Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,

36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963.

Tel: 3757794/5

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SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER GOH CHOK TONG AT THE SWEARING-IN-CEREMONY OF THE SIXTH PRESIDENT AT THE ISTANA, ON WEDNESDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 1999 AT 7.45 PM
 
 

Mr President

Chief Justice

Colleagues & Friends,
 
 

Mr President, on behalf of the people and Government, I congratulate you on your election to the office of President of our Republic of Singapore. You are the sixth President to hold office, but only the second to be vested with custodial powers as an elected President.
 
 

We are honoured and fortunate to have you as our Head of State. You bring to the office of President over 40 years of experience and proven ability in administration, public affairs and diplomacy. As a public officer, you have never hesitated to offer considered judgment and advice to Ministers, even when you differed from them. You are eminently qualified to serve as the symbol for the nation, and to exercise the powers which the Constitution has vested in you.
 
 

Since you announced your candidacy, Singaporeans have followed the media reports on you, your family and your life story with interest. It is a story of determination and hope: how someone from a humble background achieved success in life against the odds, and despite the upheavals of his time. You studied and worked hard, served the nation, overcame many obstacles and built a happy family and successful career. Your story has heartened and inspired many Singaporeans.
 
 

The President is the Head of State, the symbol of the nation. This role is ceremonial, but it nevertheless calls for a person of dignity, grace and sensitivity. I have no doubt that as President, you will display the same qualities and abilities that have seen you through an eventful and successful life.
 
 

In one key area, the President’s functions are not ceremonial. This is when he exercises custodial powers, to decide whether to allow the Government to draw upon our hard-earned past reserves, and whether to accept or reject nominations to key appointments. This safeguard is routine so long as the government is honest, budgets prudently, and appoints public officers on merit. But it becomes critically important when an opportunistic government seeks to raid the reserves for political or other purposes, or to undermine the integrity of the public service to facilitate their misdeeds. Then as goal-keeper, the President becomes our last line of defence. If he fumbles, Singapore may never recover from an irresponsible or dishonest government.
 
 

If we are lucky, the question of using the second key should not arise. As I told President Ong when he was sworn in six years ago, my Government has no intention of squandering the financial reserves which we have so painstakingly accumulated, nor depart from the cardinal principle of appointing the best officers to key positions on merit. In short, my Government will not give you cause to exercise your veto powers.
 
 

Over the last six years, we have gained experience operating the new institution of the elected Presidency. President Ong Teng Cheong, the Council of Presidential Advisers, and the Government worked out a set of principles for determining and safeguarding the accumulated reserves. These were published as a White Paper which was tabled before Parliament on 2 July 1999. These principles provide a working basis for implementing the Constitutional safeguards.
 
 

The constitutional provisions vesting certain custodial powers in the elected President are only six years old. The two-key system is still running in. We cannot yet be certain that it is in its final form. We will continue to refine the arrangements through actual working of the system. The Government will cooperate closely with the President to give full effect to the letter and spirit of this system.
 
 

Mr President, I am confident that you will discharge your duties, both ceremonial and substantive, with honour and distinction. We offer you our best wishes as you commence your six-year term. I pledge to you my fullest support and co-operation and that of my Government.
 

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