Commission calls for bigger CPA - 8 members, up from 6

Singapore

THE Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) should be bumped up from six to eight members, with the Prime Minister and the President each appointing one of the two additional members.

This would enable the CPA to better handle its "expanded scope of work", said the Constitutional Commission set up to review the Elected Presidency.

The commission's report was released to the public on Wednesday evening.

Under the proposed changes, the President will be obliged to consult the CPA before exercising all of his custodial powers over the reserves, and all of his powers pertaining to key public-service appointments.

Currently, the President has a duty to consult the CPA before exercising only some - not all - of these powers.

Beyond being a group of trusted advisors, the CPA's secondary role is to act as a counterbalance - weighing in when the President decides to exercise his veto against a proposed action of the government.

In some cases, and if certain conditions are met, a Presidential veto could be overturned by Parliament if the President had exercised his veto without the agreement of a majority of the CPA members.

The commission has recommended refinements to this Parliamentary override process by calibrating the Parliament majority required for an override against the level of support from the CPA.

"Put simply, the stronger the CPA's support for the President's decision, the more difficult it should be for Parliament to undo that decision," said the nine-member Commission in its 183-page report.

For example, if the President exercises his veto even though the majority of the CPA disagrees, Parliament can override the veto with a simple majority.

But if the CPA is evenly split, and the CPA chairman uses his casting vote in the President's favour, Parliament can override the veto only if it achieves a two-thirds majority.

Still, the commission emphasised, the CPA's role is only ever relevant when the President disagrees with the government.

Said the report: "Where the President agrees with the government's proposal ... the advice rendered by the CPA has no legal or constitutional significance whatsoever. This is so even if it is collectively opposed to the position that the government intends to take.

"In this sense, the CPA has far less power than does the President."

The commission also recommended standardising the terms of CPA members to a uniform six years each, even upon re-appointment.

CPA members are now appointed for a term of six years, but can be re-appointed only for successive terms of four years.

For the purposes of continuity, the panel suggested that CPA members' terms be staggered.

The commission does not see the need to raise the CPA eligibility criteria to levels comparable to those of Presidential candidates. It noted that CPA members are not elected, but appointed by the President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice or the chairman of the Public Service Commission - "all of whom can be expected to exercise the requisite judgment" before making their nominations.

Still, given the CPA's "pivotal role", the commission suggested that constitutional provisions be enacted to spell out certain criteria for CPA membership. This includes the requirement that each CPA appointee should add to the group's diversity of experience as a collective body.

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