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Constitution of the Republic of Singapore
PART VIITHE PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL FOR MINORITY RIGHTSInterpretation of this Part
68.
In
this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —"adverse
report"
means a report of the
Council stating that, in the opinion of the Council, some specified
provision of a Bill or of a subsidiary legislation would be a differentiating
measure; "Chairman"
means the Chairman of the Council;
"Council"
means the Presidential Council for
Minority Rights established under Article 69; "differentiating
measure"
means any measure which
is, or is likely in its practical application to be, disadvantageous
to persons of any racial or religious community and not equally
disadvantageous to persons of other such communities, either directly
by prejudicing persons of that community or indirectly by giving
advantage to persons of another community; "member"
means a member of the Council and
includes the Chairman; "Money
Bill"
means a Bill which contains
only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters:
(a)
the imposition, repeal, remission,
alteration or regulation of taxation; (b)
the imposition, for the payment of
debt or other financial purposes, of charges on the Consolidated
Fund or any other public funds, or the variation or repeal of any
such charges; (c)
the grant of money to the Government
or to any authority or person, or the variation or revocation of
any such grant; (d)
the appropriation, receipt, custody,
investment, issue or audit of accounts of public money; (e)
the raising or guarantee of any loan
or the repayment thereof, or the establishment, alteration, administration
or abolition of any sinking fund provided in connection with any
such loan; (f)
subordinate matters which are ancillary
or incidental to any of the foregoing matters; "sitting
day"
means any date on which
Parliament meets.
Establishment of Presidential Council for Minority
Rights
69.
—(1)
There
shall be a Presidential Council for Minority Rights which shall consist
of —(a)
a Chairman appointed for a period
of 3 years; (b)
not more than 10 permanent members
appointed for life; and (c)
not more than 10 other members appointed
for a period of 3 years.
(2)
The Chairman and the members shall
be appointed by the President if he, acting in his discretion, concurs
with the advice of the Cabinet.
(3)
The Chairman and the members appointed
under clause (1) (c) shall be eligible for reappointment.
Temporary appointment during incapacity of member
70.
Whenever
a member informs the Chairman that he is or will be incapable, for a
period of 3 months or more, of taking part in the proceedings of
the Council by reason of illness, absence or other cause, the Chairman
shall convey the information to the President who may, if he, acting
in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Cabinet, appoint
a person to serve as a member for that period.
Qualifications of members
71.
No
person shall be qualified to be appointed as a member unless he —(a)
is a citizen of Singapore; (b)
is not less than 35 years of age; (c)
is resident in Singapore; and (d)
is not liable to any of the disqualifications
provided in Article 72.
Disqualifications of members
72.
A
person shall be disqualified for appointment as a member who —(a)
is or has been found or declared to
be of unsound mind; (b)
is insolvent or an undischarged bankrupt; (c)
has been convicted of an offence by
a court of law in Singapore or Malaysia and sentenced to imprisonment
for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than $2,000
and has not received a free pardon:
Provided that where the conviction is
by a court of law in Malaysia, the person shall not be so disqualified
unless the offence is also one which, had it been committed in Singapore,
would have been punishable by a court of law in Singapore; or (d)
has voluntarily acquired the citizenship
of, or exercised the rights of citizenship in, a foreign country
or has made a declaration of allegiance to a foreign country.
Termination of membership
73.
A
member shall vacate his seat in the Council —(a)
if he ceases to be a citizen of Singapore; (b)
if by writing under his hand addressed
to the Chairman he resigns his seat; or (c)
if he becomes subject to any of the
disqualifications provided in Article 72.
Determination of questions as to membership
74.
—(1)
Any
question whether any person has become a member or has vacated his
seat as such member shall be referred to and determined by a tribunal
consisting of a Judge of the Supreme Court appointed by the Chief
Justice and 2 members appointed by the Council.
(2)
Any tribunal constituted under clause
(1) shall —(a)
sit in private; (b)
afford the person concerned adequate
opportunity to call witnesses and be heard; and (c)
report its decision to the Chairman.
(3)
The decision of the tribunal shall
be final and shall not be open to question in any court.
Oaths of Allegiance and Secrecy
75.
Before
any person who has been appointed Chairman or a member enters upon the
duties of his office, he shall take and subscribe before a Judge
of the Supreme Court the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Secrecy
in the forms set out respectively in paragraphs 2 and 7 in the First
Schedule.
General function of Council
76.
—(1)
It
shall be the general function of the Council to consider and report
on such matters affecting persons of any racial or religious community
in Singapore as may be referred to the Council by Parliament or
the Government.
(2)
A reference to the Council by Parliament
may be made by the Speaker, and a reference to the Council by the
Government may be made by a Minister.
Functions of Council in respect of Bills and subsidiary
legislation
77.
It
shall be the particular function of the Council to draw attention
to any Bill or to any subsidiary legislation if that Bill or subsidiary
legislation is, in the opinion of the Council, a differentiating
measure.
Copies of Bills and amendments thereto to be sent
to Council
78.
—(1)
Immediately
after any Bill to which this Article applies has been given a final
reading and passed by Parliament and before it is presented to the
President for assent, the Speaker shall cause an authenticated copy
of the Bill to be sent to the Council.
(2)
The Council shall consider the Bill
and shall, within 30 days of the date on which the Bill was sent
to the Council, make a report to the Speaker stating whether or
not in the opinion of the Council any and, if so, which provision
of the Bill would, if enacted, be a differentiating measure.
(3)
Whenever after the receipt of an adverse
report from the Council, the Bill to which it relates is amended
by Parliament, the Speaker shall cause the Bill in its amended form
to be sent again to the Council.
(4)
On the application of the Chairman,
the Speaker may extend, as he thinks fit, the period of 30 days
prescribed by clause (2), where he considers it proper to do so on
account of the length or complexity of any Bill or the number of
matters for the time being under consideration by the Council or
for any sufficient reason.
(5)
The Speaker shall cause every report
received by him from the Council in pursuance of clause (2) to be
presented to Parliament without undue delay. Where the Speaker receives
no such report on the Bill within the time provided in clause (2), or
any extension thereof granted under clause (4), it shall be conclusively
presumed that the Council is of the opinion that no provision of
the Bill would, if enacted, be a differentiating measure.
(6)
No Bill to which this Article applies
shall be presented to the President for assent unless it is accompanied
by a certificate under the hand of the Speaker stating that —(a)
in the opinion of the Council no provision
of the Bill would, if enacted, be a differentiating measure; (b)
no report having been received from
the Council within the time prescribed or any extension thereof,
the Council is presumed to be of the opinion that no provision of
the Bill would, if enacted, be a differentiating measure; or (c)
notwithstanding the opinion of the
Council that some specified provision of the Bill would, if enacted,
be a differentiating measure, a motion for the presentation of the
Bill to the President for assent has been passed by the affirmative
vote of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of Parliament.
(7)
This Article shall not apply to —(a)
a Money Bill; (b)
a Bill certified by the Prime Minister
as being one which affects the defence or the security of Singapore
or which relates to public safety, peace or good order in Singapore;
or (c)
a Bill certified by the Prime Minister
to be so urgent that it is not in the public interest to delay its
enactment.
(8)
A Bill shall be deemed to be a Money
Bill if the Speaker certifies in writing that, in his opinion, it
is a Bill to which the definition of “Money Bill” contained
in Article 68 applies. No Money Bill shall be presented to the President
for assent, unless it is accompanied by the Speaker"s certificate
which shall be conclusive for all purposes and shall not be open
to question in any court.
Functions of Council in regard to Bills enacted on
a certificate of urgency
79.
—(1)
Where
the President assents to a Bill which has been certified as urgent by
the Prime Minister under Article 78 (7), it shall nevertheless be
the duty of the Speaker to cause an authenticated copy of the Act
to be sent as soon as may be to the Council.
(2)
The Council shall thereupon consider
the Act and shall, within 30 days of the date on which the Act was
sent to the Council, make a report to the Speaker stating whether
or not in the opinion of the Council any and, if so, which provision
of the Act is a differentiating measure.
(3)
The Speaker shall cause any such report
to be presented to Parliament as soon as possible.
Functions of Council in regard to subsidiary legislation
80.
—(1)
An
authenticated copy of every piece of subsidiary legislation shall
be sent to the Council by the appropriate Minister within 14 days
of the publication of such subsidiary legislation.
(2)
The Council shall thereupon consider
such subsidiary legislation and shall, within 30 days of the date
on which the subsidiary legislation was sent to the Council, make
a report to the Speaker and to the appropriate Minister, stating
whether or not in the opinion of the Council any and, if so, which
provision of the subsidiary legislation is a differentiating measure.
(3)
The Speaker shall cause every report
of the Council on every piece of subsidiary legislation to be presented
to Parliament on the next sitting day after receiving the Council"s
report.
(4)
Where an adverse report in respect
of any provision of any subsidiary legislation is presented to Parliament
in pursuance of clause (3), then, within 6 months after the presentation
of that report, unless either —(a)
the provision has been revoked or
amended by the appropriate Minister; or (b)
Parliament has passed a resolution
confirming that provision,
the appropriate Minister shall revoke
such provision and cause a notice of revocation to be published
in the Gazette.
(5)
If no report on any subsidiary legislation
is received from the Council within the time provided in clause
(2), it shall be conclusively presumed that the Council is of the
opinion that no provision in such subsidiary legislation is a differentiating measure.
Functions of Council in regard to certain written
law
81.
—(1)
The
Council may examine any written law in force on 9th January 1970 and
may make a report in regard to any provision in such written law
which, in the opinion of the Council, is a differentiating measure.
(2)
The Council shall send such report
to the Speaker and the Speaker shall cause such report to be presented
to Parliament as soon as possible.
(3)
In the case of a report on any subsidiary
legislation, the Council shall also cause a copy of the report to
be sent to the appropriate Minister.
Duties of Chairman
82.
—(1)
The
Council shall meet on the summons of the Chairman.
(2)
The Chairman, if present, shall preside
at all meetings of the Council.
(3)
Whenever the office of Chairman is
vacant or the Chairman for any reason is unable to attend, some
other member shall be elected by the Council to act as Chairman.
Quorum and voting
83.
—(1)
The
Council shall not transact any business unless a quorum of 8 members,
including the Chairman or member presiding, is present.
(2)
Any decision of the Council shall be
made by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting.
(3)
The Chairman or member presiding shall
have an original vote but not a casting vote.
(4)
If upon any question before the Council
the votes of the members are equally divided, the motion shall be
deemed to be lost.
Proceedings of Council to be in private
84.
The
proceedings of the Council shall be conducted in private and the
Council shall not be entitled to hear objectors or examine witnesses
in regard to any Bill or law which is being considered by the Council
in pursuance of the provisions of this Part.
Council’s report
85.
In
reporting the opinion of the Council under the provisions of this
Part, the Council shall state —(a)
either that the report is unanimous
or the number of votes for and against it; and (b)
in the case of an adverse report,
the grounds on which the Council has reached its conclusion.
Validity of proceedings notwithstanding vacancy in
membership
86.
Subject
to Article 83 (1), the Council shall not be disqualified for the
transaction of business by reason of any vacancy among the members
thereof; and any proceedings therein shall be valid notwithstanding
that some person who was not entitled to do so took part in those
proceedings.
Attendance of Minister, etc.
87.
Any
Minister, Minister of State or Parliamentary Secretary specially
authorised by the Prime Minister for this purpose shall be entitled
to attend and take part in the proceedings of the Council as if
he were a member but shall not have the right to vote in the Council.
Power of Council to make rules regulating procedure
88.
Subject
to the provisions of this Constitution, the Council may make rules
with respect to the regulation and conduct of its proceedings and
the despatch of its business but no such rules shall have effect
until they have been approved by the President.
Annual report
89.
—(1)
Once
in every year it shall be the duty of the Council to compile and present
to the President a report on the work of the Council during the
preceding 12 months.
(2)
The President shall cause such report
to be presented to Parliament as soon as possible.
Salaries and fees
90.
—(1)
There
shall be paid to the Chairman and the other members such salaries and
fees as may be determined by the President.
(2)
The salaries and fees payable under
clause (1) shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.
Appointment of staff
91.
The
Council shall have power to appoint a Secretary to the Council and
such other officers as may be required to enable the Council to
carry out its functions under this Part.
Power to make rules generally
92.
The
President may make rules for the conduct of business between the
Council and Parliament and between the Council and any authority
empowered to make subsidiary legislation, and generally for carrying
out the purposes of this Part.
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