After last week’s illuminating interview with actor-comedian Gurmit Singh, the group of atypical ‘journalists’ in episode two of CNA’s new series, The Assembly, were about to meet another famous figure – President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
We can only imagine the nerves they were feeling, with one commenting how she felt “instantly cold for some reason” while another asked if it was bad that he had to “pinch himself over and over?”
Can we blame them? They were about to meet the President of Singapore after all.
In the 24-minute clip, the 67-year-old was asked a range of questions about his childhood, his personal insecurities, and even if he had ever fought with his wife, First Lady Jane Yumiko Ittogi.
He was even asked about his thoughts on Liverpool’s new manager Arne Slot, which drew laughter from those gathered.
However, did you know President Tharman once sold his pair of shoes online?
When asked about his most uneconomical purchase ever made, President Tharman, who has a Master of Philosophy degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge, paused to mull over the question before recalling a story.
Before running and winning the Singapore presidency in 2023, he was the Minister for Finance (2007 to 2015) and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (2011 to 2023).
It seems his most uneconomical purchase was made because of his… broad feet?
According to President Tharman, he once bought a pair of shoes when he was travelling in a winter climate.
“I paid quite a bit for it because it was such a good pair of shoes,” he said.
If you ask us, a sensible pair of shoes would hardly qualify as uneconomical, right?
However, President Tharman said he soon realised they didn’t fit as well when he returned to Singapore.
“I realised my feet in the winter climate were smaller than my feet in the warmer climate,” he explained.
He then went on to try to sell them on Carousell and had his daughter, Maya, to help him, and eventually found a buyer.
“But of course, at a very cheap price,” he laughed.
President Tharman and his wife Jane share four children together.
The interviewer then pointed out that he was wearing the same pair of shoes as President Tharman that day.
The camera then panned to a pair of black On Running shoes, which had everyone trying to get a look at what they were.
A pair of On shoes can range from S$189 to S$850 depending on the design.
But we digress.
As for the person who bought his shoes on Carousell, we wonder if they now know they belonged to the President of Singapore.