The double paradox of the Elected Presidency

[Watchman]

The double paradox of the Elected Presidency
August 21st, 2011 | Author: Contributions

There is much discussion and debate in the papers and social media lately
on the roles and duties performed by the Elected President as circumscribed
under the Constitution.

With the non-PAP candidates putting Tony Tan on a defensive by emphasizing
their ‘independence’ from the government, the PAP and the media initially
tried to downplay the influence and importance of the Elected President before
making a dramatic U-turn after triggering a massive public backlash.

An increasing number of Singaporeans are questioning the rationale of paying
the Elected President an astounding $4.2 million dollars a year if he can only
open his mouth on ‘advice’ from the Prime Minister which demeans his office
and relegates his role to that of a highly-paid ‘puppet’ of the PAP government.

There are two inherent double paradoxes of the Elected Presidency:

Paradox 1: The duties of the Elected President can be done by a President appointed by the Prime Minister

As one of the candidates Tan Jee Say put it succinctly:

“If you want a unifying role, to be good, to be proper, to be dignified,
multi-racialism through football, and through doing good, being respected
by outside to unify the country… I think that you don’t need an elected
President to do that. You can do that through an appointed President,
someone appointed by the Prime Minister.”

The last appointed President Wee Kim Wee fulfilled these duties well and was
widely respected by Singaporeans though he was not elected directly by them
which raised the question on why there is a need to hold an election when the
Prime Minister can simply appoint somebody to be the President.

Paradox 2: The primary role of the Elected President is to prevent a ‘profligate’
government from spending the reserves which is a check on the government

Law Minister Shanmugam said the primary role of the Elected President is to
prevent a ‘profligate’ government from spending Singapore’s hard-earned reserves.
How is the Elected President able to perform this task if he is not independent of
the PAP and posses the moral authority and courage to check on the government?

It is not hard to understand these two paradoxes when one delved deeper into the
real partisan purpose of the Elected President – which is no more but a contingency
plan for the PAP if it loses power one day.

Under the old system, the non-PAP government has the power to appoint a President
and the PAP will have no say in the matter. In the present system, the PAP still stand
a chance of putting in its own candidate into the Istana to check on its political
opponents in office which explains the stringent criteria favoring senior officials
in the establishment.

The PAP’s ‘duplicity’ is again evident in the way they manipulate the system to suit
its own selfish interests – if the PAP forms the government, the Elected President can
only act on its ‘advice’, but if another party forms the government, the
Elected President will be permitted to check on it to prevent it from dismantling
the PAP system of government to entrench and perpetuate its political hegemony.

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Pamela Tien