Madam Halimah Yacob was sworn in as Singapore's first female president more than two weeks ago.

The historical significance of her being our first female and also first Malay-Muslim elected president was, however, overshadowed by her walkover victory in our first reserved Presidential Election. It sparked intense debate over the new system due to the lack of a contest and also the high threshold for qualification.

Last Saturday (Sept. 23), PM Lee spoke at a People's Association-organised closed-door dialogue session at Ci Yuan CC in Hougang with a gathering of some 500 grassroots leaders.

His remarks on "Race, Multiracialism, and Singapore’s Place in the World" touched on race and religion in Singapore, and why the Chinese majority must make special effort to ensure that minorities have full and equal treatment.

Also for the first time, he spoke up to share his take on public unhappiness over the reserved presidential election, and his comments were put up in an edited transcript on the Prime Minister's Office website on Friday.

Here's a rundown of the points he made:

1. Multiracialism was crucial in our early years

PM Lee quoted his dad and founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who said on August 9, 1965, that Singapore is “not a Malay nation, not a Chinese nation, not an Indian nation. Everybody will have a place in Singapore.”

This, he recalls, is the reason we had to split with Malaysia, which wanted a dominant Malay race.

Another thing he pointed out was that as "a Chinese-majority country in a Malay-majority part of Southeast Asia", Singapore was perceived as a "third China" in the 1960s, and so the onus was on us to stress that we are an independent, multiracial country.

"We were seen as a Chinese country, a proxy, a stooge for communist China, and not an independent player. If Singapore had been identified as a Chinese country, it would have caused problems with our neighbours. We would not have been able to live peacefully in Southeast Asia. So we had to make quite sure that people understood that we were an independent, multiracial country."

2. The "when", not "if" of a terrorist attack in Singapore

PM Lee talked about the Indonesian and Malaysian terrorists who have joined ISIS, either in the Middle East or in the Philippines, or operating actively online, even saying:

"They use Facebook; their Facebook is more powerful than mine. They use Telegram; definitely more powerful than mine."

He also noted that every month, one or two Singaporeans are found to have been self-radicalised, and they include young women too, even though they were born and raised here, went through state education and were not necessarily what he describes as "down and out", or "from the Middle East".

He then related this to the need for Singaporeans to fortify ourselves physically, psychologically and emotionally — hence multiracialism:

"Multiracialism by itself will not stop an attack. It can still happen because even if 99.99 per cent of Singaporeans believed in multiracialism, there would still be a handful who do not. But multiracialism will help us cope with the day after a terrible attack has happened – when people are in shock, in pain, and feeling angry and fearful. It is very easy for an attack by terrorists – who act in the name of Islam – to cause a divide between Muslims and non-Muslims, and for us to become split as a society. Many people will be angry and scared. But if you have been working together at this through the IRCCs and SGSecure, and you have all our neighbourhood groups and religious leaders working together, then we can hold on together and let life go on as one people."

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3. Our racial harmony is precisely a result of government policies

PM Lee went on to list all the government policies that created Singapore's atmosphere of racial harmony:

• English as a working language, while putting in place mother tongues
• The racial quota policy in HDB estates
• Reciting the Pledge in schools
• Creating GRCs to ensure minority race representation in Parliament
• Coming down hard on extremists — Chinese chauvinists or Malay, Indian or Hindu extremists

He believes that it is "precisely because" we have these in place that we have achieved our racial and religious harmony today.

PM Lee acknowledged also the fact that employers continue to discriminate by race, as do landlords. He recalled, too, the horrendous "terrorist" graffiti added to an image of a tudung-wearing lady on construction hoarding.

So he focused on the Chinese, reminding them to "make a special effort to make the minorities feel welcome":

"Sometimes we think we have arrived, and that we can do away with these provisions and rules which feel like such a burden. But in fact, it is the other way around. It is precisely because we have these provisions and rules, that we have achieved racial and religious harmony...

The Chinese in Singapore may not realise it, because the Chinese are the majority race. They may think that Singapore has 'arrived' as a multiracial society. You only get small reminders from time to time, when you go to a different country, and there you encounter racism... The younger ones have only known peace and harmony in Singapore, and it is very easy to believe that race does not matter anymore. But this is not so. We have to know our blind spots, and make a special effort to ensure our minority communities feel welcomed and valued in Singapore. The Chinese community particularly must make a special effort to make the minorities feel welcome in Singapore."

4. Minority candidates didn't contest 2011 presidential election because they knew, all things being equal, they would have no chance

Again citing the IPS-CNA survey on race, PM Lee said this about it:

"IPS did a different survey with CNA and asked: ‘Are you okay with a person of a different race being President?’ The answer was: ‘I have to be more careful than having my colleague at the next desk work with me, but it is a bit easier than having a son-in-law or a daughter-in-law’.

I think that is an honest answer. We are not completely colour-blind, and this makes a difference. It will influence our thinking and choices, either consciously or unconsciously. Therefore, it is harder for a minority – a Malay or Indian or Eurasian – to win an open election for president, than it is for a Chinese."

He even acknowledged right away that it is easier to stomach with him explaining it to the grassroots leaders the way he did, and the fact that people would get worked up if one were to bring these arguments outside, especially in relation to this year's presidential (s)election.

"This time we had a reserved election. There were three Malay candidates who came forward, of whom two did not qualify – but they came forward.

Then you look the presidential election in 2011. It was hotly contested. A lot of people thought the Government needed to be checked. Was there a Malay candidate? Where were the Farid Khans and the Salleh Maricans? Why didn’t they come? It did not cross their minds? No.

So why didn’t they come? Because they knew that in an open election – all things being equal – a non-Chinese candidate would have no chance. So you had Tan Kin Lian, Tan Cheng Bock, and Tan Jee Say. But you did not have a Marican, nor a Khan or any other Malay candidate. It is a reality. We have to know this, we have to manage this."

5. "We already knew we might have trouble electing minority Presidents" 25 years ago

PM Lee admitted up-front that having a Malay or minority President will not make Singapore a multiracial country. But he explains it thus:

"But it is one important symbol of what Singapore stands for, and a declaration of what we aspire to be. It is a reminder to every citizen, especially the Chinese majority race, that there is a role for every community in Singapore."

He said when the office of Elected President was created 25 years ago, the government already knew that "we might have trouble electing minority Presidents". He also said that "Malay Singaporeans at the time immediately sensed this", but their priority at the time was to find somebody good enough for the role.

"So we decided to observe and see how things developed. Now after 25 years, it is time. We know how things have developed, and how they are likely to be for quite a long time to come. We think we know what to do in order to mend this problem."

He also echoed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing, who openly acknowledged before the election that there is a political price to be paid by the ruling party for implementing the reserved Presidency:

Did I know that this subject would be a difficult one? That it would be unpopular and cost us votes? Yes, I knew. If I do not know that these are sensitive matters, I cannot be in politics. But I did it, because I strongly believe, and still do, that this is the right thing to do.

He mentioned arrangements that exist in Switzerland, Canada and New Zealand, and said ours is no different to theirs, just that because our presidents are elected, "we need to have mechanisms in place so that minorities have a chance".

"We have spent nearly two years preparing to make this move. Ever since I raised the subject when Parliament opened in January 2016, we have been discussing and debating this continually. But it is only now that people are seized with it, after a reserved election in which only one candidate qualified.

There was some unhappiness. I can feel that; you do not have to tell me. People think we may be going backwards, towards racial politics. But actually the reality is the opposite: We are making necessary changes to strengthen our multiracial system, in order to continue to progress as one united people. If we did nothing, it was very likely that we would not have had a Malay president for a very long time. After a while, the minorities in Singapore would start to feel left out, and understandably so. The Chinese majority might also become less sensitive to other races. This would weaken our sense of shared nationhood for all Singaporeans."

You can watch watch an excerpt of PM Lee's speech below:

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Top image from PM Lee's Facebook page