2017 Singaporean presidential election

Singapore presidential election, 2017

September 2017

President before election Tony Tan Elected President TBD

The next Singaporean presidential election is due to be held in September 2017.

Background

Main article: President of Singapore

The President is the head of state of Singapore. Following the Westminster system, the position is largely ceremonial, but enjoys several reserve powers including withholding presidential assent on supply bills and changing or revoking civil service appointments. The current system of holding elections for the Presidency began with the 1993 election, with the election of Ong Teng Cheong. Before then, the President was selected by Parliament.

There are strict requirements for prospective presidential election candidates, and whether a candidate meets the qualifications or not is decided by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC), who are given the task of issuing a certificate of eligibility (COE) to prospective candidates.

The Presidency is, by the rules of the Constitution, nonpartisan.

Parliamentary reforms

In his speech to Parliament on 27 Jan 2016, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that it was timely to review the eligibility criteria of the Elected Presidency. On 10 Feb 2016, a Constitutional Commission consisting of nine individuals and chaired by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon was formed. In its report released on 7 Sep 2016, the Commission recommended the following key changes:

1. The election should be reserved for a racial group if it is not represented for five terms, or 30 years. If there are no eligible candidates from that group, the election would be opened to candidates of all races, and the “reserved election” would be deferred to the next Presidential election.
2. The Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) should be increased from six to eight members, with two alternate members. The President would have to consult the CPA on all monetary issues related to the financial reserves and all key public service appointments.
3. A qualifying candidate from the private sector should be a senior executive managing a company with at least S$500 million in shareholders’ equity. Previously, such a candidate had to be a chairman or CEO of a company with at least S$100 million in paid-up capital.
4. For qualifying candidates from both the public and private sectors, the length of time that the candidate has held office should be doubled to six years.
5. The public sector offices of Accountant-General and Auditor-General should be removed from automatic qualification.
6. An applicant’s entire qualifying tenure should fall within a 15-year period preceding Nomination Day.

The government announced in a White Paper published on 15 Sept 2016 that it has broadly accepted the recommendations, including the first three changes above. The government did not accept the three other proposed changes, preferring to adopt a "cautious" approach given the other concurrent changes to other aspects of eligibility criteria. On 8 Nov 2016, PM Lee, under the advice from Attorney-General, announced that the 2017 Presidential Election will be reserved for candidates from the Malay community.

Constitutional challenges

On 5 May 2017, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a former Member of Parliament (MP) from People's Action Party (PAP) who contested in the 2011 election, filed a constitutional challenge to determine whether it is correct to set the Presidential Election 2017 as a reserved election under the newly introduced amendments to the Elected Presidency. His challenge was dismissed by Justice Quentin Loh in High Court, explaining that “Article 164(1)(a) provides for Parliament to specify the first term of office of the President to be counted under Art 19B(1) (“First Term”).” He has since filed an appeal, to be heard by the Court of Appeal on 31 July 2017.

On 22 May 2017, human rights lawyer M. Ravi filed a constitutional challenge, stating that the amendment to the Elected Presidency Scheme "deprives citizens of the right to stand" for the office of the Elected Presidency, is "discriminatory on the grounds of ethnicity", and that it contradicts article 12(2) of the Constitution. On 15 June 2017, his application was dismissed by the High Court with cost. Judge See Kee Oon said during the hearing that Ravi had not shown how his personal rights were violated by the changes that were made to the scheme. Ravi therefore, added See, had "no standing" as a private citizen to mount the challenge. Ravi has since filed an appeal against the court's verdict.

Criticisms

The People's Action Party has been accused of using the Presidential office's imperative of preserving racial peace as a way to circumvent democracy and shore up its political power. The government has relied on a heavily criticised survey jointly conducted by online publication Channel NewsAsia, and National University of Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies, both with ties to the Singapore government, to support its case that Singaporeans are voting along racial lines. This is seen by some as a farcical attempt at combating voters’ racial bias which, at every election, has been proven to have no impact on election results.

The reserved Presidential election is also seen as an elaborate plan to block the candidacy of Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who lost by a thin margin in the 2011 Presidential elections to Tony Tan Keng Yam, a former deputy prime minister. Some social media users have mockingly referred to the move as “Tan Cheng Block”. The Singapore government has denied the accusation.

A Community Committee will be set up to assess whether a candidate belongs to a particular racial group. Former MP Inderjit Singh questions why a different yardstick is used for determining the race of an individual instead of adopting what is practiced by self-help organisations like SINDA or MENDAKI.

Law Professor Eugene Tan argued that as a reserved election prevents participation of qualified candidates from other races, the principle of meritocracy is not exercised fully. Also, a race-based election can give rise to the belief that a racial community is entitled for one of its own to be elected President, leading to the expectation for other public offices to be rotated amongst the races as well.

In addition, Professor Tan contend that a reserved election might just reinforce the alleged tendency of Singaporeans to vote along racial lines since the system will automatically produce a minority-race President at regular intervals if one is not elected. As noted by critics, the reserved election would generate unnecessary tension and lead to racial divide amongst Singaporeans.

An online petition has been circulating on the internet, calling for the election to be made open to all races.

Potential candidates

On 9 November 2016, Parliament passed an amendment to the Singapore Constitution. The amendment's passage means that this presidential election will be reserved for members of the Malay community, who are certified as such by a Community Committee.

Announced

• Farid Khan Kaim Khan, is the chairman of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific, a leading offshore oil and gas marine provider in the region, and founder of Bumi Subsea, an undersea operation firm. He also sits on the Careers@Maritime Steering Committee – an initiative supported by the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) that aims to grow awareness about jobs in the maritime industry. Mr Khan said, “I wish to serve the nation... to the best of my knowledge and ability. First and foremost, I am very concerned about the growing threat of radicalism. If elected, I will work closely with the Government and various organisations to resolve this issue... to strengthen the trust among the people regardless of race and religion... helping the needy, including troubled youth, to strengthen our social fabric... enhance our prosperity by creating more opportunities, including jobs... strengthen our families... to create a united, just and compassionate society.” However, Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific reportedly has a shareholders' equity value of US$300 million, which falls short of the S$500 million required to automatically qualify as an eligible candidate.
• Mohamed Salleh Marican, founding chairman and CEO of 2nd Chance Properties, the first company owned by a Malay/Muslim to be listed in Singapore. Mr Salleh said "I believe I have done well for myself in business and would like to step up and give back to society in a much larger way" and that he "can also fulfill the call of most Singaporeans who desire a truly independent Elected President, one who is untainted by party politics". However, Mr. Salleh's company only has a registered shareholder equity S$254.3-263.23 million over the last three financial years, which falls short of the S$500 million needed to automatically qualify as an eligible candidate,.
• Shirwin Eu, a private-hire driver who had failed to contest in the 2015 general election and the 2016 Bukit Batok SMC by-election as an independent candidate said, “I understand that this is a reserved election for minorities, for Malay candidates, but the verdict is not out yet… I think there’s always a chance for the government to review its intentions. I am not sure if the Malay community wants to do that because there may be some repercussions and setbacks to it.” In addition to not being a member of the Malay community, Mr Eu also fails to meet any of the qualifying criteria, namely that one must hold a high-level civil service post or be the chairperson or CEO of a company with a shareholders' equity of S$500 million or more. Mr Eu has also criticise the election being reserved for Malays, claiming that since "mathematics is the poorer subject for the Malay community", members of the Malay community are unable to "scrutinise the SWF, the Temasek and GIC".
• Halimah Yacob, the former Speaker of Parliament, has confirmed that she is running for the Elected Presidency, and has resigned from her positions as Speaker of Parliament and MP of Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, and from her membership in the PAP, on 7 August 2017. She is viewed as the PAP's candidate for the election, and was reported to have been considering the candidacy for three weeks prior to her announcement. Speaking after a community event in her constituency of Marsiling-Yew Tee, Halimah said, “I am thinking about it, of running for the presidency…The elected presidency is a very heavy responsibility and an important institution in Singapore, so it’s not something that one should take lightly… so it needs a bit of time to think. But I must say at this moment, I have a lot of duties I have to perform, as Speaker, as MP. These duties are also very dear and important to me.” Halimah has served as Speaker of Parliament for more than 3 years since 14 January 2013, fulfilling a key qualifying criterion to run for President under the Singapore Constitution.

Considering

• Bahren Shaari, CEO of Bank of Singapore, does not rule out the possibility that he will run for the election. He said, “at the moment, my focus is on growing the business of Bank of Singapore with my team and deriving the synergies from our recent acquisition of the wealth and investment management business of Barclays Bank PLC.” He added, “I’m humbled to have my name mentioned as a potential candidate … It is always a privilege and honour to serve the nation.” Mr Bahren was appointed as an alternate member of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) on 6 April 2017.

Declined

• Abdullah bin Tarmugi was the Speaker of Parliament and a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Coast Group Representation Constituency (East Coast GRC) from 1996 to 2011. Mr Abdullah, 72, said it is "unlikely" he will run in the election. "I had considered contesting earlier and many had in fact encouraged me to do so. But it is unlikely that I will contest. I have my reasons," he said, declining to elaborate.
• Yaacob Ibrahim, a member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Minister for Communications and Information, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Minister in charge of Cyber Security said, "I like to do policy work because it affects people's lives... "I'm happy in so far as I think I can effect change, to bring about a better Singapore. I'd like to remain in that position."