"I want to be a president."That was what Barack Hussein Obama's wrote when his teacher asked the class to write an essay entitled, "My dream: What I want to be in the future."
Schooled in Indonesia during his early years, perhaps even he could never have guessed his prolific rise to political superstardom. His classmates did not describe him as a particularly intellectual or bright student, and he was only a B-average student.
While we do not know if he held the ambition of becoming President throughout his entire life, that essay became prophetic when he was elected to become the first African-American president in US history.
In many ways, his election was groundbreaking. It signifies the redeeming qualities of democracy and civil liberties, marking a successful transition from a nation that enslaved blacks to one that elects them. All the talk about the "Bradley effect" and racism does not quite apply to most Americans, and here we are seeing a mature people choosing their leader based on principles of charisma, merit, and character.
Political tolerance in Singapore
Having been following the elections quite feverishly, I cannot help but draw comparisons with the current political situation in Singapore.
While Singapore prides itself on meritocracy and integrity, it has a limited tolerance for political diversity. The PAP inherits Lee Kuan Yew's political recipe of crushing opponents at all costs; from the detainment of alleged communists in the 1960s to the arrest of the Marxist conspirators in the 1980s. For appetisers, consider the assortment of defamation and libel suits against a large spread of politicians, newspapers, and magazines.
In the most recent case where the government is suing the Wall Street Journal for contempt of court, Attorney General Walter Woon accused the newspaper of launching a "two-decade campaign to besmirch the Singapore judiciary," said a Reuters report. However, I would venture to say that it is the PAP that is launching its own campaign to not just discredit, but utterly crush and destroy those it perceives as a threat to its hold on power.
While I have no problems with the PAP suing in some instances, the party has gone overboard in extent and scope. Why run JBJ to the brink of poverty over a few loose comments? Why subject James Gomez in 2006 to post-election rough interrogation tactics over the fact that he did not submit an inconsequential registration form? The iron cage sure stinks of legalism and senseless bureaucracy. While the PAP justifies these lawsuits as a means of protecting its integrity, it has backfired instead and stained its own reputation as an unsympathetic and small-minded party.
In contrast, while the US elections reeked of half-truths and outright lies, American society understands that the media has a role to play in sieving out the truth. While news channels like FOX News have attained a dubious reputation of perpetuating rumours and lies, other media outlets like CNN and The New York Times provide people with a more balanced picture.
No doubt, some have been deceived by the smear campaigns that sought to portray Obama as an Arab and a terrorist. The elections, however, has proven that most Americans are sensible enough to discern between truth and deception. Obama's election serves as a vindication of democracy: despite all its flaws, it does work. While it is too early to judge whether an Obama administration will be successful, perhaps Singapore can take a page out of the US elections.
A lesson learnt: Please trust your citizens to make the right decisions.
A Muslim President, or Prime Minister?
Having said that, the US elections has also demonstrated the ugly side of American society, especially its intolerance for Islam. While the US can accept a Black President, can they accept a Muslim one? Responding to allegations that Obama is a Muslim, Colin Powell responded by saying: "Well the correct answer is, 'He's not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian'. But the really right answer is, "What if he is?' Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is 'No', that's not America."
This is an important question that has not been treated extensively - if at all - by the leading American newspapers. Perhaps it is too discomforting or even taboo to discuss this in the mainstream media, after all, America is in a self-congratulatory mode for finally - after 200 years - doing away with its demons of racism and discrimination.
But all indications point to a 'No'.
One of the main controversies in the Presidential campaign is the issue about Obama's religion and his middle name: Hussein. The fact that it is even an issue at all demonstrates the deep-seated fear and ignorance of many Americans. It is even more interesting that none of the presidential candidates have gone far to say that it is okay for a Muslim to be a president. Doing so, I suspect, would be political suicide for them. Perhaps still scarred over September 11, the association between the words "Muslim" and "terrorist" will take a long time to be totally decoupled.
But is Singapore ready for a Barack 'Hussein' Obama, or a Mohamed for that matter?
I believe this is where Singapore shines. Unlike America, Singapore has demonstrated incredible racial and religious tolerance, and credit must go to the government's policies for this.
We can argue that the OB markers placed by the government on mentioning race and religion has led to the extreme of people mistaking religious harmony as "not talking about it." But the fact is that despite a minority Muslim population, Singapore society has been relatively untainted by religious strife since the 60s.
No doubt, while prejudice and stereotypes still exists, it is nowhere compared to other societies where people can hate you for being Muslim. The government has gone to great pains to conjure up with policies that enforce racial and religious harmony.
In1980, a race quota was instituted for HDB flats in 1980 to ensure that different races get a chance to mix together and interact. After September 11, Inter-racial and religious confidence circles (IRCC) were set up to provide guidance and understand among different racial and religious groups.
Also, mainstream schools in Singapore - with the exception of SAP schools - allow for people of different races and religions to interact with one another and form friendships from a young age. While elite schools are said to be more homogeneous, this is due more to the fact that the Chinese are performing better academically, but it is hoped that this gap will shrink.
There is no mechanism stopping a Muslim or Hindu from rising up the political ranks - we are seeing minority MPs in parliament. However, many Malay Muslims are consigned to the Police Force and Civil Defense because the government is still uncomfortable with too many of them serving in the Armed Forces. This hesitance is expressed by then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1999 when he was quoted in The Straits Times as saying:
"If, for instance, you put in a Malay officer who's very religious and who has family ties in Malaysia in charge of a machine gun unit, that's a very tricky business. We've got to know his background... I'm saying these things because they are real, and if I don't think that, and I think even if today the Prime Minister doesn't think carefully about this, we could have a tragedy."
But this leads to the question: If the government is uncomfortable with a Muslim commanding a platoon in the Armed Forces, would it be comfortable allowing the same person to assume the highest office in the country?
We will never know until a Prime Minister Obama arrives.
