MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
RESOURCES, MR MASAGOS ZULKIFLI, ON THE ELECTED PRESIDENCY FOR THE
SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 9 NOVEMBER 2016
Madam Speaker
1
I support the Bill. Singapore today is a country with a rich diversity that we
value, respect and celebrate. We see this in our surroundings, where we
can find a mosque within the vicinity of a Chinese home or a church close
to Muslim homes. It is even more amazing to a visitor to find a mosque
beside a Chinese temple! We see this as our children go to school in
traditional costumes to celebrate Racial Harmony Day and learn about the
virtues of strength in diversity. We feel this inclusiveness when we get
invited to open houses during Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa and
Deepavali or to weddings of friends of a different race.
2
Indeed, we are becoming more socially diverse as well. The proportion of
inter-ethnic marriages has almost doubled from a decade ago. Last year,
21.5 per cent of marriages were inter-ethnic marriages. We have new
citizens and immigrants setting up home in Singapore, enriching our
diversity.
3
We have benefited from the peace and prosperity from our racial and
religious harmony and made our diversity work for us. Our interpretation
of multiracialism, has thus far, forged strong bonds among Singaporeans,
and also engendered trust between the people and the Government.
Indeed it is only with this peace and with the trust between the people and
the Government, that we can have an open discussion on amending the
Constitution on the Elected Presidency.
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4
There are three major pillars upon which we have built our multiracial and
multi religious social compact and earned us our peace and harmony.
These pillars need to be continually tended to, strengthened or modified
while keeping an eye on achieving the objectives of a workable and peaceful
multiracial and multi religious society.
POLICIES WHICH EMPHASISE ON INCLUSIVITY
5
The first of these three pillars is our policies around building an inclusive
society which are both multiracial and multi religious. Our policies have
long been the cornerstones to preserve this sense of inclusiveness of all
races, in order to build a sense of equity within the community and political
system.
6
Policies that have steered us towards this sense of inclusiveness are
reflected over the years:

In 1965, when we became an independent nation, the late Mr Lee
Kuan Yew made a promise to Singaporeans to build a multiracial nation.
He said and I quote: "We are going to be a multi-racial nation in
Singapore. We will set an example. This is not a Malay nation; this is not
a Chinese nation; this is not an Indian nation. Everyone will have his
place, equal: language, culture, religion."

To assuage the minorities, particularly the Malays who became a
minority overnight, this commitment towards the inclusion of all
Singaporeans has been worded in our Constitution under Article 152(1)
– it states that ‘It shall be the responsibility of the Government constantly
to care for the interests of the racial and religious minorities in
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Singapore’ with special recognition for the position of the Malays as the
indigenous people of Singapore.

In 1970, the Presidential Council for Minority Rights was
established to examine all legislation to ensure that they are not
disadvantageous to any racial or religious community as compared to
other such communities1.

Since 1988, our society’s multi-racialism has been safeguarded in
our Parliamentary system through the Group Representation
Constituency (GRC), where at least one of the Member of Parliament
must belong to one of the minority racial communities2.

The Ethnic Integration Policy, which was introduced in March
1989, aims to ensure a balanced racial mix in every neighbourhood and
block which approximates the general population. This has promoted
racial integration and harmony in HDB estates – it’s how many of us grew
up – smelling and learning to love each other’s cooking; going to school
together; visiting each other’s homes during festivals; and familiarising
ourselves with the significant occasions at our void decks – be it
weddings or birthday celebrations, funerals – allowing each to celebrate
or grieve.
1
Source: http://www.istana.gov.sg/roles-and-responsibilities/presidents-office/other-presidential-councils
The other responsibilities of the Council include:
a. Considering matters affecting any racial or religious community that are referred to it by Parliament or
the Government.
b. In its advisory capacity, the Council advises the President on nominations of appointees to the
Presidential Council for Religious Harmony (under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act), the
Malay Community Committee, and the Indian and Other Minorities Communities Committee (under
the Parliamentary Elections Act).
2
Source: http://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_type_electoral.html#group
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 The amendment to the Elected Presidency, to me, is a continuation of
the policy enhancement that we need from time to time to preserve this
need to build an inclusive multi-racial society.
7
Now, who we elect as President must be representative of who we are and
what we stand for as Singaporeans. With the Elected Presidency, the
principle of meritocracy applies – we must elect the best person for the job.
However, our value system is not singularly about meritocracy; in as much
as competence is key, it is also as a matter of principle, that our elected
president is a person of integrity. These two principles, meritocracy and
integrity translate for competence and honesty, both necessary elements
to the character of the Elected President, performing the custodial role.
8
However, the Elected President also plays a symbolic role as the head of
state representing the multiracial society of Singapore and at the same
time, he or she must be able to connect with all Singaporeans. Ideally since
the Elected Presidency was first enacted in 1990, an Elected President of
each ethnic group would have been represented and elected, but
unfortunately this has not been the case.
9
The Channel News Asia and the Institute of Policy Studies survey on race
relations was published recently in August 20163. The survey notes that
while there is a majority of respondents of all races who would accept a
minority race as President, if given a choice, most would prefer someone of
the same race as them to become the nation’s Prime Minister or President.
I do not believe this is from a sense of deep prejudice or bigotry more than
it is a sense of comfort and convenience to choose someone similar to
yourself.
3
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/most-singaporeans-want/3053092.html
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[Updated as at 9 Nov 2016]
10
This is apparent when based on the same findings, 59 percent of Chinese
would still say yes to a Malay President, while 75 percent of Malays said yes
to an Indian President. In an ideal scenario, people will vote independent
of racial lines, but the fact is that racial preference is primordial and a
natural inclination. It exists today everywhere, not just in Singapore, but in
all societies, including the US where ethnic-based campaign counts much in
their elections. Therefore in Singapore too, if left unchecked, the current
rules will more probable than not, elect a president of the majority race for
a long time to come.
11
Indeed, just because we have learned to live with our differences and can
cherish them, does not mean the differences don’t matter or the
differences have disappeared.
12
So, I am glad that one of the proposed changes that will be introduced to
the Elected Presidency is to have a reserve Presidential Election for a racial
group, if they are not represented after five continuous terms. This will
assuage the minorities particularly.
I have heard support from my
community for this in town hall dialogues I conducted. Actually, every time
Presidential candidates are announced, I would be accosted by them with
remarks of disappointment because a Malay candidate is not contesting.
Of course it goes away months after, but it never fails to crop up when the
Presidential Election season arrives again.
13
These grouses seem a minor matter. Just a small unhappiness. It goes
away. PM cited last week’s massive demonstration in Jakarta which ended
in violence. It was triggered by off-hand comments as part of a contest for
high political office. What was allegedly said in that comment had religious
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connotations and perceived as an insult to believers. Just one sentence was
enough to enrage many people. Political actors allegedly took advantage
of the situation to fuel sentiments further. Seemingly small things can and
do snow ball too, especially when they cut into primordial instincts about
race and religion over time. That is why, it is good that we address this
seemingly small issue on ethnic representation of our Elected President –
because it is a matter touching race or religion - before it accumulates over
time and snowballs with other issues into an avalanche.
14
The right policies on its own, though, will not guarantee racial and religious
harmony – it’s no silver bullet. Clearly, however, the wrong policies will
destroy this harmony. One policy of the Sri Lankan government in 1944
making Sinhalese the sole official language, excluded Tamil speaking
minorities from the civil service and limited entry into universities. Other
policies came in succession and continued marginalising Tamil-speaking
minorities. The burning down of the Jaffna Library in 1981 was probably
the ultimate trigger of 26 years of ‘bombs, bullets, carnage and suffering’
from civil war4.
Madam Speaker
INTEGRATION IS A TWO-WAY STREET
15
While we have come a long way from the tumultuous times when there was
strife between communities, we cannot take for granted the peaceful coexistence that we have today. Even as the government moves to assuage
the care and concern it has for minority communities by introducing new
laws or modifying them, both the minorities and the dominant community
4
Norwegian book on Civil War in Sri Lanka
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have crucial roles to play to forge the trust and harmony that the
government seeks to build through an inclusive society.
16
Inclusivity is a two-way street. Inclusivity would not be successful had the
minorities not been responsive. Minorities had participated actively in and
continuously built our common spaces; even as minorities, we seek to
preserve our identity and culture.
Sometimes, integration involved
everyone making sacrifices of what is important because it mattered to the
others. This proactive effort at integration by the minorities makes a crucial
second pillar for our harmony.
Puan Speaker, in Malay
17
Kehidupan harmoni berbilang kaum dan agama yang kita nikmati dan
harungi selama ini adalah hasil yang terbina melalui tiga tunggak utama.
18
Tiang pertama adalah dasar-dasar baik Pemerintah, yang buat sekian lama
sentiasa memastikan bahawa setiap warga dan kaum merasakan suasana
kekitaan dan inklusif, demi menghasil dan memupukkan rasa saksama di
dalam masyarakat dan sistem politiknya. Ini termasuk:
a.
Pada hari kemerdekaan Singapura, mendiang Encik Lee Kuan
Yew berikrar akan membina sebuah negara yang berbilang kaum
yang saksama.
Komitmen tersebut diperteguhkan lagi di
Perlembagaan negara kita pada Artikel 152(1) – yang
merakamkan
tanggungjawab
Pemerintah
untuk sentiasa
menjaga kepentingan semua kaum minoriti di Singapura.
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b.
Pada 1970 pula Majlis Presiden bagi Hak Minoriti telah
ditubuhkan.
c
Sistem Kawasan Undi Perwakilan Berkumpulan (GRC) di
wujudkan pada tahun 1988 supaya adanya calon minoriti dalam
barisan calon Pilihan Raya demi mengelakkan politik berbaur
perkauman.
d
Setahun kemudian, Dasar Integrasi Etnik untuk memastikan
dilaksakan supaya terdapat keseimbangan kaum kepada jumlah
penduduk di setiap estet perumahan awam.
19
Penggubalan Perlembagaan untuk membolehkan seorang calon dari setiap
kaum menjadi Presiden diPilih adalah satu lagi proses penyesuaian yang
dilakukan kali ini untuk mengatasi situasi yang kurang mendokong
perlantikan Presiden dari kaum minoriti selama ini. Ia disambut baik oleh
masyarakat Melayu yang juga inginkan calon dari kaum kami – seorang yang
layak, berkebolehan dan amanah. Saya menyambutnya dengan baik.
20
Namun, sebanyak apapun Pemerintah prihatin dan berusaha menjaga
kebajikan kaum minoriti, kededua pihak – baik minoriti mahupun kaum
dominan – mempunyai peranan penting untuk memupuk dan
mengukuhkan kepercayaan dan menanam sifat hormat menghormati
antara satu sama lain supaya keharmonian dapat terus kita nikmati.
21
Pada masa yang sama, kita harus akur bahawa proses integrasi penting
untuk keharmonian.
Saya gembira kerana sebagai kaum minoriti,
masyarakat Melayu/Islam telah lama bersungguh-sungguh berintegrasi
dengan masyarakat am Singapura. Tanpa bertongkatkan system kebajikan,
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mereka dapat mengecapi kehidupan moden bersama rakyat lain secara
meritokrasi, namun pada masa yang sama masih berupaya mengekalkan
identiti sebagai seorang Melayu/Islam. Inilah tunggak kedua keharmonian
kita.
22
Dalam proses berintegrasi pula, kaum minoriti sentiasa mahu melihat dan
merasakan layanan tulus pihak majoriti atau dominan dalam mewujudkan
masyarakat inklusif; dan ini tiada bezanya juga dengan Singapura.
Penerimaan kaum minoriti yang tulus yang mewujudkan semangat
kekitaan.
Inilah yang menjadi tunggak ketiga keharmonian kaum di negara kita. Saya
akan menghuraikan hal ini dalam Bahasa Inggeris.
Madam Speaker
SENSE OF BELONGING
23
In many countries, where there is a dominant majority and significant
minorities, we see a whole spectrum of how multiracialism is lived. This
ranges from the negative – such as with oppression and rejection, to simply
ignoring them to let them live any way they want, to the positive –
integrating and embracing them as full-fledged members of the
community. There are also societies that force minority into assimilation.
We are a working model multiracial society because of the sense of
belonging of our minorities.
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The sense of belonging of our minorities is crucial in ensuring that Singapore
remains resilient against any force that threatens to tear our society apart.
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As minorities adjust to integrate, they continuously sense whether the
majority is embracing the ‘inclusive society’. It is no different for Singapore.
The warm embrace of the majority (and consequently a sense of belonging
by the minorities) makes the final third foundation for our multiracial
society to live in harmony. On the contrary, in countries which instead play
up racial and religious differences by the dominant community, we see
unhappiness within the minority community festering and in certain cases,
exploited.
25
Everyone here would be familiar with the Iraq conflict and pronouncement
of territories of the Islamic Caliphate by ISIS. But what is more interesting
is that individuals from minority groups from countries so far away have
joined this war. The Soufan Group estimates 27,000 foreign fighters at the
end of 2015. Why that many? I heard former US Undersecretary of
Department of Home Security Jane Lute said: “they came from everywhere
because they belonged to nowhere”. There is at least a battalion of Uighur
and Chechen fighters within ISIS. BBC reported “It’s the general colonial
attitude of the Han Chinese officials to Uighurs that generate huge
resentment.” In the end, there were violent clashes between the Muslim
Uighurs and Han Chinese in Xinjiang, China5 such as that in 2014 as a result
of the radicalisation of the Uighurs. In Chechnya, what started out as a
nationalist uprising in Russia’s north Caucasus region in the 1990s was met
by a brutal clampdown, which in turn spawned a violent Islamist
movement. Chechnyan and Uighur militants spilled their fight to Syria
hoping they can feel they belong and can call it home.
5
Source: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21611067-iron-fist-xinjiang-fuelling-insurrection-chinasleadership-must-switch-tactics
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26
Thus today, we see that the rejection or sense of rejection of a minority
group in the community, or the use of force to make them conform to the
majority, have not only caused a loss in a sense of belonging but often
resulted in dire consequences, with some of the oppressed turning towards
violence and terrorism.
27
Even Singapore is not immune to the growing threat of terrorism. The
Government has arrested a dozen Singaporeans, most of whom were selfradicalised. Several intended to go to the Middle East to join ISIS, and a few
were planning to mount attacks in Singapore.
28
The threat is real, and our best measure in tackling terrorism is to
strengthen the sense of belonging of the minorities, and in today’s context
for the Muslims and Malays in Singapore. We need this sense of belonging
and an inclusive society to be pervasive even while the Muslim communities
fortify their strength within to repel this threat. It is this sense of belonging
that motivates Muslim leaders in Singapore to stand ready to come forward
to defuse conflicts, and not exploit them nor goad the community to
extremism or terrorism. In no small measure too, it is this sense of
belonging that the community has responded to reject extremism and
terrorism.
Madam Speaker
CONCLUSION
29
I am grateful we in Singapore, continue to tend to our racial harmony with
great care and concern. The amendment of the Constitution to ensure all
ethnic groups a chance at becoming an Elected President will be
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remembered as a prudent foresight of the Government and a great
generosity of the majority. In the passing of this amendment, I see a
continued effort at acknowledging the aspirations of my community and all
other minorities, and thus, see a commitment to our multiracial and multi
religious compact. My community and I appreciate this.
30
At the end of the day, racial inclusiveness and harmony is up to us – you
and me. Our diversity will only become our strength, if we consciously
ensure that the generosity to be inclusive are ingrained into our fabric of
society.
It has to be embodied in our thoughts and actions.
This
responsibility cannot solely rest on Government, nor can it be just a topdown approach. Everyone needs to play a part in this. To integrate. To
embrace.
To understand and adapt. This sense of inclusiveness in
Singapore is unique, and we need to continue working hard to preserve this.
31
Yesterday the Americans voted. I do not know what the outcome is yet. But
I read in International Herald Tribune, an article by Imbolo Mbue who is the
author of the novel “Behold the Dreamers.” She migrated from Cameroon
and became a US citizen and wrote: “I’ve seen the best of America during
my time here. When I was considering dropping out of graduate school
because of financial constraints, an American professor helped me get a
scholarship so I could complete my master’s degree. Twice, I had an
American co-worker give me hand-me-downs because I couldn’t afford to
buy clothes. An American employer once said to me, at a time when I was
questioning who I was, “You are a breath of fresh air.” Being black, female
and an immigrant — and for a good portion of my life here, low-income,
too — I’ve weathered my share of prejudice. But the empathy Americans
have shown me far outweighs the unkindness. That is why on Election Day,
I’ll be voting for empathy.”
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32
Yesterday too, I felt a poignant moment when PM said "As Minister Yaacob
Ibrahim observed yesterday, this would be our first Malay Elected President
after more than 46 years, since our first President Encik Yusof Ishak.” And
PM finished with “I look forward to this." There was spontaneous applause
from my colleagues. Chinese and minorities alike. I felt generosity. I felt
empathy. That is why for this amendment Bill, I too am voting for empathy.
33
Thank you.
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