Parliament passes law allowing President Tharman to accept international appointments in ‘private capacity’

SINGAPORE’S presidents will be able to accept appointments at international organisations in a “private capacity” – allowing them to act and express views independently – under constitutional amendments that were passed in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 22).

But this does not mean that such appointments will fall outside of the president’s work duties, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the debate on the Bill.

“Undertaking this role in a private capacity does not mean that the president or minister is somehow doing... some extracurricular activity,” said Wong. “When the president serves in this capacity, he is contributing to his national responsibilities. He is undertaking his presidential duties.”

Such international appointments are “core to the president’s international diplomacy role”, noted Wong, and is how Singapore projects its influence and strengths in its global networks.

While presidents have taken on additional foreign appointments in the past, they could only do so in an official capacity – which limits them to expressing Singapore’s official position in everything they say, noted Wong.

This would not be in keeping with the requirements of some international organisations, which want their appointees to contribute independently to achieve their respective aims, he said.

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It is also not in Singapore’s interest for the president to be so limited, said Wong, “as it restricts our ability to shape global conversations and initiatives”.

Thus, by allowing the president to serve in his private capacity through the new law, he would be able to act independently in achieving the aims of the international bodies – subject to the necessary safeguards of Singapore’s national interests, said Wong.

The proposed changes to the Constitution were passed in Parliament on Wednesday evening, with 75 MPs voting in favour of the move.

Eight MPs voted against the changes, including seven from the Workers’ Party and one from the Progress Singapore Party.

Concerns raised

During the debate, several MPs raised concerns on whether allowing the president to take on such international appointments would take away from him performing his domestic duties, and whether potential conflicts of interests could arise from such an arrangement.

To this, DPM Wong said these are factors which the Cabinet will take into consideration when assessing the invitations received by the president, including the commitments expected by the international role, as well as whether the meeting load and travel demands are reasonable.

“At the end of the day, it would not be in the national interest for the president or a minister to take on external appointments that will affect their ability to perform their official duties,” he said.

Potential conflicts of interest will also be considered by Cabinet in deciding whether or not the president should take up an appointment, said Wong, who also stressed that the president will not be able to make any commitments on behalf of the Singapore government in the course of his international engagements.

MPs Yip Hon Weng and Dennis Tan also asked whether the president would be allowed to retain the remuneration they may be offered when taking up foreign appointments. Workers’ Party’s Tan also asked if taxpayers will foot the expenses incurred by the president when performing these roles.

Responding, Wong confirmed that the president may not retain any remuneration or benefits in connection with appointments in their private capacity, and is expected to decline or donate the sum to charity.

As for resourcing support, Wong said this will be no different from how the government supports the president when he undertakes an official trip, as he is still serving national interests when taking on international appointments.

“He contributes his private views to these organisations, but he is going on these trips on the national interest, not for his private business,” said Wong.

New legal framework

In developing the new framework, the Cabinet made the following broad considerations. First, the framework will only apply to appointments in international organisations, not domestic ones. Current principles will apply to appointments made in local organisations.

Second, any international appointment taken on by the president must be justified by national interest. “Importantly, our own policy matters must remain the responsibility and prerogative of the Cabinet,” said Wong.

Third, the president should have a say in deciding whether to take on such appointments, meaning he can decline the role if he considers it to be incompatible with his constitutional functions.

Lastly, any appointment must be on the public record in the interests of transparency and accountability.

With these considerations in mind, the new law will allow current and future presidents to accept international appointments in their private capacities, subject to the following three conditions.

Firstly, the president cannot contravene Article 19A(1) of the Constitution, which prohibits the president from being actively engaged in commercial enterprises.

Secondly, the appointments must be assessed by Cabinet to be in Singapore’s national interest. Third, the president, acting in his discretion, must concur with the advice of the Cabinet.

Thus, the president cannot accept international appointments in his private capacity outside the proposed legal framework. He must also relinquish the role if Cabinet advises him to do so.

Any acceptance or relinquishment of international appointments must be published in the Government Gazette.

The government has also backdated the changes to Sep 14, when President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was sworn into office “out of an abundance of caution”.

Currently, President Tharman is the chancellor of both the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, and patron of the Singapore Red Cross, Singapore International Foundation, Singapore Silent Heroes and the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

He also holds various international positions, in his official capacity as president, with the advice and support of the Cabinet. These include chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Group of Thirty, and a member of the BoT of the World Economic Forum.