We apologise for the delay in publishing Mr PN Balji’s piece, as earlier indicated on TOC. It will be published at a later date. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Mohd Haireez / Guest Writer
In response to a question on whether Singapore is ready for a minority-race prime minister, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested that while it is not impossible, it is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.
In support of his proposition, Mr Lee revealed at a dialogue session organized by MESRA, that it was dependent on how people voted and suggested that the race of the candidate is an unavoidable influence in the voting pattern.
With all due respect to Mr Lee, his response is at best, unsettling, particularly after decades of struggle to portray the government as a racially-unbiased institution.
Mr Lee pointed out that race is a factor in the appointment of a Prime Minister.
This is especially disturbing considering that the position of Prime Minister is not constitutionally dependent on the votes of the average citizen but is contingent upon the decision of the President who is supposed to select a Member of Parliament “who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament..”, according to Article 25 of our Constitution.
In practice, while the People’s Action Party (PAP) continues to dominate Parliament, the person the party endorses as Prime Minister will be elevated to that position, and confirmed by the President. Hence, Mr Lee’s statement is especially important.
To suggest that race is an unavoidable issue in this appointment is to suggest that race is still a factor in deciding whether a candidate can command the confidence of our elected Parliamentarians. This leads to the inexcusable inference that our very own leaders are still somewhat racially-prejudiced.
I am not insinuating that our leaders should be free from the prejudices that plague the common man but as people whom the average person vests responsibility in, it is imperative that the government, at least the Prime Minister, should represent a figure who transcends racial lines.
I am also not suggesting that Singapore has reached a stage whereby citizens are Singaporeans first, before their own respective races, in all circumstances.
But if we accept that the way forward is embodied in our pledge “regardless of race, language or religion” as our Government has, then surely it has to start with our leaders.
In extension of his response, Mr Lee rationalised that the fact Senator John McCain garnered a majority of white votes in the recent US Presidential elections is a reflection of how race is still a factor in the minds of the American voters.
But this overlooks the fact that not a single Democrat has won a majority of the white vote since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 despite fielding white candidates as Presidential-hopefuls. In fact, Senator John Kerry, a white Democrat nominee, attracted less support from the white voters in 2004 than President-elect Obama did in the recent US Presidential election. Senator Kerry garnered just 43 percent of the white vote while still attracting the majority of the non-white voters despite being white himself.
These statistics make it at least clear that race, while etched in the minds of some, is only one of several concerns for the majority of the Americans.
The American people have shown that they are willing to start judging a candidate by his abilities, and not his race.
Similarly, a suitable Prime Minister must be assessed by his ability, regardless of his race.
Even if this remains an ideal, there is no reason why our leaders, especially Mr Lee, cannot endorse this ideal especially when it comes to selecting the Prime Minister of our multi-racial country.
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About the author:
Mohd Haireez is currently a year 3 undergraduate at the NUS Faculty of Law. He believes that community-involvement is the most effective means of familiarising oneself with grassroot issues. Besides being a regular at Downtown east and Arab Street, the former Vice-President of the NUS Malay Language Society is himself an avid volunteer. He is currently the Chairman of the Youth Committee in Al-Istighfar Mosque and is working with NGOs like YAMP on several projects.
———-
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” it is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.”
of course lah, his seat hasn’t been warm up yet since the day he is being placed there by our country lightning GOD, now you people want to change his color, you think lightning GOD will agree?
Well written brudder.
Let me put it to you this way. The moment the PAP concedes that race is no longer an issue in the minds of Singaporeans, the fundamental basis for the GRC system would be extinguished.
And that wouldn’t be in our best interests would it?
Sure, why not? If the minority candidate is the best available, then let him/her be the PM. However, bear in mind that it took the US more than 200 years to get here. So, it is still early days yet. Not in my life time.
believe me bro, if lightning GOD allows this, mind you there are alot of very capable other colored candidates out there who are very much more capable and eligible than any of those in the present party, so tell me would this be a big threat to junior lightning god? of course lah which singaporean doesn’t know this?
with comment #2
It is in the GRC system duh…..
But it is a good system. PAP will lose big and a minister will have to take a walk after the next GE :(
Why is this surprising, Its already so hard to get a non-Lee prime minister…. much less a non-chinese one…
its not a problem about color here, its about genes, DNA!
eugenics, my dear singaporeans. eugenics.
As long as that fellow Singaporean is a competent and good man, I do not care whether his name is Arul, Ah Beng, Ahmad or Santa Maria….
Dear Mohd Haireez,
Are you prepared to uphold the political interests of the Non-Muslim majority – even if it means that you may have to hurt Muslims elsewhere ?
Are you capable of standing up to Malaysia and Indonesia to uphold the interests of the Chinese majority – even when racial and religious entiments are being played out ?
I support PM Lee’s statement as being honest and pragmatic. Until such time when Singaporean Malays are closer and more connected with the Singaporean Chinese – as compared to Malaysian & Indonesian Malays – don’t ask for a Malay PM.
Comments edited by moderator.
whatever color you all no chance one lah, everyone also know lui kong sure protect lui kong kia then later lui kong kia also use same formula protect lui kong soon, then later lui kong cheng soon, maybe another 100 years than maybe except other species one.
hey fellow singaporeans,
I also think the GRC system is good for us and race can never be a non-issue.
But a distinction should be made between choosing the members of parliament and choosing the prime minister. While the former is elected by the general electoral body, the latter is chosen by the President and our MPs. So shouldnt race be a non-issue at the highest level?
I think thats what the author is saying…
Dear People,
I quote Mahathir in his Malay Dilemma – “Those who say forget race, are either naives or knaves”.
How you lead depends on your value system and cultural habits. Are you telling me that a Malay has the same value system as the Chinese ? Same aspiration ? Same cultural habits ?
And would a Malay PM enforce Islamisation under pressure from the Muslim world ?
I have no doubts about it – Singapore cannot and should not – have a Malay PM.
Please la, Dr Syed… Perhaps u may subconciously have ties with the Malays in other countries. I have worked with all races in uniform organisations… and I have full confidence that we will all fight for our common objectives for our nation Singapore when time comes… There was never a moment I doubt the loyalty of my comrades..
Even people in the same race or same family will also have traitors. Stop playing racial card. Grow up Dr Syed…
Dr Syed,
You certainly missed the whole point of the article. Nowhere did it say that the author wants a Malay PM.
He is just saying that a PM “must be assessed by ability, regardless of his race.” it advocates an approach which transcends race.
And you would do well to do follow suit.
what’s wrong to have a malay, indian or eurasian PM if he shown good leadership and have the heart and interest of the citizens, have we forgotten who was our first minister tunku abdul rahman when he was around for many years looking after the people of singapore, do we have any problem with him before?
i agreed…as long as no LEEs…anythings also can!
“but not this LEE boh ho one lah.”
Other Lee can be benevolent but this Uniquely Lee obviously is a LEEches that suck one’s blood and money dry. Real parasite that hang on and living on you. Anyway, people will still vote for LEEches in time to come. More LEEches’ year.
this comes very ad nauseum to me: but stop blaming pm lee, or the leadership, for what he said. it reflects the sentiments of singaporeans – we are still strongly caught up with racial identities.
it stinks, but yes: it is the political reality, the on-the-ground sentiments. and while the prime minister is selected based on his ability to command a functioning majority of mps, we don’t go into elections to select mps to select the prime minister. the westminister model has the process structured as so, but we know that the sec-gen/leader of the party will the prime minister. hence, the citizenry has some influence, while not direct, on the selection of the prime minister. political parties are instituted to win elections – if they know that a minority candidate cannot be a tenable choice as prime minister for the voters, they will not place him there. again, its neither benevolent or daring, but its pragmatic and wise – and that’s how elections are won.
and quit asking the government to take the lead: what singapore needs is a less pervasive and diminished presence of the state – what you can do is to break barriers, to establish mutual trust among races. if citizens are still ingrained with the racial misconceptions, its not the government’s fault. if they are the reason why a minority pm is not possible, its not the government’s fault. they constitute the mainstream thinking, and the challenge is to break them down. expecting the pap to say: hey, we must be ready to accept a minority pm – is futile and really useless.
and obama’s victory does not herald a seismic shift in thinking, not across the world, not in singapore anyway. the ideal of meritocracy, to be judged on ability, is noble – but we are the ones who make meritocracy work. pm lee was just voicing a pragmatic stance in a sense that people are still deeply concerned about race rather than ability alone; and that is true. we don’t have to castigate him for that.
are our racial communities truly ready for a post-racial political environment? i doubt so. ask the malays whether they mind having article 152 abrogated and how they should not be take offence when masagos is only appointed parl sect instead of mos, or whether it would be alright to exclude a malay minister from the cabinet based on the pool of talent available. i doubt the community will be ready to make these concessions. as long as these deep-seated views exist, we are only confirming what lee hsien loong says.
and the way forward is not to have him endorse the ideal of meritocracy (ability over race) or suggest the possibility of having a minority pm real soon, but to establish closer rapport between communties and advance efforts to forge a national identity.
but this debate is a good start. and well, we can only look forward.
alamak! now LEEcula oso appear liao! sad….sign…… singaporeans will soon be poor until shrimp no blood liao!
anyway jokes aside, singaporeans are going to face harder time soon with the present policies cos the system will not shows mercy to the people of singapore since it is all about money to the garment.
I would have voted for the late J.B Jeyaratnam…and I am chinese.
It’s not the race nor the colour of the skin…it’s what the person stands for.
“this comes very ad nauseum to me: but stop blaming pm lee, or the leadership, for what he said. it reflects the sentiments of singaporeans – we are still strongly caught up with racial identities.”
Who cares what he says if he couldn’t garner any respect from the citizen. This is what he get when a incompetent leader could only resort to high-truth, disappearance, deceit, living in ivory tower, bo-chap, utter word-of-wisdom to distract issue and to regain respect. No one cares about this clown until his action match his word.
You want people to respect the leader, let the leader walk the talk, not just talk the talk.
The gov can deceive a fool once, twice, or thrice but not forever. What discussion is this about when you have the Lee’s speaking on his own on behalf of people ? Clowns that are so disconnected can even represented the people on the ground ? What the heck ? Is PM so ignorant or just act ignorant ? Most of the time, these clowns knows the right thing to do but can’t just affort to do it, am I right ? They know what’s going on but just pretend not to see it.
“I know what’s evil but then I hear no evil, see no evil, and smell no evil”
We even have Nathan as president, why can’t we have another race for PM, not unless you telling me that president can be useless but not PM. Such question will already tell something is wrong about the clown’s argument. Please someone stop telling me that our system is such that PM has power but president no power, what nonsense is that ? Isn’t the president suppose to have the power to perform the check and balance ? Without power ,check what ? Check backside ? Whose backside ?
In every other instance this government committed to self praise in claiming pains pushing for the most unpopular decision because it is the best available option and the right thing to do. However, when the most capable candidate for PM is a non Chinese, this government take the perceived ‘popular’ way out, take the second or third in line as long as the NRIC flashes Chinese in the race column. How contradictory…! If this government is consistent in saying that the best option, no matter how difficult it is to convince the people, have to be taken… S Dhanabalan would have been the PM before GCT. In my personal opinion, the best candidate for PM in the present cabinet today in Minister Tharman.
As education minister, he did what other education ministers failed to do before him; Reform the Primary four streaming system. As the Second Minister for Finance, he approved the untihinkable… he culled from the budget a payout scheme for low wage workers, The Workfare. if there is any hope for reform within the present government (the other way of course is to reform by changing the government), I would vote for Mr Tharman for PM.
p.s. I’m not Indian.
“Who cares what he says if he couldn’t garner any respect from the citizen. This is what he get when a incompetent leader could only resort to high-truth, disappearance, deceit, living in ivory tower, bo-chap, utter word-of-wisdom to distract issue and to regain respect. No one cares about this clown until his action match his word.
You want people to respect the leader, let the leader walk the talk, not just talk the talk.”
you’re missing my point. i did not say respect him, i say there is no point in castigating him for saying what is in fact a truism.
and lest we all forget, the pap still won by a 66.6% margin among the votes that can be casted. yes, its not a full popular mandate that enfranchises the people of those poor walkover wards, but heck, of those who can vote, at least 6 in 10 threw their lot with the pap.
we are all pandering to the converted here. and castigating lee hsien loong further will not change anything. saying he has a moral obligation to further the minority cause will not change anything either.
the only thing that will change is if a signifact portion of the electorate make it known that they are unhappy with the current regime, and they are amenable with a minority pm. that so far has not happened, and if it does, pap would be turfed out of office. but really, beyond this superficial whining, most singaporeans (not all of you who read theonlinecitizen, but those whose daily staple is limited to the straits times) will begrudgingly vote for the pap still. and nothing will change. same soft authoritarianism, same detachment, and same possible-but-not-for-the-forseeable-future-minority-pm.
This article short change history, the first chief minister David Marshall is a Jew, the first opposition to break PAP strangle hold of parliament is an Indian, Joshua Benjamin Jayaratnam.
Lest not also forget we are talking about the scion of a leader who continue to espouse the benefit of eugenics.
He will reserve the PM post for his son, we the people have no problem whether Indian or Malay be the PM. Only Pap got problem.
This article short change history, the first chief minister David Marshall is a Jew, the first opposition to break PAP strangle hold of parliament is an Indian, Joshua Benjamin Jayaratnam. – alphaville (#26)
But David Marshall and JBJ are non-PAP politicians. The important question here is whether there exist prejudice within the PAP that prevents competent individuals from minority-races to take up the most important leadership role in PAP.
“and lest we all forget, the pap still won by a 66.6% margin among the votes that can be casted. yes, its not a full popular mandate that enfranchises the people of those poor walkover wards, but heck, of those who can vote, at least 6 in 10 threw their lot with the pap.”
That doesn’t tell us anything. You know what. Those clowns promise upgrading of lift, I ask my friend why he vote for PAP. My friend say something so real, he say he could not afford to have his eighty years old mother climbing stair, in case she fall down and end up paying for expensive medical bills. Another friend quotes that his flag and toilet has crack and need upgrading, couldn’t afford to upgrade as his paltry salary is just enough to survive together with his aging mother and father, voting for PAP at least upgrade for free.
I’m sure there is a lot more mundane reasons other than such noble reason like the PAP will lead us towards the future.
So how many of these people are in these situations ?
If people vote because of CARROTS AND UPGRADING then those votes will not matter if the race of PM will not matter. The most important is whether the PM will do the right thing and be fair and upgrade those flags belonging to opp party after all everybody pays tax and males serve NS.
What is the point of having another race as PM if he is subservient and loyal to the PAP’s ideology and pragmatism ? Just ask Nathan.
Of course, this is not relevant to this current topic.
I agree with Mohd Haireez.
A malay PM would bring a different perspective – maybe a more relak approach to nation building. that’s what Singapore is lacking. everything also so serious -demand high efficiency, high productivity, and always be no.1. why not look at our brudders overseas in malaysia and indonesia, all so relak and enjoy good life! take things easy lah, easy come, easy go!
Because they are relak, that’s why until today, they are still as tak boleh as ever. Lol.
and quit asking the government to take the lead: what singapore needs is a less pervasive and diminished presence of the state – what you can do is to break barriers, to establish mutual trust among races. – khairulanwar (#19)
Well said. What we Singaporeans need is to overcome our clutch mentality by embracing community empowerment. We do not have to ask government for hand-out or help every time we get into trouble. We may be weak individually, but if we all all come together as one collective body, we have the power to pressure for change or make changes ourselves.
Mohd Haireez / Guest Writer
Hi My Fellow Countryman,
You either missed the point P.M. Lee was trying to make or you were arguing for the sake of so doing.
Now let me be very forthright here. In your opinion, what are the chances of a non-Bumiputera [and so also a non-Muslim] becoming the P.M.of Malaysia? Do you think such a Malaysian has a good chance of becoming the P.M. of Malaysia? If your answer is in the affirmative I would be excited to hear what you have to say. If your answer is otherwise, I would aso be keen to know. And I’d like to stress here that Singapore and Malaysia, by virtue of their being both multi-racial societies, do have much in common in the arena of Politics.
[deleted by moderator] I’m indeed disappointed that you are unable to appreciate that the P.M. was being frank, honest and realistic in his answer on the possibility of a Citizen from a minority ethnic group being popularly elected as the P.M. of Singapore.
Or perhaps your comment on the P.M.’s answer to the said question stems not from your inability to grasp the realities of politics in the Singapore context but from a desire to distort what the P.M. obviously intended to mean, as well as to provoke members of the minority ethnic group(s) into believing that they were victims of deliberate discrimination by the Ruling Party. To substantiate what I have said I would like to quote what you have said in your write-up:
“With all due respect to Mr Lee, his response is at best, unsettling, particularly after decades of struggle to portray the government as a racially-unbiased institution.”
and you went on to say:
Mr Lee pointed out that race is a factor in the appointment of a Prime Minister.
“This is especially disturbing considering that the position of Prime Minister is not constitutionally dependent on the votes of the average citizen but is contingent upon the decision of the President who is supposed to select a Member of Parliament “who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament..”, according to Article 25 of our Constitution.”
[deleted by moderator] in Singapore, it has always been the party that command the majority of the votes cast by our citizens that forms the Government. And it is the members of the Ruling Party who decide who will be the P.M. and who will then inform or advise the President accordingly. And the President, even if he is an ‘Elected President’, will not normally contravene the decision of a political party popularly elected by the People to form the Government.
As regards what you have to say about “the government being (as) a racially-unbiased institution”, you do know that this has always been the case. May I also stress here that only the Malays in Singapore enjoy privileges that all the other ethnic groups do not enjoy. Malay children enjoy free education up to the tertiary level regardless of their families’s financial standing. Children from the other ethnic groups have all to pay school fees up to the tertiary level includingthose who happen to come from financially disadvantaged homes. Then again, the Govenment of the day comprises MP’s and Ministers and other lower ranking political office-holders from both the minority and the majority ethnic groups.
Finally, may I suggest that unless one is honest and courageous enough to face up to the truth of one’s situation, one will continue to remain status quo. YES, the truth is always painful. But as an enlightened individual, I’d rather accept the pain than choose that the truth be concealed. This is the only way to go for one to achieve true progress. Special privileges are at best crutches that serve in the long run only to demean one’s self-worth.
Ho Cheow Seng
Comments edited by moderator.
.
:
I think that PM Lee’s words have some truth in it.
We are still very racially minded in the way we eat, talk, work and definitely vote. That is not to say that the non-Chinese are not as capable as the Chinese majority population. As we are surrounded by Muslim dominated countries, I think it is right to say that the majoirty Chinese will not be comfortable with a non-Chinese/Muslim PM as yet.
Nevertheless, ministers like Tharma is very impressive and articulate and definitely one of the top three ministers in the govt now together with Khaw and George. If he is make PM, I will support him in vote and spirit. He shows a good grasp of what he knows and speaks articulately and seems connected to the ground. I agreed that Dhanabalan should be the PM instead of SM Goh but at last, he is non-Chinese. However, SM Goh has managed to bring his human side to the people and did a relatively good job at the helm as PM.
All this goes to show that we are still not a very inclusive society in terms of race and religion. We still need housing racial ration to ensure that one race does not congregate in one HDB estate. When we vote, if the candidate is a choice of Chinese against Malay candidates, I am pretty sure that similar race voters will vote for their own kind all things being equal.
The GRC has tried in it’s stupendous way to ensure that voters vote along non-racial lines but the govt has used it to their political advantage of course. However, I can see the logic of the GRC implementation. It tries to introduce a multi-national team in the constituency ensuring that the voters have their own kind to look into their needs. Nevertheless, the GRC system has blatantly announced to the country that we are still voting in a racially-bias pattern which does not help us to be racially-blind.
Tampines and Eunos are very Muslim-dominated estate and it is a concern as it shows that we are still very racially minded in where we live and school.
When I go out with my Muslim friends to watch EPL soccer at my coffee shop downstairs, for reasons unknown to me, I am not invited to drink together with them sitting at the same table. They would order three glasses for themselves to drink and I am left to order my own kopi. I felt excluded and sometimes annoyed by this simple gesture of ignorance though we are good pals.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not angry at them just puzzled. One of my best friend is a Muslim who is also my ex-colleague. We ate lunches and drank tea together sharing many aspirations of helping the poor and underpriviledged together.
However, PM Lee’s statement though truthful will surely anger the non-Chinese population and naturally so. He spoke his mind and I don’t think there is any malice in it. Maybe young writers like Mr Haireez is more ready to vote along non-racial line but not the post-65 voters and that includes all voters whether they belong to the Chinese, Malays or Indians. We still have a long way to go.
If the 70 odd per cent Chinese population do not want a non Chinese to be PM, the PM will be Chinese.
That is all PM is saying. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ever heard of the will (or tyranny) of the majority,Mohd Haireez?
And the leaders in Indonesia and M’sia sure don’t inspire confidence that a non Chinese will do better.
Waste of time even discussing this issue.
Not until OLD MAN dies, at least.
Now he decides who can be PM. Even if the majority of Chinese thinks we can accept Tharman as PM, he can wait long long because his genes lack LEEs.
“You must be naive, or being deliberately mischievous to pretend, not to know that in Singapore, it has always been the party that command the majority of the votes cast by our citizens that forms the Government. And it is the members of the Ruling Party who decide who will be the P.M. and who will then inform or advise the President accordingly. And the President, even if he is an ‘Elected President’, will not normally contravene the decision of a political party popularly elected by the People to form the Government.”
Yes, you have hit the note well. You acknowledge it and it is time for a change. Blunders have been made and cover-ups are harder to do nowsaday. Absolute power corrupts and we have tasted their “failure” bitterly through PayAndPay scheme. Singapore is run under a monarch dynasty with emperor passing his throne to his incompetent son with many subjects at his side. The emperor pretend to pass his throne and using his son as a puppet and manipulating his son and court at every move. Subjects so afraid to speak up for fear of “execution” and “demotion to common man”. A arrogant government that rely on fear and tax to rule the country, diminishing the power of citizen and exploiting the citizen to no end. The emperor speak rhetoric only to give reasons for more taxes to be collected and expound suffering onto the citizen to show that emperor still has its place and relevancy. An emperor that really wear no clothes and no shame, implanting wrong value to his successors, be it his subjects or his son. Such dynasty must come to past for good and for worse.
“I think that PM Lee’s words have some truth in it.”
40++ years of nation-building in multi-racial society and we still not ready ? Something must be wrong. Never try never know. Are we the one who fear the change or the government ? Maybe both.
Most of the articles I’ve read report that John McCain got most of the “white evangelical vote”, not most of the “white vote”. Also, African-Americans as a whole tend to vote Democratic, regardless of the race of the candidate. So you are quite right to call out the PM’s questionable use of statistics.
He should have, in addition to everything else he said, come out strongly in favour of the rights of minorities to be assessed objectively. It is only befitting that a leader of a state should embody the ideals of the state, which in this case, include meritocracy. Compare his answer to Colin Powell’s response to allegations that Obama is a Muslim: “What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.”
I think the PM did a great disservice to minorities in Singapore by adopting an indulgent and concessionary tone towards what is in fact racism. The government advises the Singaporean people to do a lot of things, so it completely escapes me as to why he didn’t at least include the exhortation that “Singaporeans should judge on the basis of ability rather than race” in addition to all his other comments. It was the least he could do to demonstrate his commitment to the rights of all citizens.
Dear People,
How will a Malay PM react to racial and religious sentiments played out by Malaysia and Indonesia ?
Will a Malay PM uphold the political interests of the Chinese Non-Muslim majority – even if it means hurting Malay-Muslims elsewhere ?
Will a Malay PM be pressured into Islamising Singapore ?
Dear Cheow Seng,
Singapore has not adopted Malaysia’s pro-bumi policy, which is why we separated in the first place. The point is that the PM, and the PAP, have made much of the idea that meritocracy is the creed of Singapore, in that you can rise to the top, regardless of your background and ethnicity, as long as you have the ability.
In this context, it is instructive to note that the PM did not say – “Sure, a minority candidate can become PM, but it’s just that I haven’t spotted someone who has the ability yet.”
Rather he said something like “No, a minority candidate cannot become PM yet, because the majority won’t vote for him due to their racial bias.”
Not only does that contravene the PAP’s much professed creed of meritocracy, it also leads many netizens to suspect that it is actually the PM and the conservative PAP leadership themselves that will not accept a minority PM, rather than the majority of Singaporeans which the PM has pointed the finger at. That’s why you get the reaction that you have here.
Dr Syed,
Hey, your days are over. When I look at the PM, its either a good PM or a bad PM.
U said, “How will a Malay PM react to racial and religious sentiments played out by Malaysia and Indonesia ?”
U are speaking like an illiterate person in the 50′s. Remember those days, even Hokkien people must married Hokkien, Hailam (now called Hainan) married Hailam. Using your kind of distorted logic, how would a Hokkien PM deals with Hokkien, how would a Hokkien Commissioner of Police deals with Hokkien secret society members….
Wake up, do not make my toe laugh…. Just one last for you, when people asked me about Singapore first President, to me is always Yusof bin Ishak… whether he is an Indian or Chinese did not come to my mind…
One more last one, I think you may be the type who would give up your seat in a MRT train to people of your race….
But do not worry, you are my fellow Singaporean… when the time come for me to defend you, I will defend you…
Your fellow Anak Singapura…
A person who is incapable of:
- responding objectively to “racial and religious sentiments” played out elsewhere
- upholding the rights of all citizens
- being committed to secularism in government, rather than religious ideology
would not be considered a fit candidate for PM, regardless of what his ethnicity happens to be.
These are descriptors of types of people, not of entire ethnic or religious groups.
Ho Cheow Seng:
Or perhaps your comment on the P.M.’s answer to the said question stems not from your inability to grasp the realities of politics in the Singapore context but from a desire to distort what the P.M. obviously intended to mean, as well as to provoke members of the minority ethnic group(s) into believing that they were victims of deliberate discrimination by the Ruling Party.
To say that PM has an obvious point to make in such a statement is something that I do not subscribe to. There has to be an underlying reason. To me, the reason is plain and simple; PAP is note ready to give the PMship to a minority candidate. And because it is not ready to do this, it makes the suggestion, via the top man in the land, that the population is not ready to accept a minority PM.
Why do I come to such a conclusion? Look at the ‘consequential’ appointments in the PAP govt and you’ll be able to see clearly what I mean.
Minister for Defence – has there been a non-Chinese minister?
Chief Justice – has there been a non-Chinese Chief Justice?
Even the Finance ministry which only as recent as 2007 that we saw a non-Chinese heading the ministry, Tharman.
This begs the question: Is it Singaporeans or is it the PAP govt that harbours the fear of appointing a non-Chinese to these positions? It’s the same with the PMship isn’t it?
So tell, what is the reality you talk about? If this is not real enough than I do not know what is. You also claim that commenters in this forum ‘distort what the PM obviously intended to mean’. Tell me, can you blame us for such distortions, even if they exist at all in the first place?
This is one PM that has shown to have a habit of saying half-truths or truths with underlying motives. This is one PM who does not flinch or bat an eyelid when accusing the people when things do not go as planned – according to the PAP standard.
Coming back to the topic, I feel, this PM knows that his cabinet is not ready to appoint a non-Chinese PM. He knows he cannot force their hands. Next best thing to protect himself from blame is to blame the population, as always. The people are not ready for a minority PM.
Finally, one cannot hope to avoid the debate becoming one that borders along racial lines in such a discussion. The PM cannot be so naive not to expect this. So, if this evolves into a debate that has racial connotations, then the people cannot be blamed for it. The PM started it.
The equation is very simple and there is no need to blame the earth and the heavens.
/// 10) Dr Syed Alwi on November 9th, 2008 11.08 pm
Dear Mohd Haireez,
Are you prepared to uphold the political interests of the Non-Muslim majority – even if it means that you may have to hurt Muslims elsewhere ? ///
Hi Dr Syed Alwi,
I think neither PM Lee nor Mohd Haireez talked about Malay PM per se, but minority PM. I see you have deliberately narrowed it down to Malay/Muslim PM. If you think in terms of all minority races, then the chances are higher.
We already have minority Deputy PM and SM – Jayakumar and late Rajaratnam. We had minority Presidents in Yusof Ishak, Devan Nair, Benjamin Sheares and S R Nathan.
Wouldn’t someone with Tharman be good enough to be PM? No problem with upholding the political interests of the non-Muslim majority at all.
Dear Mohamed, U rebutted:
“”In extension of his response, Mr Lee rationalised that the fact Senator John McCain garnered a majority of white votes in the recent US Presidential elections is a reflection of how race is still a factor in the minds of the American voters.”"
“”But this overlooks the fact that not a single Democrat has won a majority of the white vote since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 despite fielding white candidates as Presidential-hopefuls. In fact, Senator John Kerry, a white Democrat nominee, attracted less support from the white voters in 2004 than President-elect Obama did in the recent US Presidential election. Senator Kerry garnered just 43 percent of the white vote while still attracting the majority of the non-white voters despite being white himself. “”
You have done your research well. Keep it up. The PM should respond.
This is why we need to have freedom of speech, we need to debate… the truth will come out. But, do not underestimate the like of Dr Syed… There are enough of this type of people to stop our progress…. They always see the world with their tinted eyes …..
Majulah Singapura… Qian Jin Ba, Xinjiapo
Mr T, u said “Tharman be good enough to be PM? ”
You must have very short memory. Just less than a month ago, it came out in the Newspaper HEADLINE that he said, WE DID NOT NEED GOVT GUARANTEE ON DEPOSIT IN BANKS.
Then what happened? The next day, MAS announced that SINGAPORE GOVT WILL GURANTEE ALL DEPOSIT IN SINGAPORE BANKS.
You want him to be PM? U must be JOKING.
Please go and check the papers before you respond.
Jeyakumar: Can I *ever* become the PM?
LHL: Over my dead body, literally
The electorate voted for JBJ, an indian, as the first opposition MP and leader. I doubt if the electorate is really racially prejudiced although there are people that individually still are.
Whilst individual parties decide who they want as their leader, ultimately, its still the electorate who decides on the candidate. If the electorate thinks a minority candidate is worth voting for, they’d vote for that person.
I think Dr Alwi brought up three very intertesting questions.
It does not matter if you think the PM had not deliberately mentioned a Malay PM but in all truthfulness, I believe this is what he had intended to convey. Of course saying it out loud would rouse unpleasant sentiments and effect a different discussion altogether .
Fact of the matter is, the questions posed by Dr Alwi is real and the possibility of having a Malay PM is enough for us to discuss such a possiblity?
I did a simple survey last week with my colleagues at work – and mind you – I have 25% in the department who are Malays (11 out of 40) working alongside me.
In the open, most have answered that they would not mind a minority PM. However, when I asked them again in private, their sentiments changed completely. Most said they won’t mind a minority PM – if the PM is not a Malay.
They brought up the same fears and questions posed by Dr Alwi. And guess what? All the Malays in my department had the same fear. They were the ones who felt that Singapore is not ready for a Malay PM.
This tells the story that the PM is facing. His govt does not have the guts to tell him the truth (or maybe they are really blind or deaf). He does not have the b**ls to discuss openly with them. So, he blames the people to stir discussions. The people will do the job for him and he can insulate himself from all blame.