We Do Not Elect Our PM

After Barack Obama's historical election win to become the first African-American US President, the press and government in Singapore have been talking about whether it's possible that a non-Chinese can become Prime Minister. PM Lee said: "It's possible. It depends on how people vote, on who has the confidence of the population. Will it happen soon? I don't think so, because you have to win votes. And these sentiments - who votes for whom, and what makes him identify with that person - these are sentiments which will not disappear completely for a long time, even if people do not talk about it, even if people wish they did not feel it."

A forum letter, "We're more race-blind than we think", published in The Straits Times today, however, pointed out that the Prime Minister is not elected by the people.

I READ with interest Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's comments on Sunday about how Singapore's race relations interplayed with our domestic politics ('Non-Chinese PM? Possible, but not soon'). While I applaud the call to place our national interests over racial ones, I wonder if the choice really lies with the people or if our political structure itself entrenches such racial policies.

First, Article 25 of the Constitution designates the President as the one appointing the Prime Minister out of those elected into Parliament, who 'is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament'. It would thus appear that the choice of a non-Chinese PM lies not in the people's hands, but in the hands of the President and our elected Parliament.

Second, Article 39A and the subsequently passed Parliamentary Elections Act provide for the creation of Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) - and the law provides for the compulsory inclusion of a Malay or an Indian or 'other minority'. A reason offered in support of the system was given by then deputy PM Goh Chok Tong in 1988, who argued that such a system would ensure that Parliament would 'always be multiracial and representative of our society'.

Tris Pruetthipunthu

The Contracts Must Be Fair And Just

The Catholic church in Singapore held a World Day of Migrants celebration at the Church of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) on September 28, 2008.

Singapore's Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerant People (ACMI) organized the event with support from the SVDP Church Migrants' Group.

Besides celebrating the migrants' cultures, it was a day on which Singaporean Catholics "should ponder seriously and see how we can contribute towards a healthy situation for foreign workers," Archbishop Nicholas Chia said in his homily during the Mass that preceded the programme.

"They serve us (in their jobs), but in our own way we must serve them. The contracts we offer them must be fair and just. Do not just look for cheap labour," he told the workers and parishioners.

Contrast that with this letter published in My Paper today:

I NOTE with concern a recent spike in murder cases involving foreign workers.

Recently, a Malaysian prostitute was murdered in Flanders Square.

It was also reported that there was a total of 24 murders in Singapore to date this year, and some which involve foreigners have been brutal and hideous.

There has been a backlash against the influx of foreign workers to Singapore shores.

It is not uncommon for foreigners with criminal records to use false papers and enter Singapore under a different identity.

For this group of foreigners, their past remains hidden from the authorities.

There are many foreigners who enter the country on two-week social passes and work in the flesh trade to earn a quick buck.

After working in brothels and pubs, they are able to recoup the cost of their air tickets.

Much to citizens' dismay, they are openly working illegally in Singapore, Before things get out of hand, the authorities should gradually place restrictions on the inflow of foreign workers.

I see young foreign girls below the age of 20 working in coffee shops.

They are putting Singapore's "aunties" and "uncles" out of a job as they are cheaper to hire and willing to work longer hours.

There should also be a cap on the number of study mamas entering Singapore, as they often do illegal work to make ends meet.

Something should be done before it is too late.

Mr Gilbert Goh Keow Wah
Sydney, Australia

Why Treat Them Like Lepers?

This letter by S. Murali was published in The New Paper on October 24, 2008.

ALL RIGHT, here we go again.

Bright ideas to house foreign workers:

Put them on a floating platform, or perhaps a floating island.

Build separate roads for them. Provide them with their own shops, so that they don't have to mingle with the rest of us.

Hey, why stop there?

Why not dig underground and build them some tunnels to live in?

Better still, to save cost, just build extensions to existing MRT tunnelling.

Then we won't have to look at these workers at all, only when they come up for air and to do our dirty work.

Are you people listening to yourselves?

These are HUMAN BEINGS we are talking about.

Some of you won't even treat your precious pets this way. Is this what it means to become a 'first world' nation?

That you treat everyone else from the 'third world' like lepers?

I'm sorry, but some of the ideas that have been 'floated' on this issue make me nauseous.

Get off my sky-high horse and provide solutions, you say?

Here's a novel idea: Let them live amongst us.

Build good quality dorms in housing estates, so that they can get a good night's sleep and still be near amenities such as shops and post offices.

How would I like it if they built a dorm next to my house? Come do, I say.

There is an open field in front of my house at Block 261, Bishan Street 22, which is earmarked as a possible site to build another condominium.

Build a dorm there.

Could there be inconveniences to me and the others living there, as a result? Sure.

More people in a small area is a hassle.

But it is people that we are talking about here.

And I am okay with people.

It's bigots that I have a problem with.

Racism At Sarah Palin's Rally In Ohio

The US Presidential Election campaigning is heading into its final two weeks and racism is rearing its ugly head. Watch this news report by Al Jazeera.