President Tharman warned of a future pandemic after the Gates Foundation announced on May 5 plans to open a Singapore office with the support of the Economic Development Board.
(LifeSiteNews) – Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF), believes that the next pandemic is a foregone conclusion. He made his remarks the day after it was announced the Gates Foundation will be setting up an office in the Asian city-state.
During a high-level networking dinner hosted by Singapore’s Temasek Foundation on May 6, Tharman claimed that scientists believe that the next major pandemic is a matter of “when,” and not “if.” Moreover, the next pandemic could happen either next year or in ten years’ time.
The dinner was held during the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025, which took place in Singapore from May 5 to 7. According to the summit’s website, “the 2025 Summit theme, ‘Priming Asia for Good,’ planned to discuss “solutions, innovations, and actions in Asia to address global challenges across the interconnected areas of climate, education, and health.”
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), was among the guests who spoke at the Summit.
President Tharman claimed at the dinner that the world stands on the brink of forgetting the lessons learned during the outbreak of 2019, with complacency, wishful thinking and insularity being the greatest challenges,
The world has to deal creativiely with that challenge and “avoid further polarization,” he added in remarks cited by The Straits Times (ST).
“We have to do so through arrangements that appeal to nations’ sense of self-preservation, and which recognize the practical reality that we can prevent and prepare for the next pandemic only through a major step-up in internationally coordinated investments and actions,” he continued.
The same ST article reported that he also said that “the world has to first reclaim lost ground and rebuild local healthcare systems, as the Covid-19 pandemic had set them back by more than just the first few years of that event. It has to continue to invest at much higher levels in the global health ecosystem, especially in pandemic prevention and preparedness, as well as strengthen international and regional cooperation.”
Tharman’s predictions of a future pandemic came the day after a May 5 announcement that the Bill Gates Foundation is setting up an office in Singapore with the backing of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB).
READ: EU court rules commissioner broke law by not disclosing texs with Pfizer CEO
In response to this news, Iris Koh, a prominent Singaporean vaccine skeptic, made a strong statement on X (formerly Twitter):
This raises serious concerns about potential foreign influence in our elections, media, and national policy.
The Gates Foundation is deeply involved in global health, vaccine funding, and media control. Its presence here—without transparency or public debate—could undermine our democracy, health safety, and constitutional independence.
Singapore must not become a testing ground for foreign agendas.
We demand a pause, a review, and full public consultation.”
Koh also launched a petition calling for the Singapore authorities to suspend “the establishment of the Gates Foundation office until all legal, ethical, and political concerns are fully addressed.”
In the petition she states that her concern goes beyond party politics:
This is not about politics or personalities. It is about protecting Singapore’s sovereignty, reputation, and the health and safety of our people.
The Gates Foundation may appear philanthropic, but a deeper look raises serious red flags. If we move forward blindly, we risk foreign interference, public distrust, and entanglement in global scandals.
Meanwhile, Koh also pointed out that Ho Ching, the Chair of Temasek Trust and wife of Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, sat on the board of Wellcome Leap – a group linked to controversial biotech research. According to Koh, “Wellcome Leap works with CEPI, which is co-funded by the Gates Foundation. This shows a network of power and influence behind closed doors.”
On May 13, 2025, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ke Yung exhorted members of the Singapore public to take the experimental COVID-19 “vaccines” by posting the following on his Facebook page:
Today Ministry of Health, Singapore and Communicable Diseases Agency - CDA updated on a recent increase in COVID-19 infections in Singapore. As with other endemic respiratory diseases, periodic COVID-19 waves are expected throughout the year. The key thing is that our healthcare system is able to manage the increase in cases.
We can all do our part by:
keeping updated with our vaccinations. Book an appointment here https://vaccine.gov.sg/covid
maintaining good personal hygiene.
minimising social interactions and unnecessary travel when unwell.
wearing a mask in crowded areas, or when displaying symptoms such as runny nose or fever
For the full details, read the MOH-CDA update here: https://go.gov.sg/covid19-situation-13may”
READ: Trump rebukes ‘neocons’ in anti-globalist foreign policy speech in Saudi Arabia
In 2023, the Singapore government amended the country’s Constitution to permit the president to accept foreign and international appointments (such as WEF membership) in their private capacity, under the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No. 3) Bill.
Meanwhile, based on amendments made in 2023 and 2024 to Sections 47, 65, and 67 of Singapore’s 1976 Infectious Diseases Act (IDA), people who refuse to get vaccinated when directed to do so by the government could be considered criminals.
