
“No easy money for (the children),” added the tall and burly man.
While he is not inclined to display his affection for his children in material terms, Mr Farid appears to have no qualms about showing it in another way: His office at Ubi Road 1, where, where the interview with TODAY was conducted recently, is adorned with doodle notes and yellowed birthday cards, his children’s gifts from days gone by.
Mementos that read “Best Boss Award” and “Best Brother Award”, as well as ship models and nautical-themed art pieces, also occupy pride of space in the spacious office.
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While his two children have been fortunate enough to grow in a comfortable household, the same could not be said of Mr Farid himself.
At 14, the young Farid had to drop out of school to support his family of five, after his father died from a sudden heart attack a year earlier.
The late Mr Kaim Khan, the family’s sole breadwinner, had worked as a timekeeper at a bus company drawing a “very modest” salary.
Leaving school “eight months into Secondary Two” was a decision the teenager made against his mother’s wishes. “I saw my mother struggling alone and couldn’t take it.”
What followed was several years of “grabbing whatever job comes along”, said Mr Farid, who started out cutting grass, cleaning toilets, and working in the same plywood factory as his mother.
At 18, he found his way into a shipyard —which sparked his interest - and dreams -- in the marine industry.
In particular, he was fascinated by how engines work on board ships.
“I really wanted to be an engineer because to me, being able to fix an engine and see it come alive was such a great feeling.”
Mr Farid was certified as an engineer at 28, having had to take a longer route through part-time qualification courses.
He then spent a good part of the next five years working offshore, and got married at the age of 34.
Almost two decades on, Mr Farid now chairs Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, which has a shareholder equity of US$300 million (S$407 million).
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Now that his family and career priorities are “on track”, it is time to take bolder strides in contributing to society and doing his “part for the country”, said Mr Farid, who works with self-help group Mendaki’s social enterprise arm, SENSE, to help people find jobs in the marine industry.
He also contributes financially to Tentera Di Raja Mosque in Clementi for its programmes that target vulnerable youths.
However, being the nation’s president will give him a greater capacity to “reach the whole of Singapore”, Mr Farid said, stressing that he will “focus a lot on social work”, if elected.
The thought of running for the Elected Presidency first came to him in May this year, as he was contemplating how to spend his retirement years more meaningfully, said Mr Farid, who plans to step down from his chairman post next year.
He considers himself suited to play the president’s role as he is able to “identify with people on the ground”, having persevered through the many challenges in his childhood and young adult years.
“I understand the typical Singaporean, people’s aspirations and feelings on the ground… I hope people will see me as someone they can rely on. I hope they see my sincerity,” said Mr Farid.
While he now leads a fairly comfortable lifestyle, Mr Farid said he still keeps his ear to the ground and spends most of his time in the heartlands — the market and food centre at Eunos Crescent, and Bugs Bunny Haircut, a nondescript barber shop in the neighbourhood, are among his favourite hangouts.
“These are areas where you can see people from all walks of life … (including) those selling tissue papers, collecting and cleaning tables, or old folks collecting discarded boxes. It hurts sometimes to see them doing this. I hope one day, we can reach and help all these people,” he said.
While the president in Singapore does not dabble in policy-making, he or she still has capacity to make a big difference on the ground, said Mr Farid.
He noted how the late S R Nathan — the Republic’s sixth President — had “done quite well” in starting the President’s Challenge in 2000, which has become an annual campaign to raise funds for charity.
Mr Farid also hopes to help communicate government initiatives to the man in the street, so that they can tap the various forms of assistance available to them.
“We must be able to explain policies in a way the layman can understand.”
Getting Singaporeans to be on the same page in tackling radicalism is another area which Mr Farid hopes to work on, should he get elected.
“I believe more can be achieved if all communities work together on this. We need to be fully aware that the threat is affecting us all, not only one community…We may need to look beyond the ideology (and) see how to manage these deviant teachings and followers that are not in line with Muslim beliefs and practices.”
HURDLES TO BE CLEARED
He may have ambitious goals, but Mr Farid is well aware that there are a number of hurdles that must be cleared before he can qualify for the presidential race.
Among other things, his firm does not have at least S$500 million in shareholders’ equity, one of the eligibility criteria required for private-sector candidates.
Mr Farid, whose identity card shows his race as “Pakistani”, also has had to fend questions about his “Malayness” since announcing his intention to contest the polls.
The Presidential Elections Committee has the discretion to certify that a candidate who does not automatically meet the criteria can stand for election.
Despite the obstacles, Mr Farid remains unfazed.
“The next two battles are for the committee to approve me and (for me to) garner people’s votes… These are not entirely under my control. What is important is that I have already won the first battle by stepping out of my comfort zone and committing (myself) to run the race,” he said.