Governance in Singapore

Chapter 2

Lesson Objectives

1. What are the functions of a government?

2. What is the system of government in Singapore?

3. What is the role of the people?

Read and analyse the following scenario …

You are the leader of an expedition group and your party is lost in the Himalayas jungle for almost a month now.

Food supplies are running low and some of your members are sick. You need to protect yourselves from the wild animals that are in the jungle. Also, your expedition party has formed different groups and they are quarrelling, blaming one and another for every wrong turn made.

What would you do to ensure that the whole group is able to survive the wilderness and be rescued?

Functions of a Government1. Meeting the needs of the people (taking care of food

supplies and the ill)

2. Maintaining sovereignty (protecting yourselves from predators)

3. Building a nation (uniting the different groups)

4. Maintaining stability in the government (ensuring that all your decisions are accepted by the others)

System of Government in S’pore

Representative democracy• Election held once every 5

years• People vote for the people

whom they want to represent them • Candidates with most no. of votes in each

constituency will serve as MP in the parliament• Leader of a political party with the most MPs in the

Parliament will become the Prime Minister and then form the government.

What is the difference between

representative democracy and

full/direct democracy?

System of Government VS School Councillors

• Leaders in the govt chosenby the people

• Election held once every 5 years

• Candidates with most no. of votes in each constituency will serve as MP

• Leader of a political party with the most MPs in the Parliament will become the Prime Minister and then form the govt

• Councillors in the school chosen by the students

• Election held once every 2 years

• Councillors with most no. of votes in each school will serve as member on the Councillor Board (whole of S’pore)

• President of the councillors of a school with the most councillors on the Board will become the Head President of the Board and they form the committee in charge of the councillors from all schools

Ballot Paper

What is the role of the people?1. Have the power & responsibility to choose

the right leaders for S’pore

2. Voice their opinions to the ministers through communication channels such as- Feedback unit- Forum in Straits Times

- Meet-the-People sessions - Emails - Blogs

Performance-linked pay more harm than good

• I REFER to the recent news about linking teachers' pay package to performance. Though it is good that the Government is trying to attract more teachers by paying them well, I feel that there are better ways to ensure that they stay in teaching…

• The performance-pegged bonuses may create too much tension in the school environment, when teaching should primarily be a job that teachers do out of love. If a teacher carries out his job with the intention to perform well to gain more bonuses, then teaching may not be the right profession for him.

The Government in Spore

Chapter 2

Imagine…It’s the first day of school for a class of Secondary 1 students. After the morning flag raising, all of them head back to class for their first lesson.

• However, 15 minutes after the bell has rung, there is still no sign of the teacher. A student volunteers to look for him, but returns later saying that he is not around.

• After 30 minutes and still no sign of the teacher, the class starts to become disorderly. Some students starts to throw paper planes while others start talking and laughing loudly.

• You are a Social Studies teacher who happened to pass by the class. Seeing the chaos erupting in the classroom, you decide to take action. What do you do?

Moral of the story• There needs to be formulation of laws• There needs to be someone to enforce

these laws• There needs to be someone to ensure

that the laws are justly carried out.

Learning Points

1. What are the 3 branches of the parliamentary system in Singapore?

2. What are their power and responsibilities?

Government of SingaporeLegislature: • Consists of the President & MPs• Makes the laws to keep order in society

Executive:• Consists of the President & the Cabinet (different

Ministers of different ministries)• Makes and carries out government policies • Considers feedback of the public

Judiciary:• Consists of Chief of Justice and judges in law courts• Ensures laws are carried out• Decisions made are not influenced by the views of

political leaders or other influential people

The LegislatureHow are laws made?

Minister puts forth a bill (proposal)

A committee in the Parliament will debate and study the bill and approve or disapprove it

The bill is submitted to the Presidential Council for Minority Rights

President approves the Bill and it becomes law.

Minister announces that the bill is passed by Parliament

The ExecutiveExamples of Ministries:

Ministry of EducationMinistry of FinanceMinistry of Defence

Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Health

Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports

The Executive- Makes and carries out government policies

Government Policy:People should have more babies

Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS)- Carried out “The Baby Bonus Scheme” which supports

parents’ decision to have more children by helping to lighten the financial costs of raising children.

- Introduced on 1 April 2001 - Benefits = Cash gift of up to $4,000 each for 1st and 2nd

child and $6,000 each for your 3rd and 4th child.

The ExecutiveWhen policies are executed, feedback

from the public are considered

Community gives feedback

The MP raises the issue to the respective Ministry

The Ministry justifies actions or proposes alternative solution

The Judiciary

• Consist of the Chief of Justice and judges in the law courts

• Independent from the government / not influenced by the views of the political leaders or other influential people

Recap

What are the functions of the 3 branches of the parliamentary system in Singapore?