Most first-time voters understand President's roles, less clear on relationship with government: CNA-TODAY survey
Four in 10 respondents were unaware that the President does not have the power to change existing laws, a survey of 1,500 first-time voters shows.
Composite photo of Singapore’s presidential hopefuls: Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, businessman George Goh and former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song. (Photos: Facebook, georgegohchingwah.com, CNA)
SINGAPORE: Most first-time voters understand the roles and functions of Singapore's elected President, but are less clear about the head of state's relationship with the government, parliament and the Cabinet, a survey by CNA and TODAY found.
The face-to-face survey conducted with 1,500 Singapore citizens aged 21 to 33 – all of whom are eligible to vote in a presidential election this year for the first time, if the polls are held – also found that respondents were less clear about whether the President has the power to change existing laws and the elected President’s relationship with political parties.
Singapore could see its next presidential election in the coming month or so, with former Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song and founder of Harvey Norman Ossia George Goh having thrown their hats into the ring so far. The Presidential Elections Committee will assess the eligibility of each candidate to stand for election.
The last contested presidential vote was in 2011. President Halimah Yacob assumed the role in 2017, after an uncontested election that was reserved for candidates from the Malay community. Her term expires on Sep 13 this year.
PRESIDENT’S ROLES AND FUNCTIONS
The CNA-TODAY Singapore Presidential Election Survey was conducted between May 18 and Jun 23.
It found that first-time voters were generally familiar with the functions and roles of the elected President. A total of 88.4 per cent of respondents knew that one of the roles of the elected President is to safeguard Singapore’s national reserves.
The majority, or 84.5 per cent, also knew that the government can only spend past reserves with the approval of the elected President.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, between 2020 and 2022, Madam Halimah approved on three separate occasions the government’s access to a cumulative total of S$52 billion (US$39 billion) of past reserves to help protect lives and livelihoods from the impact of the pandemic.
In the end, the expected draw on past reserves from FY2020 to FY2022 was S$40 billion, lower than the initial amount that the government had sought the President's approval for.
Most respondents were also aware of what the elected President can do with regard to certain laws.
About 81.4 per cent of respondents knew that the President can veto or disagree with the government’s proposals on restraining orders under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, if the advice of the Cabinet is contrary to the recommendations of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony.
Similarly, 79.9 per cent knew that the President can veto the government’s proposals on continued detention under the Internal Security Act, and 64.3 per cent knew the President can do the same if the government refuses to allow an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.
THE PRESIDENT'S POWERS
The vast majority (83.9 per cent) of respondents knew that the elected President has custodial powers, not executive powers, which means they can veto or block government actions in specified areas, but they have no role to advance their own policy agenda.
Results also showed that most first-time voters knew that the elected President must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers when exercising their veto powers in connection with Singapore’s reserves or the appointment of key office holders.
More than half of the respondents, or 57.7 per cent, were aware that the elected President does not have the power to change existing laws. But 42.3 per cent were not.
POLITICAL AFFILIATION
The issue of an elected President’s ties with political parties has been a divisive topic among the three presidential hopefuls since they announced their intention to run.
Mr Tharman was a People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament from 2001 before resigning from the ruling party and leaving politics on Jul 7.
When questioned about his independence at the official launch of his presidential bid on Jul 26, Mr Tharman cited the example of former President Ong Teng Cheong, who was a Cabinet minister and even chairman of the PAP for many years before he became Singapore's head of state.
He emphasised his “independence of mind”, highlighting the difference between that and “independence from any past affiliation with a political party”.
In response to questions about Mr Tharman’s stand, fellow presidential hopeful Mr Goh said a day later that it is difficult for someone to become independent "overnight" after having been in Singapore's political system for decades.
Mr Goh is best known as the founder of Harvey Norman Ossia, which distributes consumer electronics and furniture in Asia under the Australian brand.
Mr Ng, another presidential hopeful and the former chief investment officer of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, has also spoken about his lack of political affiliations. He said Singapore needs a president who is “independent of any political party to safeguard the integrity of our institutions”.
From the survey questions on the President’s links with political parties, 65.4 per cent of respondents knew that the elected individual must not be a member of any political party.
About 56.3 per cent of respondents knew that a political party can endorse the elected President, while a higher 66.4 per cent knew that the elected President cannot endorse a political party.
RELATIONSHIP WITH CABINET AND PARLIAMENT
The CNA-TODAY survey also polled first-time voters about the relationships between the elected President, the Cabinet and parliament.
In contrast to the questions on the roles and functions of the elected President, where there was a generally high level of awareness, fewer respondents were able to answer most of the questions on the relationships correctly.
About 66.5 per cent of respondents knew that the elected President generally takes instructions from the Cabinet, the survey found.
But a similar proportion – 63.9 per cent – did not know that the elected President does not take instructions from parliament.
More than half, or 57.7 per cent, knew that the Cabinet does not take instructions from the elected President, and 51.3 per cent knew that parliament does not take instructions from the elected President.
