SINGAPORE - Politics and Governance of Southeast Asia Flashcards
It is an island city-state situated at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia and with a land area of slightly more than 700 km2, and one of the 20 smallest states worldwide
Singapore
In 1819, the British established a trading post on the (?).
Temasek Island
In 1826, these four places became the “Strait Settlements,” which were under direct British control as a Crown colony from 1867 until 1947.
Singapore, Malacca, Penang, and Dinding
During its colonial period, Singapore’s economy was dominated by (?). Already in 1913, Singapore had the highest GDP per capita in all of Southeast Asia
entrepot trade
From 1942 to 1945, (?) occupied the city. Much like in other parts of Southeast Asia, their regime rule and repression kindled nationalist sentiments and political mobilization in the postwar years.
Japanese troops
In 1955, the first elections for a predominantly
elected (?) were held. This triggered the formation of the two political parties known as
elected legislative assembly
- People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Labour
Front
The political party provided Singapore’s first chief minister after the election.
Labour Front
In what year did Singapore adopt a new constitution and attain self-government?
1959
The People’s Action Party AP under its leader (?) decisively won the elections in May of the same year, and the party has remained in power until today.
Lee Kuan Yew
Negotiations between Singapore and the Federation of Malaya led to the union
of (?)—formerly British Northern Borneo—in
September 1963
Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak, and Sabah
TRUE OR FALSE:
Singapore joined the Federation under a set of special conditions, including wide-ranging political autonomy and relatively minor contributions to the federal budget
TRUE THE FIRE
Clashes between Chinese and Malays in the Singapore further strained relations with the federal government in (?).
Kuala Lumpur.
The governments in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur failed to conclude a mutual agreement about the distribution of (?) and for a (?). This resulted in the (?) of Singapore from the Federation on (?)
- distribution of tax revenues and for a common market
- expulsion
- August 9, 1965.
TRUE OR FALSE:
In the following three decades, Singapore became one of the most affluent and developed societies in Asia
FALSE
In the following FIVE decades, Singapore became one of the most affluent and developed societies in Asia
The (?) was created to secure pensions, housing development, and medical services, and is financed through a mandatory contribution paid by all Singaporean employees and self-employed citizens. All contributors can access
their money at (?) years of age, but the government has used the capital stock to finance its economic policies
-Central Provident Fund (CPF)
-55 yrs of age
The city-state appears to contradict the
assumptions of (?) theory, which states a causal link between economic development, social modernization, and democratization
Modernization theory
In fact, Singapore combines institutional trappings of democracy such as (?) with (?) political practices.
multiparty elections with authoritarian
political practices
TRUE OR FALSE:
In contrast to Malaysia, where opposition parties are in a position to challenge the ruling Barisan Nasional government, no opposition force in Singapore is able to threaten the hegemonic position of the People’s Action Party
TRUE THE FIRE
The characterization of Singapore’s political order as (?) emphasizes the fact that repression is of secondary importance for the longevity of PAP rule.
“soft authoritarianism”
Singapore’s constitution came into power in the year (?).It granted Singapore full autonomy in internal affairs as part of the (?)
- 1959
-British Commonwealth of Nations.
Singapore’s first Chief Minister (?) once described the constitutional text as the “untidiest and most confusing constitution
that any country has started life with”
David Marshall
The idea of David Marshall is due to two main factors.
- First, accession to and expulsion from Malaysia required several amendments, which are still part of the constitutional charter.
- Second, since the 1960s, parliament has constantly refined the constitution, amending the text some 38 times between 1965 and 2008
The constitution contains (?) parts and (?) articles as of July 2010.
14 parts and 204 articles
What parts of Singapore’s Constitution include the declaration of national sovereignty, recognition of the constitution as the
Supreme Law of the land (Art. 4), the amendment procedure, and a catalog of basic
rights (Art. 9–16).
Parts I to IV
What parts of Singapore’s Constitution determine the organization and powers of state organs, including the presidency (Art. 17–22o); the Council of Presidential Advisors (CPA, Art. 37a-37m); the Presidential Council for Minority Rights; the government, consisting of cabinet and prime minister (Art. 23–37); the unicameral parliament (Art. 38–67); and the judiciary (Art. 93–101).
Parts V to VIII
What parts of Singapore’s Constitution provide regulations on administration and public service (Art. 102–119);
Part IX
What parts of Singapore’s Constitution contains provisions on citizenship (Art. 128–141);
Part X
What parts of Singapore’s Constitution includes financial provisions.
Part XI (Art. 142–148h)
What parts of Singapore’s Constitution grants
parliament and president special powers against subversion and emergency powers.
Part XII
The final two parts of Singapore’s Constitution include general regulations concerning other things minority rights (Art. 152), the Muslim religion (Art. 153), as well as transitional
and closing regulations
Parts XIII (Art. 152–156) and XIV (Art. 157–163),
What article recognizes the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and the special status of
Malays as an indigenous group, but does not contain justiciable group entitlements.
Art. 152
TRUE OR FALSE:
Singapore’s constitution is inextricably shaped by Malay influences.
FALSE:
Singapore’s constitution is inextricably shaped by
BRITISH influences.
Following the tradition of (?) the executive is part of the legislature (Art. 38); until 1994, this council remained the court of final appeal (?)
-“Queen in Parliament”
-British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Singapore follows the (?) model of parliamentarianism and concentrates political power in the cabinet and the office of the prime minister.
Westminster model of
TRUE OR FALSE:
Singapore has a written constitution that is granted a privileged status as the Supreme Law and is more difficult to change than other legislation.
TRUE THE FIRE
What are the two amendment procedures?
- First, two-thirds of the members of parliament can amend the constitution (Art. 5.2a).
- Second, the president can request a constitutional plebiscite if the amendment would affect fundamental liberties, individual regulations concerning the presidency, national sovereignty, or the process of dissolving parliament (Art. 5.3)
The fundamental liberties in Art. (?) through (?) are granted special protection.
Article 9 through 16
What article and act does the Constitution grant the Supreme Court the right to the judicial review of legislation?
Art. 93 and Supreme Court of Judicature Act
What article and part of the constitution preclude any judicial review of legislation that limits the freedom of expression, association, or assembly, the free exercise of religion, and the freedom of movement?
Art. 149 and Part XII of the constitution
Singapore had a (?) system of government.
parliamentary system of government.
Based on the constitutional position as well as the role and powers of the presidency relative to that of the prime minister and the parliament, it seems appropriate to consider Singapore a
case of (?)
semi-presidentialism
The (?) is head of state and a component of the legislative branch of government, while the (?) is the head of government which determines the general direction of the government.
-president
-prime minister
(?) and (?) are accountable to the president who can dismiss the prime minister by (?) but also collectively accountable to parliament.
-Prime minister and cabinet
- “acting in his discretion”
TRUE OR FALSE:
Singapore contains all the institutional safeguards meant to limit the power of an otherwise omnipotent elected government, including a strong opposition, a nonpartisan bureaucracy, strong judicial review, powerful interest groups, and a pluralist media
FALSE:
Singapore LACKS all the institutional
safeguards meant to limit the power of an otherwise omnipotent elected government, including a strong opposition, a nonpartisan bureaucracy, strong judicial review, powerful interest groups, and a pluralist media
Since 1991, the president is no longer appointed by parliament but is popularly elected for a (?)
-single 6-year term.
The president can be impeached for two reasons such as:
criminal misconduct or violation of his or
her constitutional duties
Who can file a complaint for impeachment against the president? The Supreme Court proceeds with the (?) if a majority of elected MPs supports the resolution
- prime minister or a quarter of the elected
members of parliament (MPs)
-trial
The president of Singapore is assisted by this council (?) whose (?) permanent members are appointed by the president (2) and the prime
minister (2), the chief justice of the Supreme Court (1), and the chair of the Public
Service Commission (1).
- Council of Presidential Advisors (CPA)
- six permanent members
TRUE OR FALSE:
The CPA has substantial authority since the
President must consult the council in the exercise of several of his powers
TRUE THE FIRE
The 1991 amendments to the constitution empowered the president with new (?) and (?) powers over the government and civil service.
oversight and veto powers
The constitutional powers of the presidency fall into three substantive categories:
- First, the president has limited oversight authority over the national budget and fiscal policies (After consulting with the CPA, the president can veto the annual budget and other financial legislation, government loans against the CPF, as well as the budget plans for several Statutory Boards and state-owned
enterprises) - The president has substantial appointment authority. He or she appoints and dismisses the prime minister and, upon proposal, the remaining cabinet. Yet, the president is obliged to respect parliamentary majorities.
- The third category includes the right of pardon and the declaration of a state of emergency; (s)he can request constitutional interpretations by the Supreme Court and call for a constitutional referendum.
The president can (?) the appointment of several senior officials, justices of the Supreme Court, the attorney general, the chief of defense force, and the chief of police, but parliament can overturn the presidential veto by a (?) majority if
the head of state acted against CPA recommendation
-block
-two-thirds
The president has the authority to stop any measures implemented by the government based on the (?)
Internal Security Act (ISA) or the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA).
TRUE OR FALSE:
The president can veto or initiate any parliamentary bills, or can he or she pass executive decrees. While the presidential Council for Minority Rights reviews all legislation and can send it back to president if it violates the principle of equal protection of ethnic or religious groups, this does not include financial or tax legislation as well as laws concerning internal security and public order or legislation prioritized by the prime minister.
FALSE:
The president can NEITHER veto NOR initiate any parliamentary bills, NOR can he or she pass executive decrees. While the presidential Council for Minority Rights reviews all legislation and can send it back to the PARLIAMENT if it violates the principle of equal protection of ethnic or religious groups, this does not include financial or tax legislation as well as laws concerning internal security and public order or legislation prioritized by the prime minister.
The cabinet currently has (?) ministers who are collectively accountable to parliament
18 ministers
Together with the Central Executive Committee of the People’s Action party and the National Armed Forces Council, the (?) is Singapore’s main policy-making body and there is substantial overlap in the membership of the three institutions
cabinet
He decides the portfolio of his or her ministers can issue political directives to individual ministers, and chairs cabinet meetings.
prime minister
The prime minister is also the (?) of the ruling PAP and commands a large staff in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which further strengthens the position.
general secretary
This prime minister preferred a more paternalistic style and directed government policy, his successors (?).
- PM Lee Kuan Yew
-Goh Chok Tong
Who is Lee’s Kuan Yew’s eldest son that prefer a more coordinative style
Lee Hsien Loong
This office coordinates the work of ministries and policy-making within the cabinet. It also
directs the implementation of those programs and policies that fall under the responsibility of government agencies
PMO or Prime Minister’s Office
Singapore has a (?) legislature elected for a (?) year term. The (?) members are elected in a (?) system in (?) constituencies and (?) multi-member districts
-unicameral legislature elected for a 5-year term
- 89 members
- first-past-the-post-system
-13 single-member and 16 multi-member district
The multi-member districts in Singapore is called (?).
Group Representation Constituencies (GRC).
In every GRC, how many seats are reserved for a person of Singapore’s Malay, Indian, or other ethnic minority?
one of the four to six seats
The (?) can nominate up to (?) persons without party affiliation as Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP) by the president.
- selection committee of the parliament
- 9 persons
To guarantee the minimum representation of political parties other than the PAP in parliament, opposition candidates who were defeated in a general or by-election can be appointed as (?)
Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs)
TRUE OR FALSE:
The main functions of the parliament in Singapore are representing and deliberating government-initiated legislation but not overseeing the government,
TRUE THE FIRE
The committee that was charged with reviewing government initiatives in 1987, noncabinet members of parliament have been better involved in the legislative process
Government Parliamentary Committees
TRUE OR FALSE:
The analysis of Singapore’s parliamentary system reveals how its nominally democratic institutions support the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in maintaining control within a resilient electoral authoritarian framework.
TRUE THE FIRE
The elected members of parliament are
empowered to lead the so-called (?) created in 1989. They are considered administrative units rather than representative bodies.
Town Councils
Singapore’s legal system is based on the (?)
British common law
TRUE OR FALSE:
Like Malaysia, Singapore applies Malay adat customary law.
FALSE:
Unlike Malaysia, Singapore DOES NOT apply Malay adat customary law.
These allow for the creation of Islamic courts in Singapore, whose jurisdiction is restricted to family, inheritance, and funeral law
The Constitution and the Administration of Muslim Law Act
In other cases, this legal system applies to all residents irrespective of race, religion, or place of origin.
Anglo-Singaporean legal system
The (?) is the highest court of the land. It is made up of the (?) and (?) hear both civil and criminal matters
- Supreme Court
-Court of Appeals and the High Court
This act regulates the organization and jurisdiction of the State Courts and the selection of judges. Section (?) of the constitution and the (?) together provide the legal basis of the Supreme Court.
- State Courts Act
- Section VIII
-Supreme Court of Judicature Act
There are currently (?) judges, (?) senior judges on the Supreme Court Bench, and (?)judicial commissioners (Supreme Court of Singapore 2017).
-14 judges
- 5 senior judges
- 11 judicial commissioners
The president on recommendation by the prime minister appoints the judges. Their tenure ends once they turn (?), but they can continue on a (?). They can be dismissed from office for misbehavior, inability, and infirmity of body or mind.
-65
- contractual basis
The (?) who serves as the government’s legal advisor, and all judges of the lower courts are administrative officials and thereby part of the executive.
attorney general
One of the exceptional features of Singaporean authoritarianism is that a “regime that has systematically undercut (?) has managed to be acclaimed as ‘rule of law’ state
rule of law freedom
TRUE OR FALSE:
Singapore is the highest in Southeast Asia for the rule of law and control of corruption.
TRUE
Singapore’s (?) gives the country all formal aspects of a rule of law state as all administrative and government action is based on law.
“strategic management of law”
This act allows for the preventive arrest of suspects without a warrant for up to 2 years.
ISA or Internal Security Act
This act empowers authorities to banish individuals or order them to “move on” under suspicion that a location will be used to pursue a political agenda without a permit
Public Order Act
This act grants public officials a privileged status, and opposition figures can easily be sued for (?) upon criticizing members of the government or the parliament, facing draconic
fines.
Defamation Act
What type of elections have been the hallmark of electoral authoritarianism in Singapore since 1959.
Multiparty elections
TRUE OR FALSE:
In contrast to Malaysia’s competitive authoritarianism, where opposition parties are forced to compete with the government on an uneven playing field but still have a chance to challenge the ruling parties in the electoral arena, in Singapore, the opposition is just too weak and ineffective to pose any threat to the regime.
TRUE THE FIRE
The results help the PAP government identify opposition strongholds and reveal information about the popularity of the opposition’s
demands, voter preferences, and the popularity of the PAP’s own party candidates. With this information, the government can target opposition strongholds and by withholding government subsidies, intimidate local constituencies into switching allegiance before the next election.
INTERESTING INFO LANG ><
In 1955, Singapore adopted the British electoral system of (?). The (?) voting was introduced in 1959. Nonvoters have their names deleted from the voter list and have to file an application to be reregistered
- plurality vote in single-member constituencies
- Compulsory voting.
The government is free to schedule new elections during the (?) term, but elections have to be held within (?) days after the dissolution of parliament
- 5 year parliamentary term
-90 days
The (?) under the domain of the Prime Minister’s Office is responsible for organizing national parliamentary elections, which create the only popularly elected institution in the city-state
Election Department
Registered voters with a residency of at least (?) years are eligible for parliamentary office. Any person who has been sentenced to a minimum of (?) year in prison or a fine of at least (?) SGD by a Singaporean or Malaysian court within 5 years of the election is barred from running as a candidate.
-10 years
- 1 year in prison or a fine of at least 2000
All candidates are required to deposit a security of (?) , and only candidates who win at least 12.5% of the vote in their district get reimbursed.
16,000 SGD
Candidates for the presidency must not be a member of a (?) and are required to have served as a (?) or (?) in the government administration
-political party
- cabinet minister or senior official
The (?) was the first election with three candidates, two of which were endorsed by the
PAP
2011 poll
One of the major instruments that the PAP uses to manipulate and control the electoral arena is the (?). The use of the British (?) in SMCs and GRCs ensures a very strong disproportionality of the electoral system, which allows for a wide difference between the (?) and (?) allotted in the resulting legislature for each party
- electoral system
- first-past-the-post system
- percentage of votes received and the percentage of seats
TRUE OR FALSE:
PAP makes extensive use of gerrymandering, such as the redrawing of district boundaries to maximize the political advantage for PAP candidates or groups of candidates.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE:
All political parties are allowed from canvassing
for votes outside the official campaign period that only lasts 9 days, one of which is a “cooling off day” during which all campaign activities are authorized.
FALSE:
All political parties are BARRED from canvassing
for votes outside the official campaign period that only lasts 9 days, one of which is a “cooling off day” during which all campaign activities are FORBIDDEN.
the People’s Action Party traces its origins back to the (?). The party was founded in 1954 as an alliance of left-wing groups and moderate nationalists from the Chinese middle class, led by (?), then a trade union lawyer
- Chinese labor movement
- Lee Kuan Yew
TRUE OF FALSE:
When the government arrested Communist Party members for illegal activities, the moderate wing of the party under Lee Kuan Yew took the opportunity to amend the party statutes in order to limit the influence of the more radical party base, and in the 1959 election, it became the city’s ruling party. T
TRUE THE FIRE
The pro-communist majority wing retaliated by founding the (?) in 1961, taking with it most of the PAP’s membership, party cadres, and local party branches
Socialist Front (Barisan Socialis)
The (?) election completed the transformation of Singapore’s competitive multiparty system into a hegemonic system
198 Election
PAP has co-opted a number of social organizations, most importantly the (?) which serve as transmission belts between the party and society, although they are organizationally
independent from the PAP.
National Trade Union Congress (NTUC),
The PAP organization has different tiers, at the top is the (?)
Central Executive Committee.
The CEC mostly consists of the
(?) and is chaired by the PAP’s general secretary, who also serves as prime minister. The PAP general secretary chairs the (?) which determines PAP’s candidates for parliamentary elections and
serves an important function for the party’s ability to rejuvenate.
- members of the cabinet
- General Election Committee,
The second tier consists of the roughly (?) who are appointed by the CEC. Their main task is the election of the CEC, but (?) of the 18 candidates are nominated by the incumbent CEC itself.
- 1000 party cadres
- eight
The (?), who are not part of the cabinet, form another tier of the party organization, provide a linkage with regular party members, and serve as the public face of the party
party’s MPs
