Athena M.

Villagonzalo On the Socio-Political Structure of Singapore

2011-41945

Singapore can be portrayed to as a hodge-podge of culture, race and religion. This multi-racial, multi-religious character of the Singaporean society then demands fair treatment to all races in terms of basic social services and political representation, especially of the minorities. Political Background The politics of Singapore takes the form of parliamentary republic. It is a republic in the sense that representative democracy, in which the peoples elected representatives vote on legislation, dominates the system. At the same time, it is an image of a parliamentary system where the President is the head of the state, and the Prime Minister being the head of the government. The power structure in Singapore depicts a highly-centralized state, that is, top-down style. Likewise, meritocracy outlines the Singaporean society where affairs of the nation is administered, not by politicians, but by bureaucrats whose power is gained through skill, performance and loyalty to the nation and its policies. The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of the land, which formulates the framework for the three organs of the state executive, legislative and judiciary which coexist with no salient separation of powers. A. Executive The executive power is exercised by the Cabinet, which forms the government1, and is headed by the Prime Minister who is the leader of the political party able to secure the most seats in the Parliament. Consequently, it has a direct control of government policies, and has influence in the legislation through introducing bills to the Parliament. Generally, the political party who has gained simple majority in each general election forms the Cabinet. Its members, the Cabinet Ministers who are also sitting Members of the Parliament2, are not elected by popular vote but are rather appointed by the President upon the advice of the Prime Minister. That being said, it follows then that the Cabinet is collectively answerable to the Parliament, and that it can be dissolved by the latter when it no longer fulfills its function through a vote of no confidence. In its fight against corruption and to ensure government efficiency, ministers in Singapore received a salary increase of 60 percent in 2007. However, following the 2011 elections, the incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong formed a committee to review the said remuneration. B. Legislative
1

The Constitution of Singapore defines Government as the executive branch consisting of the President and the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. 2 MPs act as a bridge between the people and the government by ensuring that public opinion and concerns are heard in the Parliament.

Modeled after the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, the legislative power is vested by the Constitution on the unicameral Parliament with the President as its head whose role before amending the constitution in 1991 has been largely ceremonial but was then given some veto powers on decisions on matters such as the use of national reserves and internal security issues, and appointment of key judiciary, civil service, armed forces posts, and other public officers. The current President Ton Tan Keng Yam, just like any presidents before him, plays the role of the formal head of state of the Republic of Singapore. Unlike the Cabinet, its 87 members are elected on a plurality voting basis and represent either the Single-Member Constituency or Group Representation Constituency3. The constitution also provides for an appointment of up to six members who are not actually elected in at an election under the Non-Constituency system. Side by side with this are the nine Nominated Members of Parliament4 who are not affiliated to any political party, and are appointed by the President for a term of two and a half years upon the recommendation of the Select Committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament5. Both the Non-Constituency and Nominated Members of the Parliament cannot vote on decision involving issues like vote of no confidence, amendment of the constitution, allocation of public funds, and impeaching the president. The Parliament has three major functions: making laws, controlling states finances and performing the critical role to check on the actions of the governing party and the Ministries. Bills, being the raw form of any law, is usually introduced by the Cabinet Ministers and is called the Government Bill. Otherwise, when the bill is proposed by any Members of the Parliament, it is known as the Private Members Bill. Regardless of where the bill originated, it goes through three readings and must be signed by the President before it becomes an Act of Parliament. The term of the Parliament is only five years, after which a General Election is held within three months upon it has been dissolved. C. Political Party System The Singaporean politics is determined to be an interplay of multiple political parties, each carrying their programs and policies. Up to date, Singapore has a total of 43 parties, only 12 of which are active. However, after Singapore gained its
3

Amendments on the Parliamentary Election Act in1991 led to the creation of the Group Representation Constituency where political parties field a team of between three to six candidates, of which at least one must belong to a minority race. 4 The constitution provision for this was made in 1990. 5 Speaker of the Parliament chairs the sittings of the House and enforces the prescribed rules, Standing Orders of Parliament, for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business.

independence in August 9, 1965, Peoples Action Party (PAP)6 has ever then dominated the Singaporean party system. In fact, amidst competition against opposition parties of the Workers Party (WP), the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), still the PAP has won 82 out of 84 Parliament seats during the 2006 General Elections. It can be inferred therefore that Singapore is a de facto one-party state. Under the leadership of PAP, Singapore has acquired a distinct political culture of pragmatism, rationalism and legalism. Through this, economic growth and political stability has been maintained and promoted. Political Climate According to a World Banks study using its governance indicators, Singapore scores high on rule of law, control of corruption, and government effectiveness. Amidst a corruption-free image that the government of Singapore fosters, consensual decision-making, and collective leadership marked with no usual rifts, human rights are not just violated, but are often neglected or are lacking. The Economist Intelligence Unit, on the other hand, describes Singapore as a hybrid country, with both authoritarian and democratic elements. In fact, the Freedom House index rated Singapore as partly free, with its Press Freedom Index in 2005 placed 140th out of 167 countries. The Singaporean government has taken a dominant role in the local economy through the establishment of Corporate Social Responsibility. Furthermore, the Constitution lays the Economic Development Board Act to stimulate the growth, expansion and development of Singapores economy.

References: Government of Singapore. Retrieved December 27, 2013 from en.wikipedia.org Introduction to Singapores political system. Retrieved December 27, 2013 from www.guidemesingapore.com Politics of Singapore. Retrieved December 27, 2013 from en.wikipedia.org Singapore government type government. Retrieved December 27, 2013 from www.indexmundi.com

Established in November 21, 1954.