Constitution (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 17/1968

Read the first time on 9th May 1968.

An Act to amend the Constitution of Singapore.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title and commencement

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Constitution (Amendment) Act, 1968.

(2) Sections 2 and 4 of this Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 17th day of February 1968.

New Article 1A

2. The Constitution of Singapore is hereby amended by inserting immediately after Article 1 thereof the following new Article: —

“The Vice-President

1A.—(1) Parliament may elect a Vice-President of Singapore.

(2) No person shall be so elected unless he would be qualified to be elected President.

(3) The Vice-President shall hold office for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office but may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, and may be removed from office in pursuance of a resolution of Parliament supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total number of the Members thereof.

(4) The Vice-President shall assist the President in the exercise of such of his functions as the President may from time to time delegate to him, but in making such delegation the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet.

(5) Nothing in clause (4) of this Article shall be construed as prohibiting the President from exercising at any time any function delegated to the Vice-President under the said clause.

(6) The Cabinet may, instead of appointing a person to exercise the functions of the President for any period during which the President is unable to do so himself as provided in clause (4) of Article 1 of this Constitution, appoint the Vice-President to exercise all the functions of the President during any such period, notwithstanding any delegation that may already have been made under the provisions of clause (4) of this Article.

(7) The Vice-President shall before exercising any functions under this Article take and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice or of another Judge of the High Court an oath, mutatis mutandis, in the form set out in the First Schedule to this Constitution.

(8) The Legislature may by law make provision for the remuneration of the Vice-President, and any such remuneration shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund.”.

Amendment of Article 86

3. Article 86 of the Constitution of Singapore is hereby amended by inserting immediately after clause (5) thereof the following new clause: —

“(6) Parliament may, by resolution approving a vote of credit, authorise expenditure for the whole or part of the year, otherwise than in accordance with Articles 84 and 85 of this Constitution, if owing to the magnitude or indefinite character of any service or to circumstances of unusual urgency, it appears to Parliament desirable to do so.”.

Amendment of Article 91

4. Article 91 of the Constitution of Singapore is hereby amended —

(a)

by inserting immediately after the word “means” appearing in the definition of “office of profit” in clause (1) thereof the expression “, subject to the provisions of clause (5) of this Article,”; and

(b)

by deleting clause (5) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(5) For the purposes of this Constitution, a person shall not be considered as holding a public office or an office of profit by reason of the fact that he is in receipt of any remuneration or allowances (including a pension or other like allowance) in respect of his tenure of the office of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, Political Secretary, Member of Parliament, Ambassador, High Commissioner or such other office as the President may from time to time by order prescribe.”.

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