Even as the race for the presidential elections heats up, some Singaporeans might still have misconceptions regarding the President’s role.
Recently, Ho Ching took to Facebook to share her interpretation of it.
In her view, the President is not meant to be a check on the Government, but a figure that represents Singapore as a nation.
Source: Temasek on Facebook
While acknowledging the “critical role” that the President plays, the former Temasek CEO stressed that it’s not a political role in Singapore’s parliamentary system.
On Wednesday (14 June), Ho Ching — wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong — penned a lengthy Facebook post sharing her thoughts on the President’s role.
In Madam Ho’s view, the President’s primary role is that of a head of state. Therefore, he or she represents Singapore as a nation while serving as a uniting symbol for Singaporeans.
Madam Ho added that the secondary role the President plays is to ensure the integrity of Singapore’s key institutions while holding the “second key” to safeguard the country’s reserves.
Source: Roots.sg
Both roles she described are consistent with information on the Istana’s website, describing the President’s duties.
What the President isn’t, according to Madam Ho, is an independent voice or a check on the Government.
Those seeking a figure to serve those roles should instead express their views during the general election. Madam Ho said they can do so by electing a political representative into Parliament.
Madam Ho also addressed queries as to why there’s an election system in place to protect our reserves, even though this is at odds with what most electorate would hope for.
In her opinion, most electorates would hope for their Government to spend more. This would allow citizens to enjoy more subsidies.
Third generation citizens, who’ve not gone through the hardship of earning the money, might also think of the country’s reserves as a “freebie”.
Ideally, they would consider it a “heritage and legacy” that they must fortify for generations to come.
While there are countries that do not face such a phenomenon, Madam Ho pointed out that Singapore is a young nation. Hence, it remains to be seen if “we have the wisdom and maturity to safeguard our reserves and build on that”.
As such, the President’s “second key” serves to prevent the country from making unnecessary or irresponsible spending through its reserves.
Ending her post, Madam Ho reiterated the President’s key roles and expressed her hope for Singaporeans to bear these in mind as they head to the polls.
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Featured image adapted from Wikipedia and Temasek on Facebook.
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