Murali Pillai on motion calling for abolition of Group Representation Constituencies
In Parliament on Wednesday (Jul 5), MP Murali Pillai said he would like to make a case for the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system to be retained, drawing from his own experience standing for elections as a PAP candidate in a GRC as well as in a Single Member Constituency (SMC). Mr Murali said that having been elected twice as an MP from a minority race in Bukit Batok SMC was one of the high points of his life. He saw it as the constituents acknowledging that having regard for his character, record and experience, his race was not an issue. However, he said although voters are fair-minded, the realpolitik on the ground was that there were attempts to politicise race issues during both campaigns. In 2016, the situation was concerning enough for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as Secretary-General of the PAP, to speak out against online comments and whispers that went around Bukit Batok asking Chinese voters to cast their ballots along racial lines. As for the second campaign in 2020, Mr Murali showed the House a picture of a flyer which had been defaced with graffiti in an attempt to make him even more “Indian” and featuring the Chinese character for “die”. Mr Murali said he did not see similar attempts at racial politicisation when he stood for elections in Aljunied GRC in 2015. He felt this was down to the fact that he was running as part of a team. He said if the GRC system is abolished, Singapore will have to contend with the scenario that good people from minority races, knowing there is a danger of elections being politicised along racial lines, may decide it is too much trouble to run at all. He concluded that “there may be a time when race may not matter, but that is not now. Until that day, we will still need the GRC”.
In Parliament on Wednesday (Jul 5), MP Murali Pillai said he would like to make a case for the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system to be retained, drawing from his own experience standing for elections as a PAP candidate in a GRC as well as in a Single Member Constituency (SMC). Mr Murali said that having been elected twice as an MP from a minority race in Bukit Batok SMC was one of the high points of his life. He saw it as the constituents acknowledging that having regard for his character, record and experience, his race was not an issue. However, he said although voters are fair-minded, the realpolitik on the ground was that there were attempts to politicise race issues during both campaigns. In 2016, the situation was concerning enough for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as Secretary-General of the PAP, to speak out against online comments and whispers that went around Bukit Batok asking Chinese voters to cast their ballots along racial lines. As for the second campaign in 2020, Mr Murali showed the House a picture of a flyer which had been defaced with graffiti in an attempt to make him even more “Indian” and featuring the Chinese character for “die”. Mr Murali said he did not see similar attempts at racial politicisation when he stood for elections in Aljunied GRC in 2015. He felt this was down to the fact that he was running as part of a team. He said if the GRC system is abolished, Singapore will have to contend with the scenario that good people from minority races, knowing there is a danger of elections being politicised along racial lines, may decide it is too much trouble to run at all. He concluded that “there may be a time when race may not matter, but that is not now. Until that day, we will still need the GRC”.
Popular Shows
