Why the Office of President has to be multi-racial

As the Head of State, the PRESIDENT is the symbol of our nation. He REPRESENTS ALL SINGAPOREANS.

THEREFORE, THE OFFICE MUST BE MULTI-RACIAL.

At the same time, whichever ethnic group the President belongs to, he has to be multi-racial in his approach. He has to reach out to all races, connect with every Singaporean.

If the President, who is the symbol of a multi-racial nation, always comes from the same race, then the very multi-racial character of the nation will come under question.

BECAUSE OF OUR POPULATION COMPOSITION, Singapore is sometimes seen as a CHINESE COUNTRY.

It can lead to misunderstandings, it can lead to unrealistic expectations and it can lead to us being carried away, even domestically, and forgetting this fundamental fact about Singapore.

WE ARE NOT A CHINESE COUNTRY, BUT MULTI-RACIAL, multi-religious Southeast Asian country with an ethnic Chinese majority, but not a Chinese country.

WE HAVE TO SHOW THIS DOMESTICALLY TO OUR OWN POPULATION.  

WE HAVE TO SHOW THIS EXTERNALLY TO OTHER COUNTRIES TOO.

We are building a radically different society in Singapore than other countries in the region, and China which is overwhelmingly one ethnic group, the Hans.

We are building a radically different society than our neighbours, who are working on a different basis than we are.

We are seeking to be multi-racial, equal and harmonious, gradually enlarging our shared Singaporean identity, while celebrating our different cultures and faiths, allowing minority communities ample space to live their own ways of life, never forcing everybody to conform to a single norm set by the majority.

We have to work consciously and systematically at this.

IT WILL NOT HAPPEN BY ITSELF, nor will we get there if we blithely assume that we have already arrived and do not talk about it, do not do anything about it, and we are okay. That is not the way to be okay.

The President is the most important unifying symbol of the nation.

Singaporeans look up to the PRESIDENT AS THE PERSONIFICATION OF ALL THAT SINGAPORE STANDS FOR and all that we stand for in Singapore.

So it is a FUNDAMENTAL NECESSITY THAT THE PRESIDENT BE MULTI-RACIAL.

- Excerpt of PM Lee's speech in Parliament on the Elected Presidency with edition.

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/newsroom/pm-lee-hsien-loong-parliamentary-debate-constitution-amendment-bill