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.