Facebook Post: Some thoughts on the Reserved Presidential Elections 2017

During the Presidential Elections Amendment Bill debate that took place in Parliament in February this year, I spoke specifically on the prospect of Reserved Presidential elections, zeroing in on the issues that the the Community Committee would have to grapple with, particularly issues relating to race and language, amongst others. Many of these matters were part of the public discourse and had already acquired some traction on the ground since changes to the Constitution to effect the Government’s amendments to the Elected Presidency were debated late last year.

Shortly after the debate, the Straits Times’ Political Editor wrote (7 February 2017: Taking a broader view of race) to say it was important that Singaporeans take a broader view of race, lamenting the issues I raised in Parliament as “less than inclusive sentiments”. Later, the same piece also predicted, “(q)uestions like those Mr Singh raised may surface again among a vocal few. But it would be a pity if they did.”

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also chimed in on the Straits Times piece, posting the following on his Facebook page, “Excellent article! The heart warming broad mindedness of Mr Thomas Chua stands in stark contrast to the cynical narrow mindedness of WP’s Pritam Singh. Sorry to be so forthright but this is an issue I feel very strongly about. Given the current state of the world, this is a time to be more inclusive, more open and more tolerant.”

I don’t think any reasonable Singaporean would disagree with the Minister that inclusivity, openness and tolerance would be values that represent the direction Singapore should head towards – a position, which taken to its logical end – would ironically question the necessity of reserved Presidential elections in the first place.

But the fact of the matter is that Singaporeans have always been socially conditioned along racial lines. In fact, this has been central to how the state has defined our individual identities – Chinese, Malay Indian and Others. Of greater significance is the point that the Elected Presidency has now been defined through racial lenses, with the Government’s latest constitutional tinkering resulting in the legislation of Reserved Presidential Elections for specific minority races.

Fast forward some six-odd months after the publication of the aforesaid piece in the Straits Times, misgivings continue to abound about the upcoming Reserved Presidential Elections. More tellingly, even the Straits Times has appeared to take a more circumspect position.

In a new opinion piece on the subject published over the weekend (30 July 2017: Mixed marriages should debunk idea of pure race), far from identifying the matters I raised in my parliamentary speech in February as being the remit of “a vocal few”, a more reflective and grounded perspective has been pursued, one which acknowledges that “a sizeable number of people” assume that Singaporeans can be neatly divided into pure Chinese, Malays or Indians and that “people may have inadvertently been viewed more in terms of their race than by their individual merits”. It added separately that “racial classifications have governed how many Singaporeans see themselves, and continue to affect how our neighbours see us.”

Even so, this return to reality is timely one.

It is timely because there is a real prospect of serious damage being wrought to Singapore’s multiracialism should the upcoming Reserved Presidential Elections go awry. Some Singaporeans have privately suggested that they would spoil their votes in the event of a Reserved Presidential election, while some netizens have encouraged their fellow citizens to do likewise with a view to teach the PAP a lesson.

However, while a sizeable number of spoilt votes would have serious short-term consequences for the PAP, it would have unthinkable long-term consequences for Singapore. Regardless of one’s political persuasions, the group of Singaporeans who would be taught the cruelest lesson in the event of a large percentage of spoilt votes is our Malay community. Beyond general damage to our multiracialism, such an outcome could most worryingly be interpreted by some of our Malay friends and compatriots as a lack of faith or trust in them by their fellow Singaporeans of other races.

In my mind, the political system in Singapore hardly represents a desirable state of affairs. But the upcoming Reserved Presidential Elections or any Reserved Presidential Election for that matter should not be mistaken for a platform where the political differences of rational and reasonable Singaporeans are contested. Nor should it serve as the arena where political lessons are dished out. Whether it is a vocal few or a sizeable number of Singaporeans who share this view, the price of such a lesson would be much too high for Singapore’s future as a multiracial society.

Useful Links
————

7 Feb 2017: Taking a broader view of race – http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/taking-a-broader-view-of-race

30 July 2017: Mixed marriages should debunk idea of ‘pure’ race – http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/mixed-marriages-should-debunk-idea-of-pure-race