131-719: The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore . It consists of a large part of Hougang (excluding Hougang SMC ), Paya Lebar , Serangoon Gardens , the southern half of Serangoon North as well as a portion of Bedok and a very small section of Tampines managed by the Aljuined-Hougang Town Council. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Serangoon and Paya Lebar. The current members of parliament are Gerald Giam , Pritam Singh , Muhamad Faisal Manap and Sylvia Lim from
262-841: A Code of Conduct for Ministers . For example, to counter potential allegations of corruption and unexplained wealth and to avoid potential conflicts between private interests and public responsibilities, the Code requires every minister, upon appointment to office, to disclose in confidence to the president through the prime minister all sources of income other than his salary as a minister and as an MP. This must include all assets, such as financial assets, real property, interests in any company or professional practice, and any other substantial personal assets as well as financial liabilities, including mortgages and borrowings. A Minister must also "scrupulously avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest between his office and his private financial interests". Thus,
393-531: A simple plurality voting ("winner takes all") basis. A by-election need not be held to fill a vacancy in any GRC triggered by the death or resignation of an MP, even if there are no other minority candidates in that GRC, or any other reason. A by-election is required only if all the MPs in a GRC vacate their Parliamentary seats. Assuming that such a situation does arise, the Prime Minister would be obliged to call
524-403: A GRC ward returns five or six candidates into Parliament, compared with one vote in a SMC ward, which only returns one. In counterbalance it dilutes electors' voting power and may result in concerns raised taken less seriously as to lobbying/correspondence. Specifically, in an SMC ward are around 14,000 voters, compared to 140,000 voters in a five- or six-member GRC. Thus, the per-candidate power of
655-455: A GRC with a rapidly expanding population is properly managed. As the population of a constituency grows, it becomes increasingly difficult for an MP to singlehandedly represent the views of all constituents. A team of MPs arguably has greater access to more constituents, and the fact that there are different MPs in the team suggests they can more effectively provide representation in Parliament of
786-604: A GRC. The number of MPs in each GRC is declared by the President at the Cabinet's direction before a general election . For the purposes of the 2020 general election , there were 14 SMCs and 17 GRCs, each returning four or five MPs. Reception towards to the GRC system is mixed, with some critics disagreeing with the government's justifications for introducing the scheme, noting that the proportion of minority MPs per GRC has rather decreased with
917-606: A Member of the WP on 19 July 2023 and Seah resigned from the party on 18 July 2023. After Perera's resignation, the workload for the Serangoon division was distributed among the other MPs in Aljunied GRC. In 2024, PAP appointed Jagathishwaran Rajo and Kenny Sim to replace Chua Eng Leong and Alex Yeo respectively as chair of Eunos ward and Paya Lebar ward. Group representation constituency A group representation constituency ( GRC )
1048-418: A Parliamentary debate on the issue, then Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-ann said: "It would be a sad indictment of my generation if no one came forward to serve without excessive monetary inducement, as to be bereft of deep convictions is to be impoverished indeed." On 11 April 2007, then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told Parliament: "To make it quite clear why I am doing this, and also to give me
1179-440: A SMC ward. The national average for the 2006 elections was 66.6%. Similar trends can be seen from previous elections. The gap grew from 3% in 1991, and remained stable at around 5% in the 1997 , 2001 and 2006 elections. This may be attributable to the enlargement of the size of GRCs in 1997 which gave greater effect to the law of large numbers. Cabinet of Singapore [REDACTED] The Cabinet of Singapore forms
1310-628: A Workers' Party of Singapore team in Aljunied GRC at the 2011 general election . It is also said that GRCs serve more as administrative tools than to ensure minority representation. The size of GRCs was increased to take advantage of economies of scale when managing the wards. However, whether GRCs are required for this purpose is arguable, as Goh Chok Tong stated in 1988 that MPs in SMCs could still group together after elections to enjoy economies of scale. The GRC scheme has also been criticized for raising
1441-492: A by-election within a reasonable time, unless he intends to call a general election in the near future. As Article 39A of the Constitution states, the GRC scheme entrenches the presence of minority MPs in Parliament, ensuring that interests of minority communities are represented in Parliament. Article 39A(1)(a) of the Constitution allows for a maximum number of six MPs for each GRC so as to provide flexibility in ensuring that
SECTION 10
#17328516336191572-467: A committee would be appointed to review politicians' remuneration, and that revised salaries would take effect from that date. The committee to Review Ministerial Salaries, then chaired by Gerard Ee rendered its report on 30 December 2011, and released it to the public on 4 January 2012. As regards ministerial pay, the Committee recommended benchmarking an MR4-grade minister's salary to the median income of
1703-458: A common race, culture and language. Derek da Cunha has proposed that the law of large numbers favours the GRC system. According to the theory, the large number of voters from GRC wards generally, though not necessarily always, reflects the popular vote. This was evident at the 2006 elections, at which the PAP garnered an average of 67.04% of the votes in a contested GRC, while the average was 61.67% for
1834-413: A gamble and commit huge proportions of their resources to contest GRCs. Each candidate in a GRC is required to deposit a sum equal to 8% of the total allowances payable to an MP in the calendar year preceding the election, rounded to the nearest S$ 500. At the 2011 general election, the deposit was $ 16,000. Unsuccessful candidates have their deposits forfeited if they do not receive at least one-eighth of
1965-590: A generation , ministerial pay was reduced by more than 17%. Nonetheless, it was reported that the prime minister still earned a gross annual salary of about $ 1.03 million before the variable component was taken into account. In April 2007, the prime minister's annual salary increased to S$ 3.1 million ( US$ 2.05 million), about five times that of the then president of the United States George W. Bush who earned US$ 400,000. The annual entry-level salary for ministers increased from $ 1.2 million to $ 1.6 million, and
2096-549: A government has the flexibility to appoint the right person to be the minister for finance, than to compel that government to select from whoever is available in the House." However, he added that the Government had no intention to appoint a Cabinet minister from among the NMPs at that time. In May 2009, then MP Hri Kumar proposed during a Parliamentary debate that this stand be reconsidered as
2227-416: A larger national bonus. His annual bonus where the targets for the indicators have been met will be six months' salary, and 12 months' salary where they have been greatly exceeded. This will lead to a reduction in the prime minister's annual salary of 28% to $ 2.2 million (about US$ 1.7 million). Lee Hsien Loong said that he accepted the committee's recommendations. He remains the best-paid head of government in
2358-422: A maximum bonus of six months' salary if the targets are greatly exceeded. This would result in a reduction of an M4-grade minister's annual salary by 31% of the 2010 figure to $ 1.1 million. Where the prime minister's remuneration was concerned, the Committee recommended that it be pegged to twice of a MR4-grade minister's salary and doing away with the fixed service bonus. Instead, the prime minister will receive
2489-444: A minister is not permitted to accept any favour of any kind from persons in negotiation with, or seeking to obtain any licence or enter into any contractual relations with, the Government, or to use official information that comes to him as a minister for his own private profit or the profit of any family member or associate. The president must declare the office of prime minister vacant if the prime minister resigns from office, or if
2620-402: A minister position. Tan See Leng was newly appointed into the cabinet as both a minister and second minister. On 6 June 2022, then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his new Cabinet line-up and other political appointments on 6 June 2022. These changes took effect from 13 June 2022. Lawrence Wong was promoted to deputy prime minister and was appointed the acting prime minister in
2751-421: A minister. The prime minister and other ministers who make up the Cabinet do not vacate their offices upon a dissolution of Parliament, but continue in their posts until the first sitting of the next Parliament following a general election. The executive authority of Singapore is vested in the president and is exercisable by him or by the Cabinet of Singapore or any minister authorized by the Cabinet. However,
SECTION 20
#17328516336192882-463: A pair, one of whom had to be from a minority community. However, Malay MPs were upset that this implied they were not electable on their own merits. Feeling that the twinning of constituencies would lead to Malay MPs losing confidence and self-respect, the Government dropped the proposal. Therefore, the Government felt that the best way to ensure minority representation in Parliament was to introduce
3013-597: A single homogeneous community out of the many races that form the population of the Republic. The third proposal was to have an upper house in Parliament composed of members elected or nominated to represent the racial, linguistic and religious minorities in Singapore. However, this was rejected as being backward-looking since politicians should attain a seat in Parliament through taking part in elections. In 1988, 39 SMCs were grouped into 13 three-member GRCs, making up 39 out of
3144-544: A survey of 19 countries by the World Economic Forum magazine World Link had found that political leaders and senior civil servants of Singapore had the highest salaries. The pay of the Singapore prime minister (S$ 1.1 million, or US$ 812,858) was almost five times the average pay of the chief political executives of the nations surveyed (US$ 168,291). Senior civil servants were paid US$ 292,714, almost three times their counterparts' average pay. In August 2000, in view of
3275-476: A total of 81 elected seats in Parliament. The Constitution and the Parliamentary Elections Act were changed in 1991 and again in 1996 to increase the maximum number of MPs in each GRC from three to four, and then to six. In the 2001 general election , three- and four-member GRCs were replaced by five- and six-member GRCs. There were nine five-member GRCs and five six-member GRCs, making up 75 out of
3406-422: A while ago, and that he had not been influenced by pressure arising from the announcement of the ministerial pay rise. In 2008, the annual salary for entry-level ministers was $ 1,924,300. In view of the worsening economic crisis in 2008–2009 , as of January 2009 the prime minister's salary was cut to $ 3.04 million, while the pay of ministerial-grade officers was reduced by 18% to $ 1.57 million. In November 2009,
3537-424: A wide range of constituents' views. The official justification for the GRC scheme is to entrench minority representation in Parliament. However, opposition parties have questioned the usefulness of GRCs in fulfilling this purpose, especially since Singapore has not faced the issue of minorities being under-represented in Parliament. In fact, statistics show that all PAP minority candidates have won regularly and that
3668-408: A year, but said it would be reasonable for the prime minister to be paid $ 2.4 million in view of his heavy responsibilities. The Government said that in three years it planned to raise the pay of the prime minister to $ 1.46 million and that of ministers to 60% of the benchmark, and in the "longer term" to $ 1.6 million and two-thirds of the benchmark respectively. In February 1996, it was reported that
3799-501: Is a GRC returns the number of MPs designated for the constituency by the President to serve in Parliament. A group of individuals standing together in a GRC is voted for as a team, and not as individual candidates. In other words, a successful voter's single vote in an SMC sends to Parliament one MP, and a GRC sends a group of MPs from the same single list depending on how many have been designated for that GRC. All elected MPs are selected on
3930-609: Is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore in which teams of candidates, instead of individual candidates, compete to be elected into Parliament as the Members of Parliament (MPs) for the constituency. Synonymous to the party block voting (PBV) or the general ticket used in other countries, the Government stated that the GRC scheme was primarily implemented to enshrine minority representation in Parliament: at least one of
4061-481: Is also said to disadvantage opposition parties because it is more difficult for them to find enough candidates with the political expertise to contest GRCs. Furthermore, it is said that the GRC scheme means that electors may have unequal voting power, weakens the relationship between electors and MPs, and entrenches racialism in Singapore politics due to its emphasis on minority representation. There are two types of electoral division or constituency in Singapore :
Aljunied Group Representation Constituency - Misplaced Pages Continue
4192-503: Is as follows: I, [ name ], being chosen and appointed as Prime Minister [ or Minister] of Singapore, do solemnly swear [ or affirm] that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as Prime Minister [ or Minister] according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. Cabinet members are prohibited from holding any office of profit or actively engaging in any commercial enterprise. In addition, they are required to comply with
4323-580: Is determined by two committees appointed by the President, the Malay Community Committee and the Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee. Decisions of these committees are final and conclusive, and may not be appealed against or called into question in any court. The President, at the Cabinet's direction, declares the electoral divisions that are to be GRCs; the number of candidates (three to six) to stand for Parliament in each GRC; and whether
4454-467: Is done by issuing notifications that are published in the Government Gazette . For instance, the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Responsibility of senior minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security, Prime Minister's Office) Notification 2009 states: It is hereby notified for general information that, pursuant to Article 30(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore,
4585-636: Is generally done just before a general election to review the boundaries of electoral divisions and recommend changes. In recent decades, the Committee has been chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and has had four other members who are senior public servants. In the EBRC appointed before the general election of 2006 , these were the head of the Elections Department , the Chief Executive Officer of
4716-413: Is not an adequate mechanism to account for the burdens and responsibilities that come with the job." Rounding up the debate, then deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean said that under the WP's proposal for calculating ministerial salaries, the quantum achieved was similar to the sum proposed by the committee, and that in his view the WP had approved the three principles of the new system: the requirement for
4847-457: Is the Cabinet that has the general direction and control of the Government. As Singapore follows the Westminster system of government, the legislative agenda of Parliament is determined by the Cabinet. At the start of each new Parliamentary session , the president gives an address prepared by the Cabinet that outlines what the Cabinet intends to achieve in the session. Under the Constitution,
4978-655: The Colonial Office were held from 1956 to 1958, and Singapore gained full internal self-government in 1959. The governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara , who had power to appoint to the post of prime minister the person most likely to command the authority of the Assembly, and other ministers of the Cabinet on the prime minister's advice. In the 1959 general elections , the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of
5109-543: The Parliament of Singapore but plays a minimal role in them. Executive power lies in the hands of the Cabinet , which is made up of the prime minister of Singapore (the head of government ) and other ministers. At the same time, the prime minister and ministers are also Members of Parliament (MPs). Following constitutional reforms in 1991, the office of president was transformed from an appointed to an elected post. Thus, both
5240-517: The Prime Minister from time to time by notification in the Government Gazette . Since 1954, a year ahead of the 1955 general election , an Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has been appointed to advise the executive on the number and geographical division of electoral divisions. Even though neither the Constitution nor any law requires this to be done, the Prime Minister has continued to do so from Singapore's independence in 1965. This
5371-477: The Prime Minister's Office . Singapore's ministers are the highest paid in the world. Prior to a salary review in 2011, the prime minister's annual salary was S$ 3.07 million, while the pay of ministerial-level officers ranged between S$ 1.58 million and S$ 2.37 million. On 21 May 2011, a committee was appointed by the prime minister to review the salaries of the prime minister as well as the president, political appointment holders, and Members of Parliament. Following
Aljunied Group Representation Constituency - Misplaced Pages Continue
5502-804: The Singapore Land Authority , the Deputy CEO of the Housing and Development Board and the Acting Chief Statistician. Since the Committee is only convened shortly before general elections, the preparatory work for boundary delimitation is done by its secretariat the Elections Department, which is a division of the Prime Minister's Office . The EBRC's terms of reference are issued by the Prime Minister, and are not embodied in legislation. In giving recommendations for boundary changes over
5633-456: The Worker's Party (WP) after the resignation of Leon Perera . Aljunied GRC was formed in 1988 and was won by the People's Action Party (PAP). The WP team, led by WP leader Low Thia Khiang left his stronghold at Hougang SMC , made a historic breakthrough when the WP team won the election for the GRC with 54.72% of the votes during the 2011 general election , making it the first GRC to be won by
5764-430: The executive branch of the Government of Singapore together with the president . It is led by the prime minister who is the head of government . The prime minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) appointed by the president who in the president's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs). The other ministers in the Cabinet are Members of Parliament appointed by
5895-618: The governor of the Straits Settlements . It wielded no executive power. In 1955, a Council of Ministers was created, made up of three ex officio Official Members and six Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore , appointed by the governor on the recommendation of the leader of the house . Following the general elections that year, David Saul Marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore . Constitutional talks between Legislative Assembly representatives and
6026-428: The party Whip 's instructions. The Cabinet may not be summoned except by the authority of the prime minister. As far as is practicable, the prime minister is required to attend and preside at Cabinet meetings, but in his absence he may appoint another minister to preside. Whenever the prime minister is ill, absent from Singapore, or has been granted leave of absence from his duties, the functions conferred on him by
6157-416: The single member constituency (SMC) and the group representation constituency (GRC). In a GRC, a number of candidates comes together to stand for elections to Parliament as a group. Each voter of a GRC casts a ballot for a team of candidates, and not for individual candidates. The GRC scheme was brought into existence on 1 June 1988 by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1988 and
6288-436: The 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore. The executive branch of the Government of Singapore remained unchanged following Singapore's merger with Malaysia in 1963, and subsequent independence in 1965. Following the 2020 general election , a Cabinet reshuffle took place on 27 July 2020 for the "4G" leaders to experience different ministries with 37 political office holders,
6419-448: The 84 elected seats in Parliament. This arrangement remained unchanged at the 2006 elections. On 27 May 2009, the Government announced that it would refine the size and number of GRCs. This could be achieved without amending either the Constitution or the Parliamentary Elections Act. Instead, when the next EBRC was appointed, its terms of reference would instruct the Committee to plan for fewer six-member GRCs than at present, and to reduce
6550-462: The Cabinet from among the MPs, acting in accordance with the prime minister's advice. Any MP, including a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) or a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), may be appointed a minister. Thus it is possible for a person who was not elected by voters to be appointed by Parliament as an NMP, then by the president as a minister. In 1990, then deputy prime minister Goh Chok Tong said in Parliament: "I would rather that
6681-425: The Cabinet is collectively responsible to Parliament. In theory, Parliament acts as a check on the power of the Cabinet as ministers are required to justify their actions and policies upon being questioned by MPs. However, in Singapore this is a weak check because the ruling People's Action Party holds a large Parliamentary majority, and party members who are MPs are required by party discipline to vote according to
SECTION 50
#17328516336196812-572: The Chief Minister and ministers' powers were ill-defined, and that the Official Members retained control of the finance, administration, and internal security and law portfolios. This led to confrontation between Marshall, who saw himself as a prime minister governing the country, and the Governor , Sir John Fearns Nicoll , who felt that important decisions and policies should remain with himself and
6943-521: The Constitution are exercisable by any other minister authorized by the president. In general, the president must act in accordance with the prime minister's advice in appointing a minister for this purpose. However, the president may act in his own discretion if in his opinion it is impracticable to obtain the advice of the prime minister due to his illness or absence. The prime minister may, by giving written directions, charge any minister with responsibility for any department or subject. In practice, this
7074-488: The GRC scheme. In addition, it took the view that such a scheme would complement the introduction of town councils to manage public housing estates , as it would be economical for a town council to manage a group of three constituencies. Subsequently, in 1991, the Government said that GRCs also minimized the need to redraw the boundaries of constituencies which had grown too big for the MPs serving them, and, in 1996, GRCs were said to provide Community Development Councils with
7205-509: The Government issued a white paper entitled Competitive Salaries for Competent & Honest Government which proposed that the salaries of ministers and civil servants be pegged at two-thirds the average principal earned income of the top four earners in six professions: accounting, banking, engineering, law, local manufacturing firms and multinational corporations. These professions were chosen because their top members had general management skills which ministers also had to have. According to
7336-592: The Leader of the House, who would be the leader of the largest political party or coalition of parties having majority support in the legislature. The recommendation was implemented in 1955. In the general election held that year, the Labour Front took a majority of the seats in the Assembly, and David Saul Marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore . Major problems with the Rendel Constitution were that
7467-588: The MPs in a GRC must be a member of the Malay , Indian or another minority community of Singapore. In addition, it was economical for town councils, which manage public housing estates , to handle larger constituencies. The GRC scheme came into effect on 1 June 1988, and was first introduced at the general election that same year . Prior to that date, all constituencies were Single Member Constituencies (SMCs). The Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218, 2008 Rev. Ed.) ("PEA") states that there must be at least eight SMCs, and
7598-466: The Malay community if, regardless of whether or not he or she is of the Malay race, considers himself or herself to be a member of the community and is generally accepted as such by the community. Similarly, a person will belong to the Indian community or some other minority community if he or she considers himself or herself a member and the community accepts him or her as such. The minority status of candidates
7729-715: The Official Members. In 1956, members of the Legislative Assembly held constitutional talks with the Colonial Office in London. The talks broke down as Marshall did not agree to the British Government's proposal for the casting vote on a proposed Defence Council to be held by the British High Commissioner to Singapore, who would only exercise it in an emergency. Marshall resigned as Chief Minister in June 1956, and
7860-503: The PAP's 4G leader and the next prime minister. While Lee Hsien Loong , Teo Chee Hean , Tharman Shanmugaratnam , Ng Eng Hen , Vivian Balakrishnan , Grace Fu and K. Shanmugam retained their portfolios with no new appointments. Indranee Rajah was also reshuffled into a new ministry as second minister while maintaining her role as minister in the Prime Minister's Office as of 15 May 2021. Maliki Osman and Edwin Tong were both promoted to
7991-511: The Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act 1988. The original stated purpose of GRCs was to guarantee a minimum representation of minorities in Parliament and ensure that there would always be a multiracial Parliament instead of one made up of a single race. Speaking in Parliament during the debate on whether GRCs should be introduced, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Goh Chok Tong said he had first discussed
SECTION 60
#17328516336198122-608: The Prime Minister has directed that Mr S. Jayakumar shall, with effect from 1 April 2009, be charged with the responsibility for the following matters: and that he shall be designated as Senior Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security. Ministers may be designated by the prime minister to be in charge of particular ministries , or as ministers in the Prime Minister's Office . Such ministers were formerly known as ministers without portfolio . The prime minister may retain any department or subject in his charge. When Singapore gained its independence from Malaysia in 1965,
8253-510: The Public Service Division announced that pay increments would be deferred for a second time in 2010 because of the uncertain economic recovery. A minister's 2009 salary of $ 1,494,700 per year was therefore 22% lower than the salary received in 2008. As at 31 December 2010, the remuneration of ministers depended on which ministerial grade – from the lowest to the highest, MR4, MR3, MR2 or MR1 – they were at. Each minister's pay package
8384-517: The Public Service, in response to Poa, said WP and PSP also relied on the "star power" of Low Thia Khiang and Tan Cheng Bock to win Aljunied GRC in 2011 and PSP having NCMPs now in parliament. Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party 's (WP) chief Pritam Singh also highlighted the usage of GRC for gerrymandering, citing the merging of SMCs, in close contest between PAP and WP, into GRC in
8515-626: The Singapore Constitution, the court found that the phrase ceased to command the confidence of a majority of the Members of Parliament was a term of art which had to be signified by a formal vote of no confidence taken by the legislature. In contrast, a Sabah court held in Datuk Amir Kahar v. Tun Mohd Said bin Keruak, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sabah that loss of confidence could be assessed on
8646-585: The Singapore Government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong , the Supreme Head of State of Malaysia, also ceased to be the Supreme Head of Singapore and relinquished his sovereignty, jurisdiction, power and authority, executive or otherwise in respect of Singapore, which revested in the Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore. The Republic of Singapore Independence Act 1965 then vested the executive authority of Singapore in
8777-492: The Singapore economy's growth of almost 10% led by a rapid increase in exports, the salary of the prime minister was increased by 14% and those of other ministers by 12%. In response to public disquiet, Goh Chok Tong said that, spread across the population, the rises amounted to about $ 11 per person, equivalent to "about five plates of char kway teow [fried noodles with cockles ] per Singaporean". Subsequently, in late 2001, when Singapore experienced its worst recession in
8908-472: The absence of the prime minister and will continue as Minister for Finance. Lee Hsien Loong resigned from the office of the prime minister in 15 May 2024, and Lawrence Wong succeeded him as the 4th prime minister. On 18 January 2024, S. Iswaran was charged in the State Courts of Singapore with 27 charges relating to bribery and corruption and S. Iswaran resigned. Lee Hsien Loong appointed Chee Hong Tat as
9039-402: The advent of five-member and six-member GRCs, although the latter was not present in the 2020 general election. In addition, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has been described as using GRCs as a means of bringing in politically inexperienced candidates into Parliament by " riding on the coattails " of GRCs helmed by senior politicians, including "anchor" ministers. Moreover, the GRC scheme
9170-425: The average size of each GRC. The average size of GRCs at that time was 5.4 MPs because there were only five-member and six-member GRCs. The new average, however, would not exceed five MPs. In addition, to ensure that the number of SMCs kept pace with the increase in voters and hence the number of MPs, the EBRC's terms of reference would state that there should be at least 12 SMCs. The rationale given for these changes
9301-424: The ballot in a GRC is lower than in an SMC, as each voter in a GRC finds it harder to vote out an MP that he or she does not like; but the overall power effect is the same. Malapportionment is a viable charge against some divisions as a 30% deviation from equality of electorate is tolerated. It follows, a five-member GRC could in theory have from 91,000 voters to 86% more: 169,000 voters. Critics have noted that
9432-405: The bar for the opposition in elections. First, opposition parties may find it harder to find competent candidates, including minority candidates, to form teams to contest GRCs. Goh Chok Tong has acknowledged that the GRC scheme benefits the PAP as they can put together stronger teams. With the GRC system the threshold for votes for the opposition is also increased, and opposition parties have to take
9563-419: The basis of evidence other than a legislative vote. This might include, for instance, media reports or letters addressed to the president. Other Cabinet ministers must vacate their office if they resign, or if their appointments are revoked by the president acting in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. People who vacate their office as minister may, if qualified, be subsequently appointed again as
9694-410: The bonus should be made up of the national bonus, and the remaining third based on the individual's performance, which should be determined according to key performance indicators fixed for each ministry at the start of a new government's term. Moreover, only a portion of bonuses should be paid at the end of each year. Payment of the remainder should be deferred until the end of the government's term. If
9825-506: The chairmanship of Sir George William Rendel , which had been appointed to comprehensively review the constitution of the Colony of Singapore, rendered its report. Among other things, it recommended that a Council of Ministers be created, composed of three ex officio Official Members and six Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of
9956-455: The coat-tails of the established PAP members. Since 1991, the PAP has generally not fielded first-time candidates in SMC wards. On the other hand, one of the "in-built weaknesses" of GRCs may be that "through no fault of their own or that of their team", "high-value" MPs can be voted out; this was said to have occurred when former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo lost his parliamentary seat to
10087-454: The coattails of more established teammates, reduced voters’ choice over election results. During the parliament debate, Poa mentioned vacancies in the GRC when MPs resign from their seat midterm, citing Halimah Yacob 's resignation in 2017 to contest in the 2017 Singaporean presidential election and Tharman Shanmugaratnam 's upcoming resignation to contest in the 2023 Singaporean presidential election . Chan Chun Sing , Minister-in-charge of
10218-408: The colony full internal self-government. Under Singapore's new constitution which came into force on 3 June 1959, the Governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), who had power to appoint as prime minister the person most likely to command the authority of the Legislative Assembly, and other ministers of the Cabinet on the prime minister's advice. The Constitution also created
10349-419: The credibility and accountability of some candidates may be reduced because in a GRC the members of the team who are popular "protect" less popular members from being voted out. It has been said that the relationship between the electorate and their representatives is also weakened, because the relationship is between the individual and the GRC team rather than between the individual and a particular MP. Improving
10480-477: The critical mass of residents that they needed to be effective. Three proposals for minority representation in Parliament had been considered by a 1966 Constitutional Commission chaired by the Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin . The first was to have a committee of representatives of minorities that would elect three persons from amongst its members to represent minorities in Parliament. However, this
10611-551: The dissolution of Parliament. This gives the former prime minister the opportunity to consolidate support by receiving a fresh mandate at the polls. At present, it is not clear what evidence the president may rely on to be satisfied that the prime minister has ceased to command the confidence of a majority of MPs, as the Singapore courts have not yet had to decide the issue. In the Sarawak case of Stephen Kalong Ningkan v. Tun Abang Haji Openg , decided on provisions similar to those in
10742-464: The electorate at elections." Critics have commented that adopting the practice would disenchant Singaporeans, deepen the already parochial political culture, and lead to a lack of accountability and legitimacy. Before entering on the duties of their office, the prime minister and other ministers must take and subscribe (sign) the Oath of Allegiance and an oath for the due execution of their offices before
10873-512: The executive branch of the Singapore Government remained largely unchanged, although now it governed a state within a larger federation . However, with effect from 9 August 1965, Singapore left the Federation of Malaysia and became a fully independent republic . On separation from Malaysia, the Singapore Government retained its executive authority, and the executive authority of the Parliament of Malaysia ceased to extend to Singapore and vested in
11004-563: The grounds that the salaries had to keep pace with those in the private sector to attract the best talent and to avoid corruption. Teo Chee Hean , the then Minister for Defence and minister in charge of the civil service, was reported as saying: "We don't want pay to be the reason for people to join [the government]. But we also don't want pay to be the reason for them not to join us, or to leave after joining us." The increases sparked much debate both in and out of Parliament, with many people seeing ministerial pay as already being too high. During
11135-496: The link between voters and MPs, and to make the latter more accountable was the reason for the changes proposed in 2009 to introduce more SMCs and to reduce the size of GRCs. Even though the GRC scheme is intended to ensure minority representation in Parliament, it can be said that the scheme emphasizes racial consciousness and hence widens the gap between races. It may undermine the esteem of minority candidates as they would not be sure if they are elected on their own merit, or due to
11266-446: The minister's performance is poor, some of the withheld bonus should be clawed back . The WP's proposal was criticized by a number of PAP MPs. Then senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor expressed the view that "[p]olitical service is much more than public service. Civil servants are not subject to the votes of citizens nor do they need to carry the ground in policymaking. ... Pegging ministerial salaries to civil service salaries
11397-470: The minority candidates in each GRC are to be from the Malay, Indian, or other minority communities. The number of GRCs in which at least one MP must be from the Malay community must be three-fifths of the total number of GRCs, and the number of MPs to be returned by all GRCs cannot be less than a quarter of the total number of MPs to be returned at a general election. For the 2011 general election , there were 14 SMCs and 17 GRCs. An electoral division which
11528-419: The minority member of the GRC left. Furthermore, the GRC scheme is now used as a recruiting tool for the PAP. In 2006, Goh Chok Tong stated, "Without some assurance of a good chance of winning at least their first election, many able and successful young Singaporeans may not risk their careers to join politics". Every PAP GRC team is helmed by a major figure such as a minister, and allowed candidates to ride on
11659-422: The moral standing to defend this policy with Singaporeans, I will hold my own salary at the present level for five years. The government will pay me my full salary, because that is the way the system will have to work, but for five years, whatever the increase in the salary above its present level, I will donate to suitable good causes." The following day, it was clarified that the Prime Minister had decided to do so
11790-573: The necessity of ensuring the multiracial nature of Parliament with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in July 1982. Then, Lee had expressed concern about the voting patterns of younger Singaporeans, who appeared to be apathetic to the need of having a racially balanced slate of candidates. He was also worried about more Singaporeans voting along racial lines, which would lead to a lack of minority representation in Parliament. Lee had also proposed to twin constituencies and have Members of Parliament (MPs) contest as
11921-666: The new Minister of Transport . Up to the outbreak of World War II , Singapore was part of the Crown colony known as the Straits Settlements together with Malacca and Penang . The earliest predecessor of the Cabinet was arguably the Executive Council of the Straits Settlements that was introduced in 1877 by letters patent issued by the Crown , though its function was very different from that of today's Cabinet. The council, which
12052-484: The newly created post of president, and made it exercisable by him or by the Cabinet or by any minister authorized by the Cabinet. Singapore inherited a Westminster system of government from the British . In such systems, there is an overlap between the executive and legislative branches of government. The head of state , who is the president of Singapore , is a member of both the executive Government of Singapore and
12183-506: The next election. WP also called for the abolition of GRCs. Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean responded that accusations of gerrymandering existed long ago and asked Singh to suggest to EBRC to break up opposition held GRCs into SMCs. Parliament rejected the motion. Apart from the requirement that there must be at least eight SMCs, the total number of SMCs and GRCs in Singapore and their boundaries are not fixed. The number of electoral divisions and their names and boundaries are specified by
12314-593: The number of MPs to be returned by all GRCs cannot be less than a quarter of the total number of MPs. Within those parameters the total number of SMCs and GRCs in Singapore and their boundaries are not fixed but are decided by the Cabinet , taking into consideration the recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee. Per the Constitution and the PEA, there must be between three and six MPs in
12445-530: The only two MPs to lose their seats in 1984 were "racially" Chinese. One of them was beaten by a minority candidate. In addition, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam of the WP won a by-election in 1981 at Anson , a largely Chinese constituency, and the first elected Chief Minister of Singapore was David Marshall who was Jewish. Technically, as the size of GRCs has increased, the minority has had less representation overall as
12576-402: The opposition since the introduction of the GRC in 1988 . In the following general election in 2015 , WP managed to retain the GRC with 50.96% of the votes. Between 2011 and 2020, Aljunied GRC was led by Low. In the 2020 general election , Low and Chen Show Mao declined to run for re-election; the 2020 election saw the WP team, led by WP leader Pritam Singh , retained the GRC with 59.95% of
12707-585: The pay of the president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Attorney-General, Chairman of the Public Service Commission and judges. Following Parliamentary approval of the white paper in November 1994, the Government established an independent panel to examine the benchmark for the prime minister's salary. The panel's report, released in January 1995, recommended that the benchmark be about $ 1.6 million
12838-405: The pay to be competitive, recognition of the ethos of political service, and the desirability of a "clean wage" system (that is, one in which ministers do not receive additional benefits such as housing and medical allowances). PAP MPs then voted to endorse the committee's proposals. On 26 March 2012, the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister's Office announced that the fixed component of
12969-668: The position of the Workers' Party , Chen Show Mao said that the basic monthly salary of an MP should be $ 11,000, the pay of an MX9-grade director in the Management Executive Scheme of the Civil Service. A minister should be paid five times this sum ($ 55,000), and the prime minister nine times ($ 99,000). then NCMP Gerald Giam said that ministers should obtain an average annual bonus of three months of their base salaries, and in any case no more than five months' bonus. Two-thirds of
13100-552: The post of the British High Commissioner, who was entitled to receive the agenda of each Cabinet meeting and to see all Cabinet papers. In the 1959 general elections , the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore. Nine other ministers were appointed to the Cabinet. The British High Commissioner's role became that of an ambassador following Singapore's independence from Britain and merger with Malaysia in 1963. Apart from that
13231-473: The president acting in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. Ministers are prohibited from holding any office of profit and from actively engaging in any commercial enterprise. The Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament. It also has significant influence over lawmaking. Ministers may be designated by the prime minister to be in charge of particular ministries , or as ministers in
13362-399: The president and MPs are elected to their posts by the citizens of Singapore in separate elections . The president appoints as prime minister an MP who is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the MPs. In practice, the prime minister is usually the leader of the political party holding the majority of the seats in Parliament. The president also appoints other ministers to
13493-402: The president normally plays a nominal and largely ceremonial role in the executive branch of government. Although the president acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check on the Cabinet and Parliament of Singapore, he is otherwise required to act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet. It
13624-448: The president, acting in his discretion, is satisfied that the prime minister has ceased to command the confidence of a majority of the MPs. In the latter situation, the president is required first to inform the prime minister of his evaluation in this regard, and if the prime minister requests him to, the president may dissolve Parliament instead of making a declaration of vacancy. A general election must be held within three months after
13755-407: The president. The Oath of Allegiance reads as follows: I, [ name ], having been appointed to the office of [ name of office ], do solemnly swear [ or affirm] that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Singapore and that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore . The oath for the due execution of the office of prime minister or a minister
13886-466: The prime minister would be able to draw on the experience of many capable Singaporeans. He expressed the view that this would not offend democratic principles. Singapore's Parliamentary system placed more weight on the party in power rather than individual MPs, and "Parliamentarians must still win the support from the ground and, ultimately, the PM and the ruling party and his Cabinet team will still be answerable to
14017-426: The prime minister's monthly salary was based on that of the chief minister when Singapore was still a British colony, and was fixed at S$ 3,500 (equivalent to $ 14,867 in 2022). The monthly salary was not adjusted until 1973, when ministerial pay was revised and the prime minister's salary was increased to S$ 9,500 (equivalent to $ 40,353 in 2022) a month. The justification given by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew
14148-534: The proportion of minority MPs per GRC has been reduced. Since minority MPs are a numerical minority in Parliament, their political clout has also been reduced. In February 2017, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing said that if a minority candidate leaves their group representation constituency (GRC), a by-election will not be called. Chan claimed that the goals of having enough minority members in Parliament, and to ensure no political campaign on issues of race and religion, would still be met even if
14279-583: The public service. In such urgent cases, the Governor had to inform the Council of the measures he had taken. Following the Second World War, the Straits Settlements were disbanded and Singapore became a Crown colony in its own right. The reconstituted Executive Council consisted of six officials and four nominated "unofficials". In February 1954, the Rendel Constitutional Commission under
14410-401: The rate was below 2%, and a maximum bonus of eight months' salary was paid if the rate was 10% or greater. In addition, ministers received the same medical benefits as civil servants. In 2010, the benchmark annual remuneration for an MR4-grade minister was $ 2,598,004, while the actual salary paid was $ 1,583,900. An MR1-grade minister's salary was $ 2,368,500. The annual pay of the prime minister
14541-403: The real median income growth rate (that is, the growth rate taking inflation into account), the real growth rate of the incomes of the lowest 20th percentile earners, the unemployment rate , and the real GDP growth rate. As regards the latter, no bonus will be paid if the minimum targets for the indicators are not met. A bonus of three months' salary will be paid if the targets are met, and
14672-433: The recommended wage reductions by the committee which were then debated and subsequently accepted in Parliament, the prime minister's salary was reduced by 36% (includes the removal of his pension) to S$ 2.2 million. Nonetheless, the prime minister remains the highest-paid political leader in the world. The earliest predecessor of the Cabinet was the Executive Council of the Straits Settlements , introduced in 1877 to advise
14803-436: The salary of a political appointment holder would be 13 months of his or her monthly salary. For 2011, the annual variable component of the salary would be 1.25 months plus $ 250, while the national bonus would be 2.625 months though appointment holders would receive a pro rata amount of 1.618 months' pay as the new salaries took effect from 21 May 2011 when the Cabinet was appointed following the general election. The targets for
14934-478: The same number as the previous Cabinet. Heng Swee Keat was assigned an additional role as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies while maintaining his other appointments as Minister for Finance and deputy prime minister. Gan Kim Yong , Ong Ye Kung , Josephine Teo , Lawrence Wong , S. Iswaran and Chan Chun Sing were reshuffled into new portfolios as minister. Tan See Leng was appointed as Minister for Manpower after Heng Swee Keat ruled himself out as
15065-478: The scheme and the merits of the rest of the team of MPs. This would result in minority candidates resenting that they are dependent on the majority to enter Parliament, and the majority candidates believing that minority candidates have insufficient ability. It has also been claimed that the GRC scheme demeans the majority of Singaporeans as it assumes that they are not able to see the value or merit of minority candidates, and only vote for candidates with whom they share
15196-498: The top 1,000 wage earners who are Singapore citizens , with a 40% discount "to signify the sacrifice that comes with the ethos of political service". It also recommended removing the special allowance and public service leadership allowance; capping performance bonuses at six months' salary (with good performers generally receiving three months' salary); and replacing the GDP bonus with a national bonus based on four equally weighted indicators:
15327-478: The total number of votes polled in the GRC. Critics have noted that the number of walkovers has generally increased since the introduction of GRCs. To date, only one opposition party, the Workers' Party, has won GRCs: Aljunied, in the 2011 general election, and Sengkang, in the 2020 general election. GRCs have been criticized as giving unequal voting and lobbying (correspondence) powers between electors. Every ballot in
15458-402: The vote, a 9% swing from the previous election. In July 2023, a video surfaced that allegedly showed Perera holding hands intimately with fellow WP member Nicole Seah . On 19 July, WP secretary-general Pritam Singh revealed that Perera and Seah began an affair some time after the 2020 general elections, which had ended before the video surfaced. Perera resigned as a Member of Parliament and as
15589-441: The white paper, the one-third "discount" would be "a visible demonstration of the sacrifice involved in becoming a minister". Although "[s]alaries should never be the motivation for persons to become ministers", the financial sacrifice had to be minimized if outstanding and committed Singaporeans were to be encouraged to take on the "risks and public responsibilities of a political career". The benchmark would also be used to determine
15720-490: The world, his proposed annual pay package exceeding that of the then Chief Executive of Hong Kong Sir Donald Tsang , the political leader with the second-highest salary in the world (around US$ 550,000), by about three times; and that of then president of the United States Barack Obama (US$ 400,000) by over four times. The committee's report was discussed in Parliament from 16 to 18 January 2012. Setting out
15851-459: The years, the Committee has considered various factors, including using hill ridges, rivers and roads as boundaries rather than arbitrarily drawn lines; and the need for electoral divisions to have approximately equal numbers of voters so that electors' votes carry the same weight regardless of where they cast their ballots. In 1963, the EBRC adopted a rule allowing the numbers of voters in divisions to differ by no more than 20%. The permitted deviation
15982-469: Was composed of "such persons and constituted in such manner as may be directed" by royal instructions, existed to advise the Governor of the Straits Settlements and wielded no executive power (including the Colonial Secretary ). The Governor was required to consult the Executive Council on all affairs of importance unless they were too urgent to be laid before it, or if reference to it would prejudice
16113-412: Was increased to 30% in 1980. It is up to the Cabinet to decide whether or not to accept the Committee's recommendations. All the candidates in a GRC must either be members of the same political party or independent candidates standing as a group, and at least one of the candidates must be a person belonging to the Malay, Indian or some other minority community. A person is regarded as belonging to
16244-420: Was made up of fixed components (a monthly salary for 12 months, a non-pensionable annual allowance of one month's salary, a special allowance of one month's salary, and a public service leadership allowance of two months' salary) and variable components (an annual variable component, a performance bonus, and a gross domestic product (GDP) bonus). The annual variable component of up to one and a half-month's salary
16375-408: Was paid based on Singapore's economic performance. In years where economic performance was exceptional, a special variable payment was also made. Each minister's performance bonus was determined by the prime minister and could be up to 14 months' salary, though most good performers received the equivalent of nine months' salary. The GDP bonus depended on the nation's GDP growth rate. No bonus was paid if
16506-403: Was projected to rise to 88% of the private sector benchmark by the end of 2008. Almost half of ministers' pay packages was made up of an individual performance bonus decided by the prime minister, and a variable bonus component based on the country's prevailing gross domestic product and capped at eight months of each minister's annual salary. The pay increases were justified by the Government on
16637-528: Was rejected as the Commission felt that it would be an inappropriate and retrogressive move in that unelected members should not be allowed to dilute the elected chamber. The second proposal, which was to have proportional representation , was also rejected on the grounds that it would intensify party politics along racial lines and eventually "perpetuate and accentuate racial differences". This would then make it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve
16768-565: Was replaced by Lim Yew Hock . The following year, Lim led another delegation to the UK for further talks on self-government. This time, agreement was reached on the composition of an Internal Security Council. Other constitutional arrangements were swiftly settled in 1958, and on 1 August the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the State of Singapore Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2 . c. 59 (UK)) granting
16899-461: Was set at a fixed ratio to the MR4 salary, and was $ 3,072,200 in 2010. This included a fixed service bonus in lieu of a performance bonus since there was no one to assess the prime minister's individual performance. The fixed service bonus was the same as the performance bonus paid to a good performer at the MR4 grade. On 21 May 2011, following the 2011 general election , the prime minister announced that
17030-401: Was that the GRC scheme would work better and the link between voters and their MPs would be strengthened. In the 2011 general election, SMCs returned to Parliament 12 MPs and 15 GRCs a total of 75 MPs. In 2023, Progress Singapore Party 's (PSP) non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), Hazel Poa , raised a private member’s motion to abolish GRC, citing outcomes where candidates ride on
17161-427: Was to help select new leaders amidst a better economic position. In 1994, then prime minister Goh Chok Tong received a monthly salary of nearly S$ 96,000 (equivalent to $ 407,773 in 2022, about S$ 1.15 million a year), while other ministers earned about S$ 48,900 (equivalent to $ 207,710 in 2022, about S$ 586,800 a year). This made them among the highest paid government ministers in the world. In October that year,
#618381