Race, religion still matter when voters cast ballots: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — Ethnic considerations will always be in the minds of voters when they cast their ballots, and the race and religion of Singapore’s prime minister still matter to Singaporeans, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

In an interview aired on Wednesday (March 1), the BBC’s Stephen Sackur referred to an interview in 2008 during which Mr Lee had said he did not think Singapore was ready for a Muslim non-Chinese Prime Minister. He asked if Mr Lee still felt the same.

“I think that ethnic considerations are never absent when voters vote,” replied the Prime Minister.

“It is like that in America, certainly in this last election, and in Singapore, it is much better than before, but race and religion count and I think that makes it difficult. It is not impossible and I hope one day it will happen.”

When asked if the Republic is now ready for a non-Chinese premier, Mr Lee said: “If you ask whether it will happen tomorrow, I do not think so.”

Mr Sackur then asked if Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam could be considered for the position, as polls suggest most Singaporeans see him as the man best qualified to be the next premier, even though he did not believe he would be the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Mr Lee said his sense is that Singaporean voters will look for a good man, someone who resonate with them and who they can identify with.

When pressed on whether his successor could be Mr Tharman, the Prime Minister said that it could be somebody like him.

“But these are factors that voters take into consideration when they go to the ballot box and when they identify with you. There are very few countries where you can say their race does not count at all,” noted Mr Lee.

“Even with Mr (Barack) Obama. On the contrary I think. After he became elected, it then turned out that a lot of opposition to him had something to do with him not being white.”

Asked about how political success in Singapore is going to work, Mr Lee said it is “the most difficult job”.

He said he has assembled a team of younger and able ministers, some in their 50s while others are in the 40s.

“They have to work together, they have to build their team, they have to build the trust of Singaporeans, and amongst themselves they must throw up and acknowledge and support a leader,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that he cannot pick the next leader because the next generation of ministers have to decide who they are going to work for.

“If I pick their leader and they do not support him, one day when they decide they are off to become the curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum or something like that, well, that is the end of Singapore,” he said.