The original principles that shaped the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) concept can be applied to the Elected Presidency (EP) system, suggested former Cabinet Minister S Dhanabalan yesterday.

Mr Dhanabalan, who sits on the Presidential Council for Minority Rights but was making representations to the Constitutional Commission in his personal capacity, proposed conducting the presidential elections in cycles of two six-year terms, followed by an eight-year term.

The six-year terms will be contested in the same way that the President has been elected so far. However, the eight-year term must be contested by teams of two candidates, with one member of the team being from the minority community comprising Malays or Indians and Others.

Mr Dhanabalan was fielding questions in relation to his written submission to the Constitutional Commission, which is tasked with reviewing the EP, during its fourth, and final, public hearing.

The former minister also said the principles of the GRC would ensure that the minority candidate does not appeal only to the interests of the minority community, but is also someone who can gain the trust and support of the majority community.

Under his proposal, the winning pair in the presidential election will take turns to be sworn in as President for four years, and be given all the constitutional powers. The other person can be Vice-President with no separate powers.

Noting that the pool of potential minority candidates who meet the eligibility requirements for the EP will be small, Mr Dhanabalan said Parliament can nominate one or two persons from the minority community who have the qualifications set out in the Constitution, or qualifications from other professions, such as legal, medical or accountancy, or who are reputable community leaders.

Commenting on the proposal, Constitutional Commission member Eddie Teo, who is also chairman of the Public Service Commission, pointed to critics who would liken a nomination made by Parliament to affirmative action, since minority candidates would not have to meet the same eligibility criteria that majority candidates are required to.

Mr Dhanabalan said: “The very fact that we’re looking for some special way in which minorities can be President is already an admission that we need something special ... So, once we’ve conceded that point, we need to look for how best to select a candidate.”

To a similar question raised by commission member Professor Chan Heng Chee, Mr Dhanabalan added: “I was never in favour of the GRC because I’m an idealist, as many Singaporeans are. But I also have to be a realist as to what can actually happen. And I think that the very fact that we’re talking about making special provision for minorities to be elected means that we have to deviate a little bit from the ideal situation. The question is how far we deviate.”

However, previous suggestions to have reserved elections, where a particular election is set aside for minorities, would be “going a little too far”, said Mr Dhanabalan.

Probing further, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, the commission’s chairman, asked if lowering the criteria to accommodate a minority President would compromise his capability, and feed into the argument of lowering the criteria for the EP across the board. CJ Menon also noted that getting Parliament to nominate a minority candidate would dilute the president’s strength to act as a check on the Government.

Mr Dhanabalan argued that the criteria should be lowered only in “very special circumstances”, where no minority candidate emerges, but not to the point where a candidate loses credibility with the electorate.

And while someone nominated by Parliament could feel obliged to the latter, experience has shown that a person who comes into a position of authority tends to become more independent, he added.

Asked by Mr Teo if he agreed with a previous suggestion that the Presidential Election should be conducted in a manner that maintains the dignity of the office, Mr Dhanabalan said candidates cannot escape from talking about their own qualifications without pointing out the lack of qualifications of other candidates.

“If the candidate talks about his own experience, what he has done and how he has made decisions, that’s one thing. But the moment they start running down other candidates, then, of course, you have an issue there,” he added.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Laura Elizabeth Philomin

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]