Defining "Malay"

In 1992, Prof Tham Seong Chee, then Head of the Malay Studies Department in the National University of Singapore published a forward titled Defining "Malay" for a seminar.

Here is an excerpt from it:

Malays do not represent a pure race. 

There is among the Malays an ongoing melting pot phenomena involving both peoples of Malayo-Austronesian background as well as peoples not indigenous to South East Asia. 

This admixture of ethnic and racial groups can be expected to grow in Singapore. This therefore raises the question vis-à-vis individuals of mix ethnic background viz Malay and Arab, Malay and Indian, Malay and Chinese in their order of importance. 

It is obvious that for such individuals race as an objective criterion cannot be the sole basis of identification. 

Whether the individual regards himself/herself a Malay, Arab, Indian or Chinese as the case may be would depend on subjective factors, in other words on his/her self-definition or formal declaration. 

Today's context:

Article 19B of the Singapore Constitution defines a Malay as "any person, whether of the Malay race or otherwise, who considers himself to be a member of the Malay community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Malay community by that community".

As the forward published in 1992 shows, the definition of a Malay has not been changed to suit the current context.

The definition of Malay is an inclusive one.

In Malaysia, Article 160 of the Federal Constitution defines a Malay thus:

"Malay" means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom 

and - (a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or (b) is the issue of such a person.

MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT TONY TAN KENG YAM TO THE PARLIAMENT ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS ON 7 NOVEMBER 2016

Excerpts:

The Elected President as a Symbol of National Unity

Prior to 1991, Presidents were appointed by Parliament to perform ceremonial functions, usually associated with the Head of State of a Westminster system of government. The President represents the State in engaging other statesmen overseas. 

Metaphorically, the President is the flag-bearer of Singapore.  Based on how he carries himself or engages his counterparts, other countries will form a view on Singapore’s position in the global community. 

Often, this requires the President to be well read, strategic in views and sensitive to geopolitical developments. 

The symbolic role of the President also extends domestically, with the President engaging the different communities and segments of Singaporeans. 

In my five years in office, it has been my personal mission to rally Singaporeans towards building a caring, cohesive and inclusive society.  In Singapore, an important dimension of this role is working with the different ethnic groups that make up our multiracial composition.

It was not a coincidence that Singapore’s first four appointed Presidents – Mr Yusof Ishak, Dr Benjamin Sheares, Mr Devan Nair and Dr Wee Kim Wee – represented, in turn, the Malay, Eurasian, Indian, and Chinese communities respectively.

As the President remains a symbol of the nation’s unity, it is important that the Office of the Presidency upholds multi-racialism, a core value of Singapore that underpins the social cohesion and harmony we have enjoyed thus far.

Of course, our long-term aspiration should be for minorities to be elected into the Office without the need for any intervention.  But we also need to recognise the current realities. 

After the Elected Presidency was instituted, all but one of the Elected Presidents have been Chinese, including myself. 

The role of the President as a titular Head of State representing our multi-racial society is important and we should have a system that not only allows but facilitates persons of all ethnic groups to be President from time to time.

The Government has accepted the Commission’s recommendation for a mechanism of reserving a Presidential election for a specific ethnic group if a member of that group has not held the office of the Elected Presidency after five terms.  I agree that this is a balanced approach. 

The mechanism ensures that Singapore is assured of a minority Elected President from time to time, but does not kick in if one is elected in an open election.

The Elected President as a Custodian of Two Key Assets of Singapore 

Another key role of the Elected President today is his custodial functions over two key assets built up by generations of Singaporeans – our national reserves and the integrity of our public servants.  Constitutional amendments in 1991 enable the President to play a custodial role in safeguarding Singapore’s reserves and the appointment of key public officers. 

Through elections, the President is vested with the democratic legitimacy to disagree, if need be, with the Government on these matters.  

Because of this important custodial role, a decision was also made by the Government in 1991 to include competency requirements for Presidential candidates.  T

he aim was to ensure that only persons with the necessary attributes be considered for the Office of Elected President.  Having made that decision, the requirements should be updated and fine-tuned over time.

In recommending the enhancement of eligibility criteria for Presidential candidates, the Commission has cited many pieces of data, including the growth of Singapore’s GDP and size of official foreign reserves since 1991. 

Indeed, from my own experience, the scope and complexity of the Presidential oversight on Singapore’s key assets have increased significantly, even in the span of five years of my term.  My finance background was useful in helping me understand the technicalities of the Government’s proposals, but the decisions often also require good policy acumen and a sound judgement on what is right for Singapore. I am therefore of the view that the Government’s acceptance of the Commission’s recommendations is in the right direction.

Preventing Unconstructive Gridlocks

I have spoken at length about the custodial role of the Elected Presidency. 

While this custodial role is important, we need to distinguish between the President acting as a custodian and the President acting in opposition to the Government. 

The two are not the same. 

The Elected Presidency cannot be a second centre of power.  

He must act in accordance with the roles prescribed in the Constitution, and not hold back the Elected Government of the day from performing its executive role.   

The Council of Presidential Advisers was therefore set up to provide expert advice to the President and to moderate the President’s custodial powers. 

While it is clear that the President has the right to accept or reject the Council’s recommendations, a mechanism to allow for Parliamentary override ensures that the President does not make arbitrary decisions. 

In practice, up till today, the Presidents and the Council have worked well together.  There has not been any need to subject any decision to the Parliamentary override mechanism, because decisions have been well considered for the long term good of Singapore. 

And in line with its stature and the principle of collective responsibility, the Council of Presidential Advisers as a non-elected body has remained above any political fray.  We should maintain that. 

Nevertheless, while the President should not be unbridled in the exercise of his Constitutional Duties, it is not practical to remove all possible scenarios of gridlock and yet expect the Elected President to remain an effective custodian.  We cannot hamstring the Elected Presidency just to guard against a worst case scenario of a populist or power-hungry President.  We must rely upon the wisdom of our electorate to elect a President who is able to work with the Government of the day for the proper and effective governance of Singapore.  

As President, my working relationship with the Government has been harmonious.  The Government keeps me informed of all its major decisions.  On a regular basis, the Prime Minister and I meet over lunch and on other occasions, for him to brief me on his preoccupations and intentions, and to exchange views on the strategic direction in which Singapore is heading.  Our relationship is built on mutual trust and respect.  This, to me, is key to the effective functioning of our system.

Institution of Elected Presidency Must Serve the Longer Term Good of Singapore

Madam Speaker

Honourable Members

The Rio Olympics and Paralympics have just concluded.  Team Singapore did extremely well, with Joseph Schooling winning Singapore’s first Olympics gold medal, Yip Pin Xiu bagging two gold medals at the Paralympics and Theresa Goh being duly rewarded with a bronze medal after decades of hard work.  Let me therefore use a sporting analogy to conclude.

The President has previously been described in this House as a goalkeeper. Indeed, if he fails to do the job well, no matter how good our strikers are, more goals will be scored against us and Team Singapore will be set back. We need a capable goalkeeper who works with the other players.  Only then will Team Singapore continue to do well in the global league, against competitors who may be bigger, stronger and more intimidating. 

Constitutional changes should never be undertaken lightly.  For half a century, our Constitution has served us well, with periodic adjustments to bring it up to date and keep Singapore on course.  The institution of the Elected Presidency was one such adjustment. I encourage all Members of this House to consider the current proposed changes to it with an eye on the next half century and beyond.

Thank you.

Clear boundaries must be drawn for hate speech

IT MATTERS whether poisonous speech becomes a new normal.

It matters whether society comes together to condemn such speech, or shrugs its shoulders and says it is free speech.

It matters whether racists sound their dog-whistle in the open, or keep their hate to private discussions.

IF SOCIETY PROHIBITS OPEN EXPRESSIONS OF HATE, then racists may still only be paying lip service to societal norms.

BUT THEY HAVE NO CHOICE. They have to accept that certain behaviour has no place in the public sphere. And that creates a different dynamic in society, in contrast to a society where open expressions of hate become normalised.

- Minister K Shanmugam

THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DIABETES

Do you know that the cost of diabetes to Singapore in 2010 was $1 billion?

This is equivalent to 0.35% of Singapore's GDP or 10% of healthcare spending.

Increasingly, diabetes is hitting Singaporeans at younger ages.

If the current trend in diabetes continues, the cost of diabetes will soar to $2.5 billion by 2050.

This is according to a study by a team of academics comprising graduate student Ms Png May Ee, Assoc Prof Joanne Yoong, research associate Thao Phuong Phan and Dr Wee Hwee Lin at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

The study was published in Europe's BMC Public Health in February 2016.

The study shows that the considerable rising economic burden of diabetes will affect not just individuals and health providers but also employers and society overall through the impact of lost productivity.

Tean Lim couldn't wait to deride PM Lee for "assuming the mantle of Chief Doctor" to speak about diabetes

Tean Lim couldn't wait to deride PM Lee for "assuming the mantle of Chief Doctor" to speak about diabetes.

Why is the prime minister talking about diabetes instead of addressing rising unemployment, stagnating wages, cost of living, ultra-low productivity, he wailed.

He thinks the prime minister should only concern himself with the health of the economy and not the health of his people.

Obviously he has not heard that "health is wealth" or that "prevention is better than cure".

In all likelihood, he also does not realise that the economic health of a country is linked to the health of its population.

Health is a direct source of human welfare.

Health is also an instrument in raising income levels.

Poor health affects a worker's productivity.

Poor health affects a child's education.

Diabetes is a silent killer.

It does not kill you straightaway. It damages your heart, your eyes, your nerves, your kidneys. It causes coronary heart diseases and strokes. It can cause you to lose your limbs through amputation. Wounds including surgical wounds from an operation either take a longer time to heal or get worse faster.

Diabetes robs you of the quality of your life.

You may not have heard of diabetes as a top killer but many common causes of death like heart diseases, strokes and kidney failures can be traced back to diabetes.

Knowledge is power, so it is well worth to spend time to talk about it, to raise awareness about it, to learn more about it so that we may have our own action plans to keep ourselves healthy.

Good health is, after all, a firm foundation. Build your life, your career and the economy on a firm foundation. 

How Diabetes Affects The Body

Knowing how diabetes affects your body can help you look after your body and prevent diabetic complications from developing.

Diabetes can cause long term damage to our body. Such long term damage is commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

Because diabetes affects our blood vessels and nerves, it therefore can affect any part of the body although some parts of the body are more affected than others.

The effect of diabetes on the heart

Diabetes is closely related to coronary heart disease. .

Diabetes contributes to high blood pressure and is linked with high cholesterol which significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes and strokes

Diabetes raises the risk of strokes.

Diabetes and the eyes

Diabetic eye disease comprises a group of eye conditions which can lead to severe vision loss and blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes and a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. 

Retinopathy is caused by blood vessels in the back of the eye (the retina) swelling and leaking. High blood pressure is also a contributing factor for diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic eye disease also include cataract, glaucoma and diabetic macular edema. 

Effect of diabetes on the kidneys

Diabetic nephropathy is the term for kidney disease as a result of diabetes.

High levels of blood glucose make the kidneys filter too much blood. All this extra work is hard on the filters. After many years, they start to leak useful protein into the urine. In time the stress of overwork causes the kidneys to lose their filtering ability leading to kidney failure. 

Diabetes and its effects on the nerves

Diabetic neuropathy is the name for nerve damage caused by diabetes. Damage to the nerves can lead to loss of feeling in extremities such as the hands and the lower legs.

Neuropathy is understood to be present in up to 50% of people with diabetes.

Never damage in the feet is particularly dangerous as it puts diabetic people at a higher risk of foot damage which can lead to amputation.  The effect of diabetes on the feet is often referred to as diabetic foot.

Diabetes and its effect on the digestive system

The vagus nerve controls the movement of food through the digestive tract. If the vagus nerve is damaged or stops working, the muscles of the stomach and intestines do not work normally, and the movement of food is slowed or stopped. 

This disorder is called gastroparesis. 

Gastroparesis can make diabetes worse by making it difficult to manage blood glucose. When food that has been delayed in the stomach finally enters the small intestines and is absorbed, blood glucose levels rise. 

If food stays too long in the stomach, it can cause bacterial overgrowth because the food has been fermented. Also the food can harden into solid masses called bezoars that may cause nausea, vomiting and obstruction in the stomach. Bezoars can be dangerous if they block the passage of food into the small intestines. 

How diabetes affects the skin

Diabetes affect on the skin is usually a result of its affect on the nerves and circulation which can lead to dry skin, slow healing of cuts, burns and wounds, fungal and bacterial infections and loss of feeling in the foot.

People with diabetes are recommended to have their feet checked at least once a year. 

PAP copied my idea, says Chee Soon Juan

These days, SDP has taken over from WP to do the crowing. From helping workers to early childhood education, PAP is following SDP's ideas, CSJ claimed!

And so CSJ claimed that PM Lee copied his ideas on early childhood education.

Unfortunately for Chee Soon Juan and SDP, their ideas came two years late. ...

Before SDP put out their ideas in 2015, then Education Minister Heng Swee Keat had already announced in MARCH 2013 a review of the education system and in particular, the launch of MOE pilot kindergartens to set the curriculum, and the quality and standard for pre-school education across Singapore.

1st APRIL 2013:
The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) was officially launched to oversee the whole pre-school sector, to bring together all ministries involved with playschool (MOE, MSF etc) and to work with operators to make sure everything works well.

KiFAS was launched which subsidises kindergarten fees up to 99% depending on the financial background of the family.

In addition to KiFAS there is also a SUG (Start up grant) which provides additional assistance to needy families to pay for items such as registration fee, insurance, deposit, uniforms, material fees, supplementary fees, etc.

Things did not happen overnight. So much had been done by the time Chee Soon Juan put up his paper in 2015 which, incidentally, contained many bad ideas. 

Maintaining the resilience of Singapore's politics

At his Marine Parade constituency’s National Day Dinner, ESM Goh Chok Tong spoke about “maintaining the resilience” of Singapore’s politics.

“Our politics must be bold, forward looking and inclusive of all races and different political opinions. It must be resilient,” he said.

Singapore is stable because it has successively elected a strong government, enabling the government to plan for the long term and prepare for contingencies, he said.

“We adapted the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy to our local conditions,” he said.

Political Stabilisers

Mr Goh described the Group Representation Constituency, Non-constituency MPs, and Nominated MPs as “unique Singapore-style innovations to build political stabilisers to a free-wheeling democratic process”.

Similarly, the Elected Presidency serves as a check against a populist and profligate government, he reiterated.

Reserved Elected President another stabiliser

And the Constitutional amendments to set aside reserved elections for minorities was “another stabiliser to ensure our multi-racial society stays afloat”, Mr Goh said.

“If these stabilisers are not introduced to our political system, our democratic state risks being capsized when buffeted by internal differences and divisions, let alone external storms,” said Mr Goh.

The robustness of Singapore’s leadership pipeline, the resilience of its politics, and the cohesiveness of the country’s multi-racialism and social equity will determine how “a small boat like Singapore fare in its journey ahead” amid the turbulent external environment, Mr Goh said.

Chris Weller: Singapore has come up with an ingenious way to save water

It rains a lot in Singapore — approximately 94 inches a year.

But rather than let that water evaporate wastefully on the streets and sidewalks, Singapore sets a standard the rest of the world would be smart to adopt: The city-state soaks up water like a giant sponge.

By recycling the rainwater through built-in runoff capture systems, Singapore can reduce both the costs of water purification and its environmental impact.

Scientists believe our global water crisis is only getting worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world population will struggle to find water and 1.8 billion people won't have any at all.

Using recycled water could be a solution.

In China, roughly a dozen cities have started brainstorming what that might look like — turning so-called "grey infrastructure" into green infrastructure by adding the ability to store rainwater. Mostly, these plans address rampant flooding that could quickly clear small towns and villages.

But no country has such a robust system already in place as Singapore, where half the land area (update: more than half by now) is equipped to capture rainwater in gutters, barrels, tanks, and reservoirs.

The most sophisticated of those systems is at the Changi Airport. Between 28 and 33% of all water used in the airport comes from captured rainwater, which is stored in two reservoirs.

One reservoir balances the flow of water when tides are high, while the other collects runoffs from runways and green areas.

Each year, the infrastructure saves the airport more than $275,000 for non-potable uses, like flushing toilets and performing firefighting drills.

Scattered elsewhere around Singapore are capture systems on top of high-rise apartment buildings, in which 86% of citizens call home.

Rooftop harvesting equipment saves roughly 14 cents per cubic meter of water over relying on nearby rivers and streams or purifying water that flows through soil.

When the rainwater isn't collecting on roofs, it's soaking into the urban environment at-large.

There's a fascinating backstory to Singapore's urban sponge scheme.

In the mid 1980s, Singapore's crisis of clean water got so bad that the country had no choice but to get creative. While it had plenty of rainwater, it had no way of capturing it. Water would mix with soil and other contaminants making it unfit for use. So, in 1986 Singapore took the first step in water conservation, creating the the Sungei Seletar-Bedok water scheme.

The existing Seletar Reservoir was dammed to divide it in half. The separation essentially allowed polluted runoff water to collect elsewhere, in the Bedok reservoir, which was designed for treatment, while the cleaner part of the storm water collected in newly created Lower Seletar Reservoir.

In the decades since, Singapore has transformed its culture into one that prizes its ability to reuse rainwater.

Even residents in the outskirts have transformed their homes into capture systems as a means of watering their lawns or, with the right treatment, staying hydrated.

If other countries want to have any hope of avoiding a water crisis, they'll need to get as creative as Singapore.

Fancy having the President as your neighbour?

Home to Madam Halimah Yacob is an HDB flat in Yishun built in 1987.

And Madam Halimah is very comfortable living in her flat and hopes to continue living there if she becomes president even though traditionally the Istana is the official Presidential residence and office.

But security concerns may stand in the way.

“I don’t see why I can’t continue (living in a HDB flat) unless there are other considerations like security, for instance, because I know it can be quite a nightmare to ensure security in public housing,” she told reporters on Sunday night. “Other than that, I see no reason why I cannot continue.”

What do her neighbours think?

A number of her neighbours and shopkeepers in her neighbourhood agree with her. 

“This is public housing. She’s a public servant. There’s nothing unsuitable about her staying here,” said shopkeeper Lee Swee Seng, 53.

Mr Lee's 17-year-old provision shop is frequented by Mdm Halimah’s family members for household items such as bread or detergent.

At times, Madam Halimah can be seen lugging home groceries from Mr Lee's provision shop or from the neighbourhood supermarket.

Madam Susan Ho, 63, who lives two doors down from Mdm Halimah’s family, said, “If she wins, I would be excited because my neighbour in this HDB block would be the President.”

“She’s very humble to stay in such a house. Most presidents would stay in the official residence,” Mdm Ho added.

Madam Halimah's next-door neighbor, Madam Chris Toh, 50, said, “During Hari Raya this year, she came over personally to share pastries such as pineapple tarts and cookies. When we see her, we just treat her as a neighbour. She’s truly a person with no airs."

Madam Halimah would also climb the stairs instead of using the lift.

Mdm Toh said: “I’ll see (Mdm Halimah) climbing the stairs as I take the lift up. So I asked her, ‘Mdm, are you exercising?’ And she said, ‘Yes, must exercise’.”

A 46-year-old neighbor who drives a taxi and lives one floor above Madam Halimah thinks it's not practical for her to continue to live in her flat.

“For security reasons, I don’t think she can continue staying here if she becomes President,” he said.