Constitutional Commission on elected presidency: Mathew Mathews' submission
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Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Mathew Mathews speaking during the first public hearing at the Supreme Court before the Constitutional Commission on the review of the elected presidency.
ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
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SINGAPORE - Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Mathew Mathews, 41, said if Singapore did not have a minority president for a number of terms, the next election should be reserved for minority candidates.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who chairs the Constitutional Commission, said the provision had a "natural sunset" as it would not be invoked if Singapore progressed towards a race-blind society and elected a minority president of its own accord.
Dr Mathews, who spoke at the first hearing on Monday (April 18), acknowledged some might criticise the move as tokenism, but pointed out that it was up to the minority president to win people over by doing a good job.
