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But all we need is the president to dissolve the parliament again and they will lose another few GRCs 
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110611-283594.html
ASIAONE
NEWS
SINGAPORE
Shanmugam clarifies President's role
The Business Times
Sat, Jun 11, 2011
By Lee U-Wen
LAW Minister K Shanmugam has said that it is important for Singaporeans to understand what the country's president is 'elected and empowered to do' under the Constitution.
In a three-page statement issued to the press yesterday, Mr Shanmugam said that recent comments in the media suggested that there was 'some confusion' over what the President can and cannot do.
'Singapore has a parliamentary system of government, not a presidential one. The President is the head of state, not the head of government. The Prime Minister is the head of government and has the authority and responsibility to govern Singapore.'
Mr Shanmugam's statement came just days after two presidential hopefuls - retired People's Action Party member of parliament Tan Cheng Bock and former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Kin Lian - had outlined their individual plans on what they would do if elected.
RELATED STORIES
'Be very clear' on powers of President
The latter, for instance, said that, among other things, he would want to issue an annual report on the country's reserves.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Foreign Minister, said that the Constitution clearly defines the role and scope of the elected President.
'He has custodial powers, not executive powers. In other words, he can veto or block government actions in specified areas, but he has no role to advance his own policy agenda,' he said.
'National policies and running the government are the responsibility of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. This is so for all policies, whether they concern security and defence, immigration and population, or housing and social safety nets.'
The Prime Minister and his Cabinet, he explained, are accountable to Parliament, where policies are debated and endorsed, and ultimately to voters, who decide every five years who to elect to Parliament and to govern Singapore.
Mr Shanmugam said that the president's veto powers over the government are limited to specific areas, including the protection of past reserves accumulated during previous terms of office of the government; the appointment of key personnel; and Internal Security Act detentions and Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau investigations.
'On all other matters, under the Constitution, the President must act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet,' Mr Shanmugam said. 'The President is required to consult the council of presidential advisers when exercising his veto powers in connection with reserves and appointments.'
The minister said that the President's veto powers are an 'important check' against a profligate government squandering the nation's reserves, or undermining the integrity of the public service.
The President, said Mr Shanmugam, is 'directly elected by the people' to have the mandate to carry out his custodial role, and the moral authority to say no if necessary to the elected government.
Just two years ago, President SR Nathan - who holds the so-called 'second key' to the reserves' - gave the approval to fund $4.9 billion worth of relief measures from the reserves due to the severity of the global economic crisis. This was the first time that Singapore had dipped into its reserves.
On the issue of the reserves, which include physical assets such as land and buildings and financial assets such as cash, securities and bonds, Mr Shanmugam said that the government of the day can only spend past reserves with the President's approval.
The President, however, does not direct the operations of these statutory boards and government companies. He is also not empowered to direct the investment strategies of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Temasek Holdings, said Mr Shanmugam.
'The President also receives the audited annual accounts of GIC and Temasek, and has access to any of the information available to their boards. This system of governance has allowed (them) to operate professionally and achieve good returns over time, comparable to other reputable global investors.'
This article was first published in The Business Times.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110611-283594.html
ASIAONE
NEWS
SINGAPORE
Shanmugam clarifies President's role
The Business Times
Sat, Jun 11, 2011
By Lee U-Wen
LAW Minister K Shanmugam has said that it is important for Singaporeans to understand what the country's president is 'elected and empowered to do' under the Constitution.
In a three-page statement issued to the press yesterday, Mr Shanmugam said that recent comments in the media suggested that there was 'some confusion' over what the President can and cannot do.
'Singapore has a parliamentary system of government, not a presidential one. The President is the head of state, not the head of government. The Prime Minister is the head of government and has the authority and responsibility to govern Singapore.'
Mr Shanmugam's statement came just days after two presidential hopefuls - retired People's Action Party member of parliament Tan Cheng Bock and former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Kin Lian - had outlined their individual plans on what they would do if elected.
RELATED STORIES
'Be very clear' on powers of President
The latter, for instance, said that, among other things, he would want to issue an annual report on the country's reserves.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Foreign Minister, said that the Constitution clearly defines the role and scope of the elected President.
'He has custodial powers, not executive powers. In other words, he can veto or block government actions in specified areas, but he has no role to advance his own policy agenda,' he said.
'National policies and running the government are the responsibility of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. This is so for all policies, whether they concern security and defence, immigration and population, or housing and social safety nets.'
The Prime Minister and his Cabinet, he explained, are accountable to Parliament, where policies are debated and endorsed, and ultimately to voters, who decide every five years who to elect to Parliament and to govern Singapore.
Mr Shanmugam said that the president's veto powers over the government are limited to specific areas, including the protection of past reserves accumulated during previous terms of office of the government; the appointment of key personnel; and Internal Security Act detentions and Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau investigations.
'On all other matters, under the Constitution, the President must act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet,' Mr Shanmugam said. 'The President is required to consult the council of presidential advisers when exercising his veto powers in connection with reserves and appointments.'
The minister said that the President's veto powers are an 'important check' against a profligate government squandering the nation's reserves, or undermining the integrity of the public service.
The President, said Mr Shanmugam, is 'directly elected by the people' to have the mandate to carry out his custodial role, and the moral authority to say no if necessary to the elected government.
Just two years ago, President SR Nathan - who holds the so-called 'second key' to the reserves' - gave the approval to fund $4.9 billion worth of relief measures from the reserves due to the severity of the global economic crisis. This was the first time that Singapore had dipped into its reserves.
On the issue of the reserves, which include physical assets such as land and buildings and financial assets such as cash, securities and bonds, Mr Shanmugam said that the government of the day can only spend past reserves with the President's approval.
The President, however, does not direct the operations of these statutory boards and government companies. He is also not empowered to direct the investment strategies of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Temasek Holdings, said Mr Shanmugam.
'The President also receives the audited annual accounts of GIC and Temasek, and has access to any of the information available to their boards. This system of governance has allowed (them) to operate professionally and achieve good returns over time, comparable to other reputable global investors.'
This article was first published in The Business Times.
