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WHEN asked whether Singapore was ready for a non-Chinese prime minister, Institute of Policy Studies chairman and Ambassador at Large Professor Tommy Koh replied last week: 'Why not? After all, Singapore's first chief minister - Mr David Marshall - was a Jew who hailed from a community numbering not more than 500.'
Prof Koh added: 'In Singapore, it is merit and not ethnicity, which is the decisive factor.'
I agree. I think when Prof Koh mentioned 'merit', he did not just mean academic or professional fame but in these words: 'Without consulting (his wife) Jean first, David invited them to stay for dinner... not enough food... I was dispatched to buy loaves...'
Prof Koh rightly pointed out that it was Mr Marshall's 'warm and kind heart' that made Singaporeans ethnic-blind to electing him chief minister.
I also infer from Prof Koh's statement that David and Jean Marshall's relationship was very good. If Singaporeans can see a comparable relationship to theirs, we should not fear ethnicity in electing a future prime minister.
Sebastian Teo Wah Ann
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