Why no elected presidency in the beginning?

Because we were poor. There was nothing to protect. No reserves to protect.

People toiled for a living. They lived by the sweat of their brow.

Through hard work, a clean, competent and prudent government, we accumulated reserves and by the mid 1980s, there was actually something to protect.

Hence the elected presidency was legislated - in 1991.

Regardless of race, language and religion, and the Presidency

We do not live in a perfect world. 'Regardless of race, language or religion' is an aspiration to work towards, not something that we have already arrived at.

Do you really see yourself simply and only as a Singaporean and no longer regard yourself as Chinese, Malay or Indian?...

If you're Chinese, you still celebrate Chinese new year and festivals, don't you? You still give your children Chinese names, don't you? Have you ditched your Chinese culture or stop speaking Chinese? Likewise if you're Malay or Indian and so on.

We are multiracial and will always be multiracial and not a homogenous society. We achieve racial harmony not by denying the culture and traditions of each ethnic group or our own.

We achieve it by accepting that each group brings with them their unique culture and traditions that can enrich the Singapore identity and we build on the common space that we also share.

The President as the head of state is to reflect the multiracial composition of Singapore. It has nothing to do with playing the race card.

Look at the world around you. Is racism on the rise? What makes you think that Singaporeans are a special breed of race-blind people? If the elected president is somehow always a Chinese, who is to say that the day will never come when someone with a agenda will whisper: Are we not a multiracial country? Why is the president always a Chinese?

We have achieved racial harmony because we have an ACTIVIST GOVERNMENT who intervenes with social policies to prevent enclaves from being formed thus leading to greater integration.

We enjoy racial harmony because there are very TOUGH LAWS in place to deal with hate speech, racial slurs and religious insults.

Take away the activism of the government. Take away the tough laws. Will we still enjoy the same kind of peace and racial harmony?

It is important to understand that the peace and the harmony we enjoy among the different races is not automatically passed down to future generations. It is not something in your genes that you can passed on to your children. Every child has to learn from the day he or she is born, to accept racial differences and to co-exist with different races.

This means that how you feel today about the different races and what you enjoy today is not a given for future generations. That is why the government keeps emphasizing the need for sustained efforts to maintain racial harmony.

Some argue that a reserved election compromises on meritocracy. How is meritocracy compromised when the candidate is still subject to the same qualifying criteria?

In a hypothetical scenario where a Chinese and a Malay candidate stand for election competing against each other. Let's say that the Malay candidate is a better candidate of the two but the Chinese candidate wins. Where then is your meritocracy argument?

The baseline is that any person who wants to stand for election as president must meet the qualifying criteria. These are the same regardless of whether an election is reserved or not.

A point to note is that the reserved election APPLIES TO ALL RACES INCLUDING THE CHINESE.

We don't talk about a reserved election for a Chinese candidate because such a scenario is unlikely to arise. But in principle, the reserved election applies to all races.

In the unlikely event that no Chinese gets elected as President for 5 elections, then there will be a reserved election for a Chinese candidate.

OUR DEFENCE IS OUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY. Celebrating 50 years of national service.

"We cannot change the fact that we are a small country, but today, after 50 years of NS, we have built an SAF capable of defending Singapore," Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen said.

"From time to time, relations with other countries may not be completely smooth, but our relations with big powers like the US, China and India are fundementally sound and healthy," he said.

"The responsibility to defend Singapore ultimately rests on Singaporeans, and Singaporeans alone,” he added.

Diversity: Our weapon against extremism

Our WEAPON against extremism: DIVERSITY.

Extremism is characterised by intolerance.

EMBRACING DIVERSITY means an acceptance of differences and allowing others to be different from ourselves. ...

This leads to FREEDOM - freedom to be different, freedom to practise your own faith and beliefs. Think about it.

Everyone wants the freedom to practise their own faith.

It is therefore good to put into practice the universal Golden Rule to 'do to others as you would others do to you'.

Not to embrace diversity is to turn our backs on geography

The sense of being a Singaporean cannot be divorced from being multicultural, and celebrating the fact that we are so. For we are a small island in Southeast Asia, a region which does not have a unifying culture, unlike the Arabian, Indian, European or Chinese civilizations.

Southeast Asia is diverse because it is at the intersection of major civilizations. Major religions, from Hinduism and Bud...dhism, to Islam and Christianity, precipitated thick layers of identity traits in the region throughout history. And Singapore is at the center of it all.

Not to embrace diversity is to turn our backs on the realities of geography and history, and to deny being our true self. Diversity is what makes Singapore unique, and it is what makes us Singaporeans.

It is thanks to the myriad of influences from different cultures and beliefs – Singapore is like a 百家被, or in English, a “100 good wishes quilt”, where many pieces of cloths are stitched together into a blanket to protect a newborn, and passed to future generations.

Today, around the world, there is a growing trend of religious extremism. The acts of extremists aim to harm what is most precious to our societies, which is the mutual trust and cohesion between communities.

There is also worry of a rising political rhetoric that feeds on the insecurity of communities, and propound a more insular worldview and less tolerance for diversity.

As a small country open to the outside world, we are susceptible to such trends. What is happening in other countries can also affect sentiments in Singapore.

At this time, it is all the more important that we reaffirm our Pledge, and remind ourselves of our shared values. We are a multi-cultural society, a country for every community, with meritocracy as one of our key organizing principles. The majority do not overrule the principle of equality, and the minorities do not exclude themselves.

After fifty one years of independence, I believe these values and ideas have sunk deep roots in our collective consciousness.

And we must continue to work to strengthen them.

Building a cohesive society and one united people is an endless journey. Countries with far longer histories are still grappling with this challenge, what more Singapore. It is a difficult and delicate task. We need to uphold the principle of equality, and build a shared sense of being as a nation, but without going overboard or adopting an extreme ideology, to the extent of disregarding or becoming disrespectful to the identities and cultures of individual communities.

Religious and community leaders have always played a significant role, to lead by example, and to promote interfaith understanding and tolerance, and as a Singaporean I thank all of you.

Excerpt of speech at an Interfaith Festive Gathering - Reunion and Reflections, at Furama Riverfront Hotel

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Our core value: We are all Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion.

We are all Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion.

This has to be our constant refrain, like a tenet we hold dear to our hearts.

Excerpts from speech given by Law Minister Shanmugam:...

The THREE CORE PRINCIPLES that has been our approach over the last 50 years:

First, equality and equality of opportunities.

Second, accepting the facts within Singapore: we are different, we look different, let’s accept that, and let’s celebrate our diversity while building an overarching Singaporean identity.

And third, while there is considerable ethnic, religious diversity, let’s also work actively to keep as large a common space as possible in our interactions.

You see many Government policies in the context of these three principles. Some of them were criticised but with hindsight we can see they make sense.

The Government’s approach is activist.

Some examples...

The ethnic integration policy – the Government intervenes on where people live and makes sure that no ethnic enclaves develop. People have to live together. No banlieues in Singapore.

Schools – standard uniforms for everyone. Common identity in schools, with majority of schools compulsory racially mixed, compulsory education and so our young children have to interact with each other, learn to get on with each other, learn to respect and value each other.

Self-help groups – subject to some criticism but the basic point is, accept that there are Indians, Malays, Chinese, Eurasians, others.

Laws - a tough framework of laws, touching on what you can and cannot say about race and religion.

In Singapore, you cannot burn the Quran or the Bible on the basis of the freedom of speech and if you did, you will be behind bars.

We

A President to remind us of our multiracial composition

In a world of rising populism with racism rearing its ugly head, more than ever before, we need to remind ourselves that we are a multiracial society where every community, every race, language and culture has its equal place.

And this multiracial identity is our national identity.

The PRESIDENT, as the HEAD OF STATE, must be a reminder to all Singaporeans of our multiracial composition. As th...e Head of State, the President is a symbolic expression of this multiracial national identity.

That is why it is important that there is a rotation of presidency among the different races to reflect our multiracial community.

This brings us to the importance of the reserved presidential election - to ensure that such a rotation takes place.

Most people think of a reserved election as being reserved only for minority races.

In principle, the reserved election applies to ALL the races. Yes, including Chinese.

But because the Chinese form the majority, the possibility of not seeing a Chinese elected as president is very low and therefore it is unlikely that there will be a need for a reserved election for a Chinese candidate to be elected as president.

Some people have commented that candidates in reserved election are less qualified. This is WRONG.
ARE THE CANDIDATES FOR A RESERVED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION LESS QUALIFIED?

OF COURSE NOT.

Every person who wants to stand for election as president, regardless of whether it is a reserved election or not, has to MEET THE SAME QUALIFYING CRITERIA

.

So every person who is qualified to stand for election as president, including in a reserved election, is EQUALLY QUALIFIED.

In an interview with the Straits Times in 1999 on the election of S R Nathan as president, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said:

"We've had two terms of Wee Kim Wee, one term of Ong Teng Cheong. I think it's time to remind Singaporeans that we are a multiracial community. And it's also good. It's a symbolic expression of our national identity."