SINGAPORE — Presidential hopeful Farid Khan called for Singaporeans to vote for the best person to serve the country in the reserved Presidential Election (PE) this month.

Speaking to reporters after morning prayers at An-Nur Mosque on Hari Raya Haji on Friday (Sept 1), Mr Farid, one of three aspirants to have publicly indicated interest in running for the highest office in the land, said: “When you vote, vote for the best person ... vote for the guy or the lady, whichever, who is good for the country.”

The 62-year-old added: “I would prefer those who vote for me ... for who I am, what I stand for.”

Mr Farid, the chairman of marine services provider Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, submitted his application forms last week to stand in the Presidential Election — the first to be reserved for the Malay community. The other two presidential hopefuls — Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican, 67, chief executive of Second Chance Properties; and Madam Halimah Yacob, 63, former Speaker of Parliament — have also submitted their forms.

Nomination Day has been fixed on Sept 13. Should there be more than one eligible candidate, the country will vote for the Republic’s eighth President on Sept 23.

Asked for his views on his competitors’ performance thus far, Mr Farid said: “As you can see, the three of us, we did not attack each other. I like this. It’s a good system in place. Let the voters decide.”

Going into personal attacks would not be right, he added. “We don’t want to rock the boat or anything like that. A proper, clean and fair election process is already in place. Just follow it. Don’t have personal attacks. I don’t like that,” he said.

In the lead-up to Nomination Day, Mr Farid said that he would continue to do walkabouts and visit mosques for prayers “to feel the ground a little bit”.

Mdm Halimah went to Woodlands Stadium to perform Aidil Adha prayers organised by An-Nur mosque on Friday, while Mr Marican went to Kampung Siglap Mosque in the morning then hosted a lunch for family members at home.