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Shanmugam tried very hard at the seminar to argue that the Constitution forbade the President from speaking out of turn. In actual fact this is not explicitly stated in the Constitution. What we have is a convention from the British system where the monarch never says anything except the most innocuous of pleasantries. Even when she makes a speech, the script is either written by the Prime Minister or the cabinet, or is approved by it.
However, it is a bit rich for any member of the present government to demand adherence to British constitutional practice when the same government has raped it by introducing Group Representation Constituencies, continuing with detention without trial, giving itself editorial leverage over mainstream media, and carrying on with Section 377A of the Penal Code when all four would be outrageous by the standards of British constitutional and human rights practice.
Most crucially, however, there is a key difference between the British monarchy and the Singapore presidency — the latter is elected by popular mandate.
- http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/5363/
However, it is a bit rich for any member of the present government to demand adherence to British constitutional practice when the same government has raped it by introducing Group Representation Constituencies, continuing with detention without trial, giving itself editorial leverage over mainstream media, and carrying on with Section 377A of the Penal Code when all four would be outrageous by the standards of British constitutional and human rights practice.
Most crucially, however, there is a key difference between the British monarchy and the Singapore presidency — the latter is elected by popular mandate.
- http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/5363/
