SINGAPORE: Proposed changes to the Elected Presidency will be up for debate when Parliament sits on Monday (Nov 7). The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean at the last sitting, is up for a second reading.
The Bill provides more details on some of the proposed changes recommended by the Constitutional Commission set up to review the system of Elected Presidency.
Key changes include more stringent eligibility criteria, and to reserve an election for a particular racial group if there has not been a president from the group for five consecutive terms. This applies to the Chinese, Malay and Indian and other minority communities.
Topics ranging from retrenchment numbers, online gambling, the safety of HDB structures to lift maintenance will also be on the agenda.
Following the incident in September where a sun shield on a Tampines block gave way, four MPs submitted questions to the Minister for National Development on whether there are inspections of HDB buildings from time to time, especially in mature estates, to ensure their structural integrity.
The recent announcement that the Park and Ride Scheme will be discontinued from December also drew questions from MPs. Mr Ang Wei Neng wants to know if terminating the scheme runs contrary to encouraging Singaporeans to take public transport, while Mr Lim Biow Chuan is asking what the alternatives are for motorists using the Park and Ride scheme.
MPs also submitted questions touching on the number of teachers who have resigned, whether the non-teaching workload is a significant factor in their decision to leave the teaching force and what’s being done to encourage them to stay on.
The issues are among 89 questions submitted for oral answer and 29 for written answer.
But before the debates begin, the House will move a motion to congratulate Singapore’s Paralympians on their achievements at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu won two gold medals, while fellow para-swimmer Theresa Goh clinched a bronze.
During the sitting, Workers’ Party MP Pritam Singh wants to raise a Motion for Adjournment on “Preventing the Scourge of Online Gambling”. This follows concerns after the Government approved the applications of two operators, Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club, to launch online betting services under strict conditions.
Five bills will also be introduced, including the Retirement and Re-employment (Amendment) Bill and the Mediation Bill.
