Singapore presidency may rotate to ethnic minorities

By Kirsten Han

SINGAPORE (AA) – Changes are afoot for Singapore's elected presidential system, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong indicating that the government "accepts in principle" recommendations made by a constitutional commission convened to study the matter.

Among the adjustments are recommendations to tighten eligibility criteria for the role, and to include a provision that would ensure that it be held by a member of an ethnic minority group from time to time.

The role of president was created in 1965, when Singapore became an independent country, and the president was then appointed by parliament. Amendments to the constitution in 1991 turned the role into an elected one, with stringent criteria imposed upon potential candidates.

This criteria included requirements such as having to have held a role in senior positions such as that of a cabinet minister, a chief executive officer of a government agency such as the housing and development board, or a chairperson of the board of directors of a company with a paid-up capital of at least S$100 million ($74.2 million).

In January 2016, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong appointed the new commission to examine and make recommendations on aspects of the elected presidency.

"The institution has served us well, but we must continue to update it regularly to ensure that the president can effectively carry out both his symbolic as well as custodial functions," he wrote in a letter published on his office website Wednesday to Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who helmed the constitutional commission.

The commission accepted submissions from experts as well as members of the public, and its report was published by the government Sept. 7.

Outside of recommendations to tighten eligibility and ensure the role be occasionally held by a member of an ethnic minority group, changes were also recommended for the council of presidential advisers -- a group of appointees that advises the president on the exercise of his powers.

The commission recommended that the bar to contest the elections be revised upwards, so as to reflect changes in Singapore's economy and also suggested that the duration for which candidates must have held qualifying positions be doubled from three to six years, and that the definition of a large and complex company be revised to one that has S$500 million in shareholders' equity.

It proposed that if no president has been elected from a particular race out of Singapore's three main racial groups -- Chinese, Malay and Indian and others -- after five continuous terms, the next election would be reserved for a member of that race.

If no qualifying candidate from that race can be identified, the election will be open to all, but the next election will once again be reserved for a member of that race.

The final major recommendation was for the expansion of the council of presidential advisers from six to eight members, and a requirement that the president consult this council before exercising his veto on all fiscal matters and public service appointments.

Singapore's last presidential election was in 2011, for a six-year term.

It was the first presidential election since 1993 to have a ballot, since former President SR Nathan had stood unopposed in both the 1999 and 2005 elections.

The race was a close one, with Tony Tan -- a deputy prime minister and seen as the long ruling People's Action Party's favored man -- winning by only 0.35 per cent of the vote.

The proposed changes put forward by the commission would disqualify Tan's close second, Tan Cheng Bock, in a future election.

While the prime minister of Singapore is the head of government, the president is considered the head of state.

According to the constitution, the president holds certain executive functions, such as the ability to veto attempts of the government to draw down on past reserves that it did not accumulate.

The president can also approve changes to key positions within the civil service, such as the chief justice, attorney general, or commissioner of police.