The people are supreme: Ong

The people are supreme: Ong

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's President Ong Teng Cheong said
publicly for the first time in an interview published here
yesterday that he and the government had disagreed over the
interpretation of his powers.

The city-state's first directly elected president told The
Straits Times that he felt that his wide executive powers, which
the judiciary ruled could be trimmed, could only be taken away by
the people who elected him in 1993.

"The people of Singapore have given me the power from the
elections I went through ...My view is that only the people can
take away this power. In other words the people are supreme," Ong
said.

He added: "But clearly, there is a difference of
interpretation between the government and me."

The presidency was revamped by parliament in 1991 to provide
for the first direct elections to the post and to give its holder
wide powers, including the right to block government spending of
the republic's huge reserves.

A supreme court tribunal ruled in April that the Singapore
government could amend Ong's powers without his permission.

The tribunal made the ruling after the government proposed
amending the constitution to give it the right to call a
referendum if Ong blocks changes to certain laws.

The government had said that the amendment was needed because
the legislation was drafted incorrectly.

The proposed amendment went before parliament in August last
year. But a question was raised over whether Ong had the power to
veto a constitutional amendment passed by the House.

Ong then chose to have the issue referred to the judiciary and
parliament agreed. He said he did this because he had an
obligation to voters.

"I am not a legal man. My interpretation is based on common
sense," said the 58-year-old Ong who won a six-year term as
president after quitting as deputy prime minister and chairman of
the ruling People's Action Party.

He replaced President Wee Kim Wee, who performed a largely
ceremonial role.

Asked whether he was disappointed by the outcome of the case,
Ong said: "Maybe the arguments were too legalistic for me. Mine
was based on a common-sense interpretation."

To another question, Ong described his ties with the
government as "good, stable and evolving" but added that some
Singaporeans still had misconceptions about his powers.