Singapore needs good policies and good politics to succeed. Our political system is working now. But we must keep updating it to continue to have a high quality government in the longer term – one that is honest, competent and effective, that is always accountable to the electorate, and that upholds a multi-racial society.
In Parliament today, I announced 3 things we will do to ensure this:
First, we will increase the minimum number of opposition MPs, including Non-Constituency MPs, from 9 to 12 by the next election. We will also give them the same voting rights as MPs. This will in effect aid the opposition, giving their best losers more exposure and possibly building them up for the next round. But I believe this will be good for the government and good for Singapore. No ruling party and government should ever be afraid of open argument. Ultimately, Singapore will benefit from a contest of ideas.
Second, we will further reduce the average size of Group Representation Constituencies, and create more Single Member Constituencies. The GRC scheme ensures that we will always have at least a minimum number of minority race MPs in Parliament. But we have to find the right balance between big and small GRCs, and the right mix of GRCs and SMCs.
Third, we will review the elected President scheme — to keep the eligibility criteria up to date, to strengthen the Council of Presidential Advisors (CPA) which assists and advises the President, and to ensure that minorities have a chance to be elected President.
You can view my full speech here: http://bit.ly/20stbdh
- LHL
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