A Singapore budget that would eat into the country’s past reserves can be stopped by one person: the President. So can a loan, or a guarantee the government wants to give, if it is likely to reduce those reserves. The Istana, the President’s office, describes this as one of several custodial powers set out in the Constitution.
In these areas the President acts at his own discretion, after consulting the Council of Presidential Advisers. For most other business he does not.
The reserves
The Constitution calls the President the guardian of the Past Reserves. Those reserves belong to the government and to a group of statutory boards and government companies listed in the Fifth Schedule. Six bodies are named: GIC, Temasek Holdings, the Housing and Development Board, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Central Provident Fund Board and Jurong Town Corporation.
Who gets hired and fired
The President can also veto the appointment or removal of people in key public posts. Article 22 covers the Chief Justice, Supreme Court judges, the Attorney-General, the Auditor-General, the head of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, the chairman and members of the Public Service Commission, the Chief of Defence Force and the Commissioner of Police.
The same veto reaches into the Fifth Schedule bodies. Under Article 22A it applies to any chairman, board member or chief executive of a statutory board on the list. Under Article 22C it applies to any director or chief executive of a listed government company. The Istana says the aim is to keep the public sector and those companies impartial.
Detention and restraining orders
Two further provisions give the President a say in security and religious harmony matters. If the Government disagrees with a recommendation from the Internal Security Act advisory board to release a detainee, it needs the President’s concurrence to keep that person in detention. That rule sits in Article 151(4).
Article 22I covers restraining orders. When the Cabinet’s advice differs from what the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony recommends, the President may cancel or vary the order.
Everything else
Outside those areas the President follows the advice of the Cabinet or of a minister the Cabinet has authorised. The Istana ties this to his place as Head of State in a system where executive authority rests with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Pardoning a person convicted of an offence is one of the matters where he has no discretion and acts on that advice.
