Singapore Government Press Release

Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,

MICA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369

Tel: 6837-9666

 

 

 

SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG

AT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF THE SIXTH PRESIDENT

AT THE ISTANA, ON THURSDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2005 AT 8 PM

 

 

Mr President,

Chief Justice,

Excellencies and distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen

 

Mr President, on behalf of the people of Singapore and its Government, I congratulate you on your election to a second term as President of our Republic.

 

The Presidency is not an ordinary job.  It is the highest office in the land, with weighty responsibilities.  The President is the symbol of our nation, representing Singapore both within and beyond our shores.  He is vested with custodial powers to protect the country’s accumulated reserves and the integrity of the public service.  And he lends support to worthy charitable and social causes, encouraging citizens to come forward to advance the common good.  

 

Mr President, over the past six years you have served with dignity and honour, and fulfilled all of these roles with distinction.

 

You have established yourself with Singa­poreans as a President in touch with the people, unchanged by your high office and accessible to all. You have also advanced Singapore’s international relations, and enlarged Singapore’s presence in the world, by receiving foreign visitors and keeping up the many contacts from your long career as a diplomat.

 

You have upheld your Constitutional responsibilities and exercised the powers which the Constitution has vested in you, without fear or favour, working with the Govern­ment to fulfil both the spirit and the letter of the safeguards.

 

You have actively supported many community-based events and organisations, maintaining a pace which would have taxed a person half your age.  You have, in particular, reached out to the vulnerable members of our society, and helped to make ours a more cohesive and compassionate community. 

 

Mrs Nathan too has been gracious and active, gracing many events and fulfilling her public duties with dignity and warmth.

 

We are therefore happy and honoured, Mr President, to see you re-elected into this high office.  You have shown all of us that you are a President not only of the people, but also for the people.

 

The process for electing a President of Singa­pore has been carefully designed to ensure that the electorate are presented with qualified candidates who will uphold the dignity of the office and discharge its responsibilities competently.  Hence the Constitution sets out clear minimum criteria for aspiring candidates, and creates a Presidential Elections Committee to assess applicants against these criteria. 

 

These qualifying requirements are necessary because the President needs experience and knowledge of managing financial matters and large organisations, in order to protect our reserves and ensure that key people are appointed on merit. They are also necessary because candidates to be President stand on their own, and not as the nominees of any political party. Therefore they do not undergo the leadership selection processes of an organised group before being presented to the electorate. These qualifying requirements in the Constitution have worked satisfactorily, though like other aspects of the Presidency they can be refined further over time.

 

The elected Presidency was instituted in 1991. Over the years, its functions and powers have become progressively accepted by Singaporeans and established in our system of government.  But as it is a new institution, it is bound to take time for us to appreciate fully how the mechanism works in practice, and to develop the detailed rules and procedures which implement the concept. So from time to time, Parliament has amended the Constitutional provisions governing the elected Presidency.  Indeed in this spirit you yourself, Mr President, have suggested some refinements, which the Govern­ment supports and will table in Parliament in due course. 

 

While we continue to improve the detailed workings of the elected Presidency, we have not altered its fundamental purpose, which remains as valid as ever. This is to provide a second key to protect the accumulated reserves of the country and the integrity of public sector appointments.  On specific issues in these two areas, the Govern­ment and the President will from time to time take different views, as is to be expected given our different responsibilities.  But on the overarching goal we are at one.

 

Mr President, we thank you for your exemplary service in your first term of office, and we offer you our best wishes as you take up your second term  and continue serving the people of Singapore.  My Government and I look forward to continuing to work closely with you to help the institution of the elected Presidency mature in authority and stature, and to uphold a sound and effective system of Govern­ment that will assure all Singaporeans of a secure and bright future.