A proposal to empower the President

[caption id="attachment_69" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="President Elections 2011"]The Presidential elections are just hours away. Yet, I think most can agree with me that we are not feeling the excitement of this campaign that was here a few months ago during the General election campaign. Ask most Singaporeans on the street and most would not be able to name the 4 candidates for the election?
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Why is this so? This is the man that is going to hold the highest office in Singapore. He is supposedly even more respected that the Prime Minister. He is the Yang Pertuan di Negara, the Head of State. Yet, all the President seems to do is to be the guardian of the CPF and the Reserves and to attend ceremonial functions such as see football games, attend military parades and the NDP. Please, if there is anyone out there that thinks that I am wrong, please correct me.

Here is my suggestion. One of the charges of our President is to oversee the appointment of civil servants in Singapore. Currently, this is just a rubber-stamping authority. Whatever the Parliament chooses, President accepts. Before I give my idea, I would like to think of our Ministers, DPMs and Prime Minister as civil servants too.

So my idea is that since the President is elected, he should choose from a list of people who is to be allowed to be the portfolio of ministers. For exampe, many Singaporeans are unhappy about the transport situation in Singapore. If there was a President who is empowered by the vote off the people, the President can choose the appropriate party in charge of transport in Singapore. In fact, I think that the President should also have the right to fire an individual should he deem fit, with the minister then becoming an MP; but this power to terminate a Minister should be vetoed by a 2/3 majority in parliament.


People often find it wierd that though I may not agree with the People Action Party policies, I am a loyal voter for the PAP. Why? Because at the local level, the MP in my GRC, Mr Muhammad Zaqy, does a really good job. We told him once that the carpark was dirty, he ensured that it got cleaned and we never have any problem since then. I do not see why he has not earned my vote.

I think that this would really make Singapore a fully Democratic society were the people choose all branches of office. With this, the President would surely be the head of state. With this system, the President really deserves and earned the millions of tax dollars that he is currently earning.

Lastly, I wish to stress that I agree 100%, that the President and the Cabinet should not be warring with each other. I think that we should have the two branches of office working together and discussing on the right path of our magnificent country.