‘Considerable value’ in having President, new council safeguard race-based restraining orders: Shanmugam

5 days ago 48

SINGAPORE – There is considerable value in having the President serve as a check on the Government’s powers to issue restraining orders to maintain racial harmony, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam.

And it is appropriate because the President is directly elected by Singaporeans, he added, pointing out that the Internal Security Act and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act adopt a similar model.

The minister was responding to concerns raised by Workers’ Party (WP) chair Sylvia Lim over new presidential powers proposed in amendments to the Constitution. Parliament passed these changes, along with a Bill to maintain racial harmony, on Feb 4 after a five-hour debate.

The constitutional amendments - which the WP voted against - were made to introduce safeguards on the restraining order regime under the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, which allows the Government to act quickly and pre-emptively against content that threatens racial harmony. 

They grant a new council – the Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony – the ability to review restraining orders and advise if they are appropriate, with the President deciding whether to act on the council’s advice.

Ms Lim said her party supports the racial harmony Bill but not the accompanying Bill to amend the Constitution, as it is not the President’s responsibility to maintain public peace and order as he is not answerable to Parliament.

Noting that the proposed mechanism for the President to review the restraining orders carries “significant risks”, she said it could lead to a scenario where the Government cannot be blamed for adverse social outcomes arising from a cancelled restraining order.

“Let’s say it subsequently turns out that the organisation concerned had truly become a proxy for a hostile foreign actor, or race relations deteriorate sharply, proving that the minister was justified in issuing the restraining order in the first place,” she told Parliament.

“When Singaporeans question the decision-making process, the government can justifiably say that it correctly issued the restraining order but since the (elected President) decided to cancel it, the government is not to be blamed for the bad outcomes.”

She also said there are grave implications to bringing the President into decisions ...

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