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The powers of the President of Singapore are divided into those which the largely ceremonial President may exercise at his own discretion, and those he must exercise in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet of Singapore or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet. In addition, the President is required to consult the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) when performing some of his functions. In other cases, he may consult the CPA if he wishes to but is not bound to do so. In 1991 the Constitution of Singapore was amended to transform the office of President, which was previously indirectly elected by Parliament, into an office directly elected by the people. The amendment conferred on the President certain executive functions to block attempts by the government of the day to draw down past reserves that it did not accumulate. Thus, a guarantee may only be given or a loan raised by the Government if the President concurs, and his approval is also needed for budgets of specified statutory boards and Government companies that draw on their past reserves. The President also possesses personal discretion to withhold assent to any bill in Parliament providing directly or indirectly for the direct or indirect variation, changing or increase in powers of the Central Provident Fund Board to invest moneys belonging to it; and the borrowing of money, the giving of any guarantee or the raising of any loan by the Government if in the President's opinion the bill is likely to draw on reserves not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office. In addition, the President may withhold assent to any Supply Bill, Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill for any financial year if in his opinion the estimates of revenue and expenditure, supplementary estimates or statement of excess are likely to lead to a drawing on past reserves. The President is also empowered to approve changes to key civil service positions, such as the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the chairman and members of the Public Service Commission, the Chief of Defence Force and the Commissioner of Police. He also appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament (MP) who, in his personal judgment, is likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs. The President has certain powers of oversight over the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and decisions of the Executive under the Internal Security Act and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. The term of office of the first popularly elected President, Ong Teng Cheong (1993–1999), was marked by differences between him and the Government concerning the extent of his discretionary fiscal powers. Discussions culminated in the Government issuing a non-binding white paper entitled ''The Principles for Determining and Safeguarding the Accumulated Reserves of the Government and the Fifth Schedule Statutory Boards and Government Companies'' (1999). In 2009, the Government requested approval from President S. R. Nathan to draw S$4.9 billion from past financial reserves to meet current budget expenditure, the first time it had done so. The sum was used to fund the Government's Resilience Package consisting of two schemes aimed at preserving jobs and businesses during the financial downturn. Whether the President may speak publicly on issues without the Government's approval was discussed heavily during the 2011 presidential election. While some candidates and members of the public suggested that the President has power to do so, the Law Minister, K. Shanmugam, stated that the President's ability to speak freely is limited to those matters that, according to the Constitution, he exercises discretionary powers over. He should not act as a political centre distinct from the Government. A difference of opinion also exists over whether the President exercises soft power. ==Grant of powers to the President== Before 1991, the Constitution of Singapore〔Now the .〕 contained no provisions preventing the Government from squandering the nation's financial reserves and leaving it economically ruined. There were also no safeguards against the Government appointing unsuitable persons to important civil service positions. The Government concluded that a constitutional safeguard was necessary to preserve both the integrity of the public service, as well as Singapore's reserves which should be prevented from falling into the hands of a future irresponsible government.〔 ("1988 White Paper"); .〕 The Government took the view that the safeguards could be achieved by providing the direct election of the President,〔Prior to 1991, the President was indirectly elected by Parliament: , Art. 17(1).〕 thus making the President directly accountable to the people, and enabling him to serve as a check against the Government by increasing his discretionary powers. The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1991〔, in force on 30 November 1991 except for ss. 7 and 16 which came into force on 1 February 1991 and s. 3 which was not brought into force and was subsequently repealed by the .〕 granted the President certain executive functions to block attempts by the government of the day to draw down past reserves that it had not accumulated, and to approve changes to key civil service positions. He also had certain powers of oversight over the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and decisions of the Executive under the Internal Security Act〔 ("ISA").〕 and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.〔 ("MRHA").〕 The office of the President is one of Singapore's most heavily altered institutions, and it is still being re-made today. As of 2007, almost one-third of all the constitutional amendments since Singapore became independent in 1965 consisted of changes to the President's office. Approximately half of the amendments implemented were to alter the President's fiscal powers.〔.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Powers of the President of Singapore」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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