I watch a lot of Chinese period dramas, so when I hear the word mandate, I think of “mandate from Heaven’’. And the mandate takes the form of the imperial seal, that square chunk of jade that the Emperor uses to stamp on imperial decrees. Of course, now the mandate is from the people, to legitimise the authority of our representatives and those who will govern us.
What happened post-GE2011? The PAP became a lot more consultative. It started the Our Singapore Conversation, moved unpopular ministers to the backbench, slowed down the inflow of foreign workers and ramped up the building of HDB flats. The Prime Minister called for voting rights to be given to non-constituency MPs and a re-look of the qualifications and types of checks on an elected president. Half-way through its term, it broached the need for a law to prevent online falsehoods. There were other pieces of legislation, yes, but what stuck in my throat were those three above. So there was a parliamentary select committee on POFMA, but this was about getting a consensus on the need for a law.
As for the changes to the elected presidency, yes, there was a constitutional commission which tightened up the qualifications and the checks on the president’s power as requested. It was also asked to see how to include a race component in the election - not to study whether this was needed.
Is the PAP saying that all its legislation is fully justified and full/fool-proof? That all soundings have been taken behind closed-doors? That Parliament cannot improve on Bills, because it isn’t as smart as the executive? That second and third readings of the Bill are simply stages of a legislative process that has been a parliamentary tradition?
Yet in the late 80s and 90s, PAP MPs weren’t all cut from the same cloth. They took to heart their membership in the newly conceptualised government parliamentary committees, offering fierce critiques of policies and boasting of advisory panels with brand names. Now, the GPC is just a label attached to the MP, reminding him or her to speak up when the ministry he has been allocated to oversee is up for debate in the committee of supply.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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