9-member panel set up to review elected presidency

SINGAPORE — The nine-member Constitutional Commission to review and make recommendations on certain aspects of the Elected Presidency, as announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last month, was unveiled today (Feb 10).

Announcing the slate of members in a press release today, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also spelt out the terms of reference for the commission, whose scope includes the eligibility criteria for presidential candidacy, safeguarding minority representation in the presidency, and the framework governing the exercise of the President’s custodial powers.

Sitting on the commission, chaired by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, are Supreme Court Judge Justice Tay Yong Kwang, Public Service Commission chairman Eddie Teo, Presidential Council for Minority Rights member Abdullah Tarmugi, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities chairman Chan Heng Chee, Ho Bee Land Limited chairman and CEO Chua Thian Poh, Far East Organisation CEO Philip Ng, DBS Bank chairman Peter Seah, and Venture Corporation Limited chairman and CEO Wong Ngit Liong. 

CJ Menon has also established a Secretariat to assist the Commission in its work, the Supreme Court said in a separate press release. “I look forward to working closely with the distinguished citizens who have been appointed to the Commission and who will bring with them the valuable perspectives of their diverse backgrounds and experience,” he said.

In an emailed statement, Mr Seah said: “I am very humbled by the appointment and hope that my years of experience will help me contribute to the very important task of the commission.” 

Mr Lee had announced the proposed changes to the Elected Presidency during the debate on the President’s Address last month, which he said was aimed at keeping the office “robust” and “effective”. 

The eligibility criteria may need to be “brought up to date” as the Republic’s reserves have grown, as had the “size and complexity” of the organisations that are subject to the second key of the President. 

It was also time to consider if the CPA’s powers “should come to count for more” in the decisions made by the President to make the governance system more stable. Mr Lee also proposed a mechanism to “ensure that minorities can be periodically elected” if there has been no minority as president for some time. 

According to the terms of reference set out today, the commission will consider whether the existing provisions in the qualifying criteria are adequate, “taking into account the President’s custodial role in safeguarding our financial reserves and the integrity of our public service”, and the need to ensure those who stand are “individuals of character and standing” with the necessary experience and ability.

On safeguarding minority representation in the presidency, the commission must take into account the President’s status as a unifying figure representing multiracial Singapore, and the need to “ensure that candidates from minority races have fair and adequate opportunity to be elected” President.

The commission also has to consider whether existing provisions for the President’s custodial powers and the CPA are adequate. 

Factors it has to take into account include the CPA’s function as an independent body, and that decisions made to safeguard financial reserves and the integrity of the public service are supported by experienced groups of people in the public and private sectors. 

Commenting on the announcement today, Singapore Management University (SMU) law don Eugene Tan observed that the terms of reference were “tightly crafted”. 

“There is a fair amount of latitude with regards to the scope of the commission’s work for each of the three substantive TOR (terms of reference), but with some measure of constraint for each TOR through the explicit considerations that the Commission must take into account as it goes about its work,” he said.

Dr Alan Chong from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies said putting on paper the need to consider to multiracial representation was welcome. When the Elected Presidency was first established, this was a consideration in the “background”, “but now it’s in the foreground”, he said.

But Assoc Prof Tan noted that the commission would have to manage trade-offs between having a qualified candidate while ensuring fair opportunities for minority races. 

“Perhaps the challenge lies in how to get suitably qualified minority candidates to stand for election, and for race not to be a fetter as to how voters vote,” he said.

The commission’s recommendations could be made to the Government by the third quarter of this year and legislative changes could be tabled this year, before the next presidential election, due August 2017. 

The PMO said the public will be invited to submit their views and ideas to the commission in due course.