Good governance should uphold the common good

I respectfully disagree that a good government serves the majority, not sectoral interests (“A good govt serves majority, not sectoral interests”; July 22).

Good governance upholds the common good, which is the good of each member of society, including those who oppose the policies in question. It is founded upon the constitutional rule of law, honest leadership and respect for human rights.

Democratic participation is essential to good governance, since it encourages and enables citizens to take ownership of their future and to cooperate with other citizens and the government in serving the common good.

However, the government should neither follow the majority’s opinion blindly nor allow itself to be captured by narrow sectarian interests.

While he was Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong cautioned in a 2004 speech at the Harvard Club of Singapore that civic participation “must not degenerate into government by opinion polls”.

“After all the consultation and participation, ultimately it is the Government’s duty to do what it considers right for the country, even if this should be unpopular,” he added.

For healthy democratic discourse, the respective branches of government must respect the constitutional limits of their power.

The legalisation of same-sex marriage by the United States Supreme Court with a 5-4 majority is a case in point.

The dissenting justices criticised the other five for short-circuiting the democratic process by reading a right to same-sex marriage into the US Constitution even though marriage in the US had long been understood to be the union of a man and a woman.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote that their decision “usurps the constitutional right of the people to decide whether to keep or alter the traditional understanding of marriage”.

Similarly, in a speech at the National University of Singapore in May, Attorney-General VK Rajah criticised “non-textual approaches to interpreting the Constitution” as a violation of the separation of powers and “an exercise that violates rather than upholds the Constitution”.

Ultimately, good governance must be complemented by a vibrant citizenry from all spectra of society who are prepared to “debate issues with reason, passion and conviction, and not be passive bystanders in their own fate” — to quote Mr Lee’s speech.

It should be driven by a common vision to make Singapore the best home for all of us.