The Commonwealth embraces 54 countries with a common colonial background. English is our common working language. Almost all of us have parliamentary systems based on the Westminster model in London. In an ever-changing economic, political and social landscape, the Commonwealth is like an extended family offering a comforting environment based on a shared heritage and many common interests. Several outstanding institutions have developed from this unique assembly of cultures and peoples. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is one of them.
The CPA brings together 14,000 parliamentarians in 142 branches throughout countries in the Commonwealth. It has a history dating back to 1911. Since the branch in Singapore was established in 1949, our parliamentarians have participated actively in CPA activities. And we are indeed honoured to play host to CPA for the third time. To all the participants from overseas, let me extend a very warm welcome to each and every one of you.
In line with the adoption of the Harare Declaration in 1991, CPA has done much in recent years to help promote and strengthen democracies within the Commonwealth. Practical programmes like post-election seminars on the parliamentary procedures in the Commonwealth, and your participation in Commonwealth Election Observers' groups, are outstanding examples of CPA's contribution. In doing so, CPA has affirmed its strong commitment to the positive ideals of parliamentary democracy.
By adopting the Harare Declaration, the Commonwealth Leaders enshrined the principles of democracy and good governance in the Commonwealth. They recognised that there are certain universal tenets of a good democracy: free elections, accountability, and a corruption-free government and public administration. At the same time, they accepted the very important principle that no one model suits every society.
Entrenching Racial and Religious Harmony
Parliamentary, judicial and civil service systems do not remain static. They must adapt to changes in the society which they serve.
Singapore is a case in point. At independence, we adopted the basic Westminster parliamentary model that has, in large part, stood us in good stead. But we were conscious that with a history of communist insurgency, coupled with racial riots, there was a need to incorporate certain safeguards into our parliamentary system. As we are a multi-racial country, religious and racial harmony is something which we work assiduously to preserve.
In 1966, within a year of becoming an independent republic, the Singapore Government set up a Constitutional Commission to consider the provisions needed to ensure that no legislation would discriminate against any racial, religious or language group. This led to the formation of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights. Its role is to scrutinise legislation passed by Parliament to ensure that there is no discrimination against minority communities.
In 1988, we innovated again. This time to preserve multi-racialism in Parliament. We introduced the concept of Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Under this system, every political party contesting the election in a GRC must field at least one candidate from the minority communities.
We do not take religious harmony in Singapore for granted. In August 1992, we amended the Singapore Constitution to provide for a Presidential Council for Religious Harmony to resolve religious conflicts. All leaders of the major religious groups in Singapore are represented in this Council. We are proud of the fact that since its inception, there has been no necessity for the Council to meet.
Widening Political Participation
In developing our parliamentary system, we also introduced several measures aimed at widening political participation. Since 1968, the ruling party has been winning almost every seat in the general elections. To ensure that there would at least be some representation by opposition MPs, we introduced the Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP) scheme in 1984 for best losers. Our aim is to enable opposition parties to have at least three seats in Parliament. In the current Parliament of 83 elected MPs, there are two opposition MPs and one NCMP.
In 1990, to encourage even greater airing of alternative views in Parliament, we created seats for Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP). NMPs are appointed by the President, upon their nomination by the public and recommendation by a Special Select Committee of Parliament. These NMPs do not belong to any political party and are in Parliament in their individual capacity.
Another feature unique to Singapore is the Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs). Introduced in 1987, GPCs are limited to MPs from the governing party. They monitor closely the policies of particular ministries. Assisting the GPCs are Resource Panels, comprising mainly experts and interested lay persons. The creation of the GPCs allows for greater participation by the backbenchers. They provide a wider range of views in Parliament and help Cabinet Ministers refine policies. They also serve as sounding boards and provide valuable feedback and suggestions to the relevant ministries on issues of public interest.
Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy and Good Governance
Lord Thomas Macaulay, the well-known British parliamentarian and historian, stated in the House of Commons in the 19th Century:
"We are your leaders. In our hands are the issues of great good and great evil - the issues of the life and death of the State."
Lord Macaulay also said:
"That is the best government which desires to make the people happy, and knows how to make them happy."
As parliamentarians, you have an important role to play in strengthening democratic institutions and values in your respective society. You have a responsibility to ensure that the system that you have not only functions effectively, but also serves the needs of the society you live in.
Parliamentarians have the enormous task of highlighting the issues which affect the life of the people and the well-being of the State while maintaining continued stability and prosperity for their respective nations. Whether in opposition or on the backbench, you also act as a check on the government and its policies, including the integrity and efficacy of the public sector.
A good parliamentary system needs to be supported by an independent, honest and efficient civil service to ensure good governance. Very often, the civil service is overlooked and neglected.
In Singapore, we seek to recruit a fair share of the best and the brightest citizens into the civil service. Recruitment is based on merit, not race, religion or connections. We pay our civil servants competitive salaries pegged to the private sector. We review these salaries every year to keep pace with those in the private sector. In addition, civil servants receive performance-based annual bonuses. Paying a market-linked wage helps to prevent corruption in government.
There are strict rules of behaviour against corruption. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), which reports directly to the Prime Minister, is an impartial and effective instrument in checking and preventing corruption.
The Director of CPIB can go over the head of the Prime Minister to the President if he is investigating a political office-holder and has reasons to believe that the Prime Minister may stop the investigations.
The President of Singapore is elected by the people, once every six years. This is another innovation which we introduced in 1993. Before this, the President acted on the advice of the Cabinet. Now there are two areas where he has discretion: one, the appointment of officers to key positions in the Singapore Civil Service, and two, the use of reserves accumulated by past governments. He possesses veto power in these two areas. This two-key concept is to prevent the civil service from being corrupted by a bad government and the reserves from being raided by a profligate one.
Sharing Experiences and Networks
The CPA is a valuable club for members. Symbiotic relationships exist amongst parliamentarians from different Commonwealth countries. I strongly recommend that all of you make better use of your CPA network. The regular CPA meetings and conferences provide a convenient forum for a fruitful exchange of views. It is through such interaction that we pick up ideas to improve our own systems.
It is in this same spirit of learning from one another that we are happy to share our developmental experience with our Commonwealth friends. The Singapore Co-operation Programme, which we started in 1992, provides technical assistance and training to our friends in the developing countries. The Commonwealth countries are a major beneficiary of this programme. Through the Singapore-Commonwealth Third Country Training Programme, we have to date, provided training to about a thousand Commonwealth trainees in a wide range of activities like airport management, seaport management and public administration. Whilst our experience, which is unique to our own history, culture and geography, may not be relevant to everyone, we are still happy to do what we can, where we are able.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Commonwealth is more than just promoting democracy in our respective countries. In 1995, I pointed out to the other leaders at the Auckland CHOGM that we also need to look at how the Commonwealth can help each other achieve economic development. At the Edinburgh CHOGM in 1997, we started to focus our minds on concrete ways in which we could help to promote trade, investments and sustainable development within the Commonwealth. Meetings such as this one could also offer parliamentarians in the Commonwealth yet another opportunity to broaden their outreach and outlook. Apart from promoting democracy and good governance, good economics is also important. Economic globalisation is here and is the way forward. The sooner we are able to work together to understand the impact of a globalised economy and to derive benefits from it, the better it will be for all our peoples.
I wish you a productive meeting and an enjoyable stay in Singapore.
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