Three aspects of elected presidency to be reviewed: PM Lee
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (AP file photo).
Singapore’s current system of the elected presidency will be reviewed, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in Parliament on Wednesday (27 Jan).
In his speech, Lee highlighted three areas the review would focus on: the qualifying criteria, how to strengthen the Council of Presidential Advisors (CPA), and how to ensure that minorities have a chance to be elected to office.
The prime minister noted that it was “timely” to have the review.
He also pointed out that the government has a good working relationship with President Tony Tan, who became Singapore’s seventh president in 2011 after winning by a margin of 0.34 per cent against former Member of Parliament Dr Tan Cheng Bock.
Recalling the past presidential election, Lee said that regrettably some candidates did not understand that the president has no executive, policy-making role.
“They campaigned for President as if they were going to form an alternative Government,” he said.
Aside from Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock, the other presidential candidates in 2011 were Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian.
However, Lee maintained that the presidency would still be an elected position, as the officeholder would lack the mandate to wield custodial powers otherwise.
Qualifying criteria
At present, the Singapore president exercises custodial powers over the spending of the reserves and has a say in key appointments in the public service.
He is required to assess and decide on proposals involving billions of dollars and the suitability of candidates to hold demanding appointments.
One criteria to qualify as a presidential candidate is to hold office for at least three years in the public or private sector, or have experience running large and complex companies with a paid-up capital of at least S$100 million.
Lee said these principles will remain but details may need to be brought up to date, given the inflation rates over the past 25 years.
How to strengthen CPA
The government will also examine whether the views of the CPA should be given greater weight. “Over time, as the new institutions established themselves, we should consider if the CPA’s advice should come to count for more in the decision made by the President so as to make our governance system more stable,” said Lee.
The President and CPA would play the role of “a goalkeeper together with a team of defenders”, said Lee, paraphrasing a description coined by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Chance for minorities
Lee pointed out that since the elected presidency system was introduced in 1991, Singapore has not had a Malay president. S R Nathan, an Indian, was elected unopposed for two terms.
The prime minister said the government should consider a mechanism for presidential elections to ensure minorities can be “periodically elected if we have not had a particular minority as President for some time”.
Lee says he will appoint a Constitutional Commission to study these issues and make recommendations.
Reactions
Commenting on the prime minister’s speech, Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan believed it made sense to tighten the eligibility criteria for the presidency.
“Given that what is at stake is much higher (now), in terms of the reserves and government expenditure (and others), raising the bar is prudent because you want people who exercise custodial powers to be fit and proper. It will reduce the number of people who are eligible, but I think that is a fair trade-off,” he said.
However, Tan was not a fan of trying to ensure the periodic election of Presidents from the minorities.
"I wouldn’t want to see affirmative action with regard to people competing in elections because that would just undermine the integrity of the office. They should stand on legitimacy and authority. We will have to await the details,” Tan said.
