His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to send a congratulatory message to Dr Tony Tan on the occasion of his victory in the Presidential Elections in the Republic of Singapore.

In the message, His Majesty looked forward to working with Dr Tony Tan in the coming years to continue enhancing the close relationship and long-standing excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.

His Majesty ended his message by extending his very best wishes to Dr Tony Tan in all his future work.

The 71-year-old, a former senior minister for the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore since 1959, wasted no time in vowing to be a "president for all Singaporeans", AFP reported.

Tan entered parliament with the PAP in 1979 and held numerous ministerial jobs, including education, trade and industry, finance, health and defence. He was deputy prime minister from 1995 to 2003.

He has a degree in physics from the National University of Singapore, a Masters degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of Adelaide. - Borneo Bulletin (29th August 2011)