Many Singaporeans are calling for the scrapping of the walkover electoral system after controversial President Halimah Yacob won her “election” by disqualifying her two other opponent contestants.
According to Singaporeans States Times Review spoke to, the walkover electoral system bring a person to power who would have otherwise not won in a fair contest. Speaking on conditions of anonymity, Singaporeans said the new President is a fraud and then she should have given up her nomination to allow an open contest. Independent political observer Alex Tan said the election was a “triple reservation”:
“The Presidential election is a triple reservation – first it was reserved for Malays, then it was reserved for Muslims and last it was reserved for the ultra-elite with a S$500 million shareholders’ equity or having a PAP membership. One point to note is that the electoral rules were written as recent as 2016, when after 50 years of Independence there has never been an issue on a Singapore President’s race. The walkover is a plot: scripted and performed.”
President Halimah Yacob’s “victory” has been poorly received by both Singaporeans and foreigners abroad. No foreign country actually sent a congratulatory note to Halimah Yacob despite her being declared President for nearly a week. Yesterday, about 3,000 Singaporeans turned up at a sit-in protest against her election.
There are also many Singaporeans who deny Halimah Yacob’s presidency because of her heritage. Halimah Yacob’s NRIC identity card is written “Indian”, and yet she was declared a “Malay”. According to the 16-member committee appointed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a “Malay” is identified as one “from the Malay community” practising Islam. The wayward definition resulted in many Indian Muslims questioning why are they not given indigenous perks enjoyed by the Malay race in Singapore. Many non-Muslim Malays also challenged that this segregation by religious beliefs is illegal under the Constitution.