CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) (PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL FOR MINORITY RIGHTS) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.22 p.m.

The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

It is the purpose of this Bill to make the necessary amendments to Part IVA of the Constitution of Singapore so as to enable the Presidential Council hereafter to be concerned only with minority rights and not with fundamental liberties. The Council will accordingly be re-styled the "Presidential Council for Minority Rights". Although Part IVA as a whole has been repealed and re-enacted to make for easier reading, it is substantially the same as the existing Part IVA except for the changes which I shall now mention.

Article 81J under clause 2 of the Bill now reads:

`It shall be the particular function of the Council to draw attention to any Bill or to any subsidiary legislation if that Bill or subsidiary legislation is in the opinion of the Council a differentiating measure.' This Article differs from the present Article 8li in that the words "or otherwise inconsistent with the fundamental liberties of the subject" at the end of that Article have been omitted. This phrase has, in fact, been deleted throughout Part JVA, while at Article 81A the definition of "inconsistent with the fundamental liberties of the subject" has also been excised. The omission of this phrase from the Bill means that the Presidential Council for Minority Rights will be concerned only with drawing attention to "differentiating measures" in any legislation, principal or subsidiary, that is, measures which are disadvantageous to persons of any racial or religious community. Upon the coming into operation of the Act, therefore, it will not be part of the Council's functions to draw attention to inconsistencies with the fundamental liberties of the subject as set out in Part II of the Constitution of Malaysia which applies to Singapore.

These amendments are being made as the Presidential Council itself over the last two years has indicated that it wishes its principal function to be the examination of legislation with a view to ascertaining whether any provisions therein may be discriminatory against racial or religious communities. In the annual report of the Presidential Council for the twelve months ending on 30th April, 1971, the Council urges at paragraph 9 thereof, and I quote:

`In the light of the topics that have been raised by members and discussed during our meetings, we are of the view that the Council can best serve the multi-racial multi-religious peoples of Singapore if the Council is required under the Constitution to devote its principal attention to considering whether or not any proposed legislation, including subsidiary legislation, in its opinion "is, or is likely in its practical application to be, disadvantageous to persons of any racial or religious community and not equally disadvantageous to persons of other such communities, either directly by prejudicing persons of that community or indirectly by giving advantage to persons of another community". In other words, [the report continues] we recommend that this Council's principal function should be to examine legislation with a view to "preventing" Parliament inadvertently passing laws which discriminate against racial or religious minorities in Singapore.'

Again, in the Presidential Council's annual report for the following year, 1971-72, the Council, after stating that it had in its previous annual report suggested the modification of its functions, which I have just quoted, observed that, in the absence of any statutory amendment to the Council's functions, the Council continued to exercise the functions originally entrusted to it under the Constitution.

It will therefore he seen, Sir, that it is in accordance with the wishes of the Presidential Council itself that these amendments are being made today.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The house immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr E. W. Barker].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

3.36 p.m.

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: There is a note, in page 1, line 4, that the citation date has to be altered from "1972" to "1973". This will be done.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 2 -

Mr Barker: Sir, I beg to move,

(1) In page 3, line 13, after "(b)", to insert "not more than".

(2) In page 3, line 15, after "(c)" to insert "not more than".

(3) In page 9, line 6, to leave out "ten" and insert "eight".

Sir, the first and second amendments relate to the composition of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights which, as in the case of the present Presidential Council, consists of the Chairman, 10 permanent members appointed for life and 10 other members appointed for a period of three years. However, the quota for the permanent and the temporary members has never been filled in full.

With regard to the permanent members, as was pointed out by the then President in a speech at the time of the presentation of the instrument of appointment on the 2nd of May, 1970, it is the intention of Government to leave at least three of the permanent seats vacant so that any successor government can include some of the senior Ministers in the Council. At the present moment, there are only five permanent members, one having resigned, and eight temporary members. It would, therefore, be more appropriate for the expression "not more than" to be inserted at paragraphs (b) and (c) of Article 81(B).-(1), so that these provisions now read:

(b) not more than ten permanent members appointed for life; and

(c) not more than ten other members appointed for a period of three years.

Sir, as regards the third amendment of Article 81(P).-(1) whereby it is sought to lower the quorum of the Council from ten to eight members, the Council is of the opinion that eight would he a more realistic figure, having regard to the fact that the full membership of 21 has not been filled and is not likely to be completely filled in the near future. And there being at present only 14 members including the Chairman, it would therefore be proper to accede to the Council's wishes in this regard.

Sir, I beg to move.

Amendments agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed.