Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Hri Kumar said that the GRC System is still very important in Singapore in order to maintain the voices of ethnic minorities in parliament.
He was speaking at a roundtable discussion hosted by the Straits Times last Wednesday.
He shared that one of his Chinese residents had confessed to him that she was more comfortable voting for a Chinese representative than an Indian, noting that Hri Kumar had replaced a Chinese MP, Leong Horn Kee, when he joined the GRC.
Hri Kumar shared that the resident understands that her and her friends' concerns were irrational but he acknowledged that this was still a gut response, likely to affect many others too.
His remarks were in response to a question about whether Singapore should return to having single-member constituencies to allow each MP to stand on his or her own merits for a seat in parliament rather than being able to ride on the coattails of another member of the GRC or the party they stand under.
The GRC system was originally introduced in 1988 to ensure that ethnic minorities held seats in parliament. Each GRC must have at least 1 ethnic minority inside to ensure that these races are represented in parliament.
However, critics have pointed out that there was no lack of ethnic representation before 1988. Many Singaporeans feel that the GRC system is unnecessary as most Singaporeans do not vote along race lines. It also brings in other problems including allowing 'free-riders' to get into parliament without being a very strong candidate.
Hri Kumar expressed that while most Singaporeans may not vote along race lines, there are definitely some who do. This could easily affect the outcome of elections and cause a lack of representation of minorities in parliament. That would be a disaster, he said.
He explained that sometimes the biggest barrier is language, citing his door-to-door sessions where residents chose not to speak with him and instead with other volunteers because they could speak in a language they were more comfortable in.
He said that "these things do matter. And we cannot just brush them aside."