Thursday, June 9, 2011

Legal and moral role of the President

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/06/legal-and-moral-role-of-president.html

Land banking in the UK


.....The Financial Services Authority (UK) does not regulate land as an investment, but it does regulate the operation of collective investment schemes (CISs), which is how it is able to pursue landbanking firms........

Justice and the rule of law

A few people have asked for my personal views on the following:

a) Internal Security Act
b) Mandatory death sentence, i.e. the President's power to grant a pardon
c) Operation Spectrum - arrest of the Marxist conspirators

The general principle is - we need laws to be passed for the good of the country and the people. The laws have to be fair and have to be exercised honestly and fairly. 

My view on the first two items are similar to the views set out here. I have discussed these two matters with VSL and he has put them into the appropriate words. My views on Operation Spectrum are set out here and are based on the limited facts that are available to me.

I wish to add that these types of decisions should be debated and decided by Parliament, which is elected by the people to play this role, and should not depend on the personal views of an Elected President (whoever he may be).

Tan Kin Lian

My statements - Presidential Election

I have issued a few statements in connection with my participation in the Presidential Election. They are posted here: http://www.tankinlian.com/Information.aspx?CatID=16

Some people have been misquoting my intentions (often unknowingly) in the social and mainstream media. I urge them to check the facts and read my statements correctly before they pass any opinions about my intentions.

I also urge my well wishers to help me in pointing out the facts to the people who made these opinions based on misunderstanding of the facts.

Tan Kin Lian

Statement in Chinese - Contest the Presidential Election

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=538

Millionaires in Singapore

Dear Mr Tan,

ref your blog post about newspaper articles highlighting the number of "millionaire households" in Singapore, this is the BCG report that claims that 15.5% of S'pore households have assets under management of over US$1mil.

The definition of AuM (see page 6) seems to include properties that are not their own residences.

Therefore I would conclude that its the appreciation of investment properties plus the strong S$ which have contributed to this large percentage. However, this is not a true reflection of wealth as I would expect that the vast majority of these investment properties are also leveraged.

May I also take the opportunity to wish you all the best for the upcoming Presidential Elections!

best regards,
sidat

Powers of the Elected President

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1134223/1/.html


In the early 1980s, Prof Jayakumar, who was then the law minister, was involved in drafting the White Papers and constitutional amendments on the Elected Presidency.

He said some candidates seem to imply that the president is a separate centre of power, distinct from the government and that he has certain executive powers. But Prof Jayakumar said this is not the case.

He said the president does have some discretionary custodial powers, mainly to do with reserves and key appointments.

He also has some custodial powers over detentions under the Internal Security Act, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigations and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony restraining orders.

Other than these specific areas, the president constitutionally has to act on the advice of the Cabinet and this is the legal position.

Prof Jayakumar said it would be good if Singaporeans, and especially aspiring candidates, are clear about this.

Otherwise, wrong expectations will be created about exactly what the president can and cannot do.




REPLY BY TAN KIN LIAN

I am aware of the role of the Elected President and the limitation of the President's powers as prescribed in the constitution. My understanding is the same as expressed by Mr. Jayakumar.  I thank the former Senior Minister, who I respect very much, for explaining these facts for the understanding  of the people of Singapore.

Some people have expressed the view that the President who is directly elected by people, hopefully with a clear majority, should have the moral authority to influence the government in reviewing some of its policies that have a significant negative impact on the lives and the future of Singaporeans. 

I hope that, within the limited constitutional powers, the Elected President can have an influence in these matters and that his or her contribution would be welcomed by the Government. Hopefully, this would benefit the people of Singapore and the improve our system of governance.

I will be giving more thought to what can or cannot be done, and how the objectives can be achieved and may issue a more detailed statement on this matter in a few days time.