ARTICLE 5(2A) OF THE CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 5(2A) OF THE CONSTITUTION:

(Operation of constitutional provisions): 10.

Prof. Thio Li-ann asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law whether Article 5(2A) of the Constitution which entrenches the elected presidency will be brought into operation soon and, if not, whether the Government will consider bringing into effect Article 5(2A) insofar as it entrenches basic constitutional provisions relating to general elections and fundamental liberties.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law (Prof. S Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, as for the first part of the Member's question, we are not ready to bring Article 5(2A) into operation soon. This is because we are still refining the Presidential safeguards, especially in regard to the country’s reserves. This is a gradual process that requires time.

Sir, when we enacted the provisions in our Constitution for an elected Presidency, we were conscious that those changes were unique and unparalleled elsewhere. Our clear and stated intention was to refine the scheme and to iron out all the issues that may arise in the light of experience over time, before bringing the entrenchment provisions into operation. As Members know, we have previously made amendments to refine the framework to deal with issues that had not really been anticipated.

As the Prime Minister had informed this House last year on 13th November, the Government intends to amend the definition of how much Net Investment Income (NII) from our past reserves can be spent by the current Government. We are currently studying this complex problem carefully. Any changes, as a result of that review, will require an amendment to the Constitution. This will be an important amendment which affects the core duty of the elected President to protect the past reserves of the Government. After that amendment, we will need some years of experience operating under the revised rule before we can entrench this and other provisions concerning the elected President.

As for the second part of the Member's question, whether we can bring into operation the provisions relating to elections and fundamental liberties or rather the entrenchment, we cannot do so for two reasons. First, they were not intended to be implemented separately from the others, but as an integrated package entrenching all the critical Constitutional provisions over which the President should have a special role. And that continues to be the intention.

The second reason, Sir, is that the Constitution Amendment Act (No. 41 of 1996) which amended this was drafted on the basis of this intention. I have been advised by the Attorney-General that, having regard to the provisions of that Act, Article 5(2A) has to be brought into operation as a whole and cannot be brought into operation in part.

Let me add in closing, Sir, that whether the Article is entrenched or not, the Government has made it a practice to always seek the President's views whenever it intends to move Constitutional amendments that affect the relevant provisions. The President's views have been reflected in the respective Second Reading speeches in this House. We have not made any amendments which the President had not agreed with, except once in 1995 when we referred a legal question to a Tribunal of Supreme Court judges set up under Article 100, which ruled in favour of the Government's interpretation of the Constitution.