Singapore’s president can say no to a budget. Not to every budget, and not for any reason, but to one that would dip into savings the sitting government did not build. That single veto is why an office with no hand in running the country still matters.
Since 1991 the presidency has been an elected post, set up to curb what was described at the time as the “untrammelled power” of the prime minister and Cabinet. The holder serves 6 years, cannot belong to a party, and acts on Cabinet’s advice except where the Constitution leaves him discretion. The prime minister, with the Cabinet, directs and controls the government. The president does not.
Three kinds of veto
The Elections Department sorts the custodial powers into three groups. The first covers past reserves, meaning money not accumulated while the current government has been in office. If he judges that a Supply Bill would draw on them, the president can withhold assent. The same goes for the budgets and transactions of key statutory boards (the CPF Board, the Housing Board, JTC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore) and of the government companies Temasek and GIC.
The second group is the public service. He can block appointments to top posts, among them the Chief Justice and Supreme Court judges, the armed forces chief and service chiefs, the police commissioner, the Attorney-General and the head of the anti-graft bureau, the CPIB. He can block removals from those posts too.
The third group works as a safety net. If the prime minister will not allow a CPIB probe, the bureau’s director can ask the president to authorise it. Detention under the Internal Security Act needs the president’s concurrence when the advisory board has advised against it. And under the religious harmony law he can revoke or amend a restraining order when Cabinet’s advice conflicted with a recommendation from the religious harmony council.
A veto that can be overruled
On reserves and appointments, the president has to hear from the Council of Presidential Advisers first. Should he veto against its advice, Parliament may overrule him, but only on a motion backed by at least two-thirds of all MPs other than nominated ones.
Speaking in public
Beyond those powers the president stays in a narrow lane. He has to be politically neutral, and be seen as such, and in public he speaks and acts in line with Cabinet’s advice, especially on legislation and policy. Abroad he represents the country under the government’s foreign policy and may not pursue another. The custodial powers are the exception: there he decides for himself and is entitled to tell the public how he has used them or means to. In private, he can give the prime minister frank advice, and those conversations remain confidential.
Superprof’s history of the office lists Tharman Shanmugaratnam as president from 2023, and recalls that an earlier president, S. R. Nathan, approved a draw of $4.9 billion from national reserves in 2009, the first exercise of those discretionary powers.
Sources
- The president's role and powers: 4 things to know (The Straits Times)
- Presidential Elections: role of the President (Elections Department Singapore)
- Presidents of Singapore: Complete Timeline & Powers Guide (Superprof)
