SINGAPORE: The president's role in the new Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act was debated in parliament on Tuesday (Feb 4), with an opposition Member of Parliament (MP) saying that the president should not be in a position to potentially disagree with the government on matters of race.
The Bill was passed unanimously, but the accompanying constitutional amendment updating the president's powers saw seven Workers’ Party MPs vote against it.
Under the new Act, the Minister for Home Affairs will be able to issue restraining orders against people involved in the communication, production or distribution of content that prejudices the maintenance of racial harmony in Singapore.
The Act will establish a Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony that can process appeals from people issued a restraining order, and can send an independent recommendation to the president.
Among other powers, an accompanying constitutional amendment will give the president the authority to confirm, cancel, or vary a restraining order in cases where the Cabinet’s advice is different from the Presidential Council’s recommendation.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST UPDATED PRESIDENTIAL POWERS
The responsibility of maintaining racial harmony, law and order, should lie with the government and not the president, said MP Sylvia Lim (WP-Aljunied).
“While all of us have a part to play, the government is responsible for this outcome. It is publicly accountable for this key performance indicator to Singaporeans, through parliament,” the WP chair said.
“It is not the elected president’s responsibility to maintain public peace and public order. He is not answerable to parliament in any way.”
The proposed mechanism for the president to review the minister’s orders carries “several significant risks”, she added.
For instance, should the president unjustifiably cancel a restraining order, and the organisation concerned turns out to be a proxy for a foreign hostile actor, the government can say that it had issued the correct decision and “is not to be blamed for bad outcomes”.
She added that the president is a symbol of unity and the p...