Ong Teng Cheong (he was elected by a narrow margin, over the unwilling contestant Chua Kim Yeoh) tried to make something useful of the Presidency by looking into, and actually looking after, our nation's reserves, and was treated as pariah for daring to do so. "They said it would take 56-man years to produce a dollar-and-cents value of the immovable assets," said the late Ong, "The government would not need to give me the dollar-and-cents value, just give me a listing of all the properties that the government owns."
Oh well, maybe the President can grant a pardon to save a life, such as the young life of Yong Vui Kong, who was only 19 when arrested for carrying 47.27 grams of heroin. Or so we thought.
According to the High Court, in the opinion of Justice Steven Chong, the authority to grant pardon rests firmly within the Cabinet:
"The President has no discretion under the Constitution... to grant pardon. The power to do so rests solely with the Cabinet." That's how he interpreted Articles 21(1) and 22P(I) of the Constitution, which states that the President shall "act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet."
Ex-Attorney General Walter Woon had commented similarly in March this year. During a Court of Appeal hearings over whether the mandatory death penalty was constitutional, Professor Woon had said that "although in theory it is the President who exercises the perogative of mercy, in fact it is the Cabinet who makes the decision."
It looks like the irony rests not only in the title Nathan selected for his first literary effort, which had drawn public responses ranging from, "I also want to know why he is here!" to "He needs to justify his existence?" to "Our President so free to write book, ah?" Maybe the sequel should be named, "Why Should The President Be Paid Millions?"
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If the President writes a book to justify his remuneration and convince Singaporeans and everyone else in the World who know his appointment before he retires or expires, it will be good for his own posterity and his offsprings.
ReplyDeletepatriot
i also want to know leh
ReplyDeleteI remember during his re-selection process,
ReplyDeletehe said he would never hesitate to serve the nation if called upon.
Now, after 11 yrs in Istana, has he really serve the nation and people? Or is it the other way round? (by paying him millions for nothing)
The person who should be asked some very fundamental questions as to why he is still there should be the person who created this post in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the most important function of the President that we can't do without him ?
To jaga after an imaginary key that is non-existent ?
Whose exact instruction does he take from ?
The PAP cabinet or government ?
What if PAP is no longer the majority government ?
So many questions are now being raised that the idea of a useless Singapore President is now becoming more of a joke ! If I am the current President, I really don't know how to face the public everytime I make a public appearance.
Who cares as long as $4 Mil gets deposited into the bank account every year! shamelessness has a price and apparently that price has been met!
ReplyDelete