This might be an uncomfortable and unanswerable question, but here goes.

During the National Day Rally and the recent Channel NewsAsia interview, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about upcoming changes to the Elected Presidency.

There was only one jarring topic that stood out -- inclusiveness and representation of minority races.

The issue is supposedly a topic close to the hearts of Singaporeans.

So much so the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) did a survey on race relations, which found that most Singaporeans still want to have someone of their own race as Prime Minister and President.

Surprise, surprise.

This then helped set the stage as PM Lee addressed the need to ensure a minority President in office every four-to-six terms during his CNA interview:

“President represents all Singaporeans, he is the figure representing not just a state but the nation, all of us; then we must have a minority President from time to time, non-Chinese, a Malay one, an Indian or other minority, and then people see that ‘Yes, this is my country. Someone like me can become the head of state, can represent the country.'”

But among all the talk of representation, there was no mention of gender at all.

Why?

Odds are better that it's a man

One of the key points elaborated in the 153-page report prepared by Constitutional Commission was on ensuring minority representation in the Presidency.

Special attention was drawn to the President's symbolic role as Head of State:

"The Commission considers that it is because of the crucial symbolic role performed by the President that the office should periodically be held by persons from minority races. The Commission considers it vital that ethnic minorities must neither be perceived nor must they perceive themselves as being unable to access the highest office in the land."

"[Perhaps] most important, is the symbolic function, by means of which the head of state represents and symbolises not just the state but the nation."

So... what about the lack of women in the highest office of the land? What about women's absence as the symbolic Head of State of Singapore?

Because what has history showed us so far?

Men have been disproportionately represented in the highest offices of the land throughout Singapore's -- albeit short -- history.

The previous Presidential election in 2011 was dominated by Tans who were all men.

The current talk about who will take over the role of Prime Minister is centred on six men.

Going forward, the seat of the next President of Singapore looks more likely than not to be occupied by a man.

Why?

Why gender was not brought up

The discussion about minority representation in the Presidency came about due to the possibility that the government had forecast that the next few Presidents would be Chinese.

As the Chinese form the majority of the population, the statistical odds of the next leader coming from the majority race will be higher.

However, the odds of men and women coming out on top should be the same in theory, but how it has played out in reality has been anything but.

Why?

Did the present government of the day not foresee that the next President would likely be a man, given that previous Presidents were men?

Or is the lack of female presence in leadership roles not even an issue worth contemplating?

If so, why?

One could say that all that riled-up talk about race drummed down the importance of other issues.

Okay.

But does it mean that despite such heated debate about representation, our society cannot see proportionate representation in other ways?

Why not then?

Why gender should be brought up

In the same spirit of ensuring all races gain equal access to the political (or non-political) office of the President, and such that we can strive towards greater representation and diversity in the government, the discussion of a female President can and ought to be brought up sooner.

Or at least, gradually introduced to be consciousness-raising enough -- or less of a taboo.

That being said, just as in the case of minorities, any form of affirmative action to ensure women get to the top is a no-no.

All we can hope for is that Singaporeans will think more broadly about what representation means and take an equal look at all possible outcomes for candidates, regardless of race, language or religion.

And gender.

This is done so that women can start aspiring to be President.

It can also better prepare mindsets, should a female Presidential candidate appear next year.

And lastly, gender should be discussed in the Elected Presidency simply because at this point of writing, we do have a female candidate who meets the criteria.

Yes, we're talking about Speaker of Parliament, Halimah Yacob, who was renominated by PM Lee in January for the post.

The struggle is real, and it's going to be a long road ahead.

So it's about time we start thinking about women in the Presidency.

Because why not?

Top image via Icemoon

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