I welcome the proposal by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to tighten the criteria for the Elected Presidency (“Key changes to refresh political system”; Jan 28).
But I believe it is superfluous to force a rotation among the races for the Elected Presidency. Such a policy also assumes inherent racism, as it presupposes that the Chinese majority in Singapore would not elect a minority candidate to the Elected Presidency even if he or she were the best candidate in an election. It assumes that minorities in Singapore are so incapable that they require such affirmative action in order to be elected. It is saddening that after more than 50 years of nation-building, such attitudes could persist in our society.
Such a system will also shut out highly qualified persons simply because they are of the wrong race. Enforcing minority representation for the Elected Presidency flies in the face of Singapore’s policy of meritocracy, as it will no longer be about choosing from among the best and most qualified candidates because of the rigidity of such a system.
Moreover, the pool of qualified persons from minority races is naturally smaller, due to their smaller numbers. This may increase the likelihood of walkovers and reduce the strength of the Elected President’s mandate, in an era when Singaporeans are used to exercising their right to vote in elections. The competitiveness of the election is reduced.
On Thursday, Member of Parliament Rahayu Mahzam, who is Malay, said in Parliament that “we would like to see representation from our community, but we want Malays to be chosen because he or she is the best, and not because of his or her race”. As we move beyond our first five decades of nation-building, we should refrain from enacting policies based on the crutch mentality that minorities will always need a helping hand because of their race.
This view by Dennis Chai Hoi Yim, was published in Voices, Today, on 30 Jan 2015.
Source: www.todayonline.com
