In a speech where he cited Pericles, Murali Pillai touched on the changes that will guide parliament towards a new, more open era.

Murali established that there were many widely-agreed principles people held, but the ways in which we go about achieving them might be subjected to change.

"For example, we value multiculturalism, but the process of achieving it must no longer be a matter of quiet tolerance but one of open debate. This is not easy."

He talked about the importance of debate, and standing up for your beliefs.

"There are many in the silent majority who have views not expressed on social media, but held no less strongly for that. There are those who prefer not to have to fight for our views, but to hope that these views are self-evident. But I wonder whether this hope is in vain.

Often, we take to “the streets” online, by setting up petitions on causes which we think are self-evident — and let brute numbers speak in place of reason with no chance of reaching consensus."

Murali said that this was a poor shadow of democracy.

Instead, both sides should not flinch from defending their values, but having to adhere to a social code, in terms of etiquette.

We should do so respectfully and with an open mind, always with the hope that the other side has something to teach us."

If that culture of speaking openly, and defending views and values is cultivated, Murali considers that to be a win for all.

"In the end, whether we succeed in persuading one another to a common view or not, we would have built a stronger shared understanding and promoted mutual respect. In the end, if we agree to something, it is an active, not a presumed, consent."

Parliament changes

That emphasis on debate and respect was at the heart of Murali's speech on the changing tides of Singapore's internal politics.

In his speech, Murali acknowledged the change towards a more contested, less conciliatory form of politics.

A change which he said could potentially instil resilience and allow for the engagement of robust and searing debate.

Murali, however, warned of the pitfalls surrounding that change.

"I, for one, have been drawn to the edge, and spoken out against what is acceptable and what is not. All of us in politics must grow the skin of a rhino as well as the heart of a lion. But, no need for talons, please."

All these changes provide a unique opportunity to develop Singapore's own model of democracy, Murali said.

A democracy that does not tear the country's social fabric, or polarise and fragment.

Murali used the words of a leader from another small city state from over 2,000 years ago, Pericles of Athens, to explain his vision:

"Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are a pattern to others rather than imitators ourselves. A community of people who follow not only a written law, but a social and moral code, which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace."

Murali praised the quote as being profound and still relevant after all these years.

He pointed out that things that go on daily in parliament like ""agreement, collegiality, friendliness" rarely get on the news.

And that the truth is most of the time, "all MPs in this House agree."

He pointed out that even for more controversial issues like ministerial pay, the WP ultimately agreed with the outcome, despite differences in process.

Murali proposed Parliament make available the option of lodging speeches to be taken as read, and made public to all.

He argued that this would put them up to public scrutiny, as well as create a more efficient process.

The House can then spend their time on genuine debate and points of clarification.

Murali also proposed investing in a new IT system to make it easier for the public to check MP's attendance, find the number of questions asked, the number of times the MP spoke on a bill, budget, motion, debate, and more.

While the information is currently available to the public, Murali said it takes some effort, including manual counting. The new system would make things easier for the public.

He urged these records to be available with an online search platform.

Murali also proposed a record of the outcome of MP"s proposals which Ministers have agreed to study.

He said that the Hansard is "replete with examples of frontbenchers providing holding replies without the ability to check if there are any updates".

This will allow members of the public reading the Hansard to know if the loop has been closed.

Murali acknowledged that these proposals could takes years for results to be seen, but said it was better late then never.

He also called for the Civil Service to publish and present in Parliament a paper regularly stating the number of letters they and statutory boards receive from MPs, petitioning on behalf of their constituents.

According to Murali, the paper should indicate whether the substantive response to the MP is within the time period stipulated in the Government Instruction Manual.

All this he says, is essential to helping constituents make informed political choices and decisions.

Once again, he quoted Pericles:

“Here, each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well. Even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on general politics...We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his business; we say he has no business here at all”.

He then laid out how we know Singapore has succeeded or not:

"How do we know if we have succeeded as a people? The key test is this: are we proud of ourselves as a people? Or do we hold what we have in contempt?

Do we want to build upon what we have done, or do we want to tear down our structures and start from scratch? These are not false choices. They are hard questions which we need to ask ourselves because they will define us, not just for this political term, but for the rest of our lifetime."

And if that is realised, Singapore will have achieved the highest of goals:

"If we succeed, we would have built a democracy strong and imperturbable."

You can watch the full speech here.

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Image from CNA