SINGAPORE — Singapore is building a “radically different” society from that of its neighbours, and it is a “fundamental necessity” that the presidency be multiracial, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as he revealed that the mechanism for ensuring a minority race president would be in place by next year, paving the way for a reserved election for Malays.

Of all the proposed changes to Elected Presidency (EP), the question of ensuring multiracial representation was the one “where the most is at stake”, because it went to “the core of our fundamental belief in a multi-racial society”, said Mr Lee, addressing the House on the second day of the debate over the proposed amendments on Tuesday (Nov 8).

Race, said Mr Lee, was not a theoretical matter in Singapore, and while progress has been made on the racial harmony front, the different ethnic groups continue to be subjected to “external pulls and influences”, he added.

For example, citing Singapore’s close business ties with China, Mr Lee said that outsiders may mistake Singapore for a Chinese country, given the population composition and cultural familiarity of the two nations.

“Thus we must always remember that we are not a Chinese country, but a multiracial, multi-religious South-east Asian nation with an ethnic Chinese majority, but not a Chinese country,” said Mr Lee.

“We have to show this domestically, to our own population, Chinese population, as well as the non-Chinese population and we have to show this externally, to other countries, too.”

Among neighbouring countries, race and religion remain hot issues, Mr Lee noted. In Indonesia, for example, a riot broke out last week over Mr Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese Christian known as “Ahok”, running for re-election in Jakarta, with his opponents calling for a Muslim governor.

Singapore, said Mr Lee, is building “a radically different society” that is multiracial, equal and harmonious. “We have to work consciously and systematically at this,” he said.

Calling the president “the most important unifying symbol of the nation”, he added: “Every citizen, Chinese, Malay, Indian, or some other race, should know that someone of his community can become president, and in fact from time to time, does become president.”

Under the hiatus-triggered mechanism, a Presidential Election would be reserved for a particular race, after five terms without a representative from that race assuming the office.

On the advice of the Attorney-General, the clock would start ticking from the first president “who exercised the powers of the Elected President” in 1991 — meaning the next election, due next August, will be a reserved election for Malay candidates.

Noting that there are some who felt this mechanism went against meritocracy, Mr Lee said that candidates in a reserved election will still have to meet the same qualifying criteria. Without “deliberate arrangements” to ensure a multiracial outcome, the presidency could well become a “single-race office”, he warned.

While he was heartened by aspirations to be race-blind, Mr Lee urged Singaporeans to be realistic.

In the United States, the presidential race between Mr Donald Trump and Mrs Hillary Clinton may be about globalisation, jobs and insecurity, but race continues to be front and centre, he pointed out. Trump supporters are largely lower- and middle-class whites, while African Americans are “overwhelmingly” voting for Mrs Clinton.

He added: “As we get closer to this ideal (of being race-blind), and minority candidates are regularly elected president in open elections, we will need hiatus-triggered reserved elections less and less.”