SINGAPORE — The Workers’ Party’s (WP) top leaders on Tuesday (Nov 8) slammed the Elected Presidency (EP) scheme as a “nightmare”, and claimed that the proposed changes to the institution were meant to further the ruling party’s own political interests.
“This Bill is evidence of how a nightmare may come back to haunt us,” said WP chairman Sylvia Lim during the second day of the parliamentary debate on the proposed constitutional amendments to the scheme.
The WP has been against the EP since it was introduced in 1991, saying it undermines parliamentary democracy and could potentially cripple a non-People’s Action Party (PAP) government in its first term, among other objections.
Ms Lim noted that the EP scheme was first mooted to safeguard national reserves from being squandered.
However, the PAP government has amended the Constitution “again and again, as unintended consequences arose”, she said, referring to the 2011 Presidential Election.
The polls — which saw four candidates, including former PAP stalwart Tan Cheng Bock, taking part — ended with former Cabinet Minister Tony Tan winning by a narrow margin.
The outcome of the 2011 polls had caused uneasiness within the PAP, said WP chief Low Thia Khiang in his Mandarin speech.
“Despite all this manoeuvring, the PAP nearly succumbed to their own wishful thinking. That’s why they hurriedly conducted this exercise … to stop this frightening situation from happening again in the next Presidential Election,” he added.
Mr Low said the proposed changes — reserve elections for a particular race if it had not been represented for five consecutive terms, and tightened eligibility criteria — will reduce the quantity of eligible candidates, leading to either uncontested elections or “pro-PAP personnel” participating in the elections.
He also noted that should the PAP lose a General Election in the future, the Elected President would be able to turn the new, non-PAP government into “a lame duck”, unable to touch past reserves or appoint key officials.
“We feel that the PAP is only concerned with its own interests, and leaving Singapore to face great risks in the future,” said Mr Low.
Ms Lim, calling for a return to the original system of having Parliament appoint the President, said such a mechanism would elevate the highest office of the land above politics.
Instead of being regressive, reverting to such a mechanism will naturally ensure minority representation in office, she suggested.
“However, the Government seems to be locked into its position that there must be an elected President, and is devising more ways to check him,” Ms Lim said.
While the Government is aware that it would be unwise to let one man have too much power, she noted that the proposal to strengthen the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) is “fraught with difficulties”.
Increasing the CPA’s clout will turn it into a power centre, which is untenable as it is an unelected body, she pointed out.
Ms Lim added that residents had questioned why the Government was rushing through the proposed changes to the EP scheme in Parliament at this time. “Surely there is still time for any change to be carefully considered for implementation in the following Presidential Election in 2023, rather than the one next year?” she said.
