Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Role of Parliament

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Role of Parliament

The role of Parlimanent is to act as a check on the Government. Read this article.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...: The role of Parlimanent is to act as a check on the Government?!!! LOL!!; April 11, 2010 12:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Usually parliament is made up of 2 chambers, the upper and lower house.
The lower is the house of representatives and the upper is the Senate or house of lords as known in UK.Recently UK has given notice that its upper house will be changed to senate style with elected members and not heriditary
noblemen .They are law making bodies and bills are debated twice but the upper house is also a sham and they have no right of rejection but to send the bill back to lower house for further wayang wasting tax payers' money. They do keep check on each other but if both houses are dominated by a single party all debates are shams, or wayang or a charade.Hardly bills presented in parlaiment are changed or amended after a debate.
In parliamentary system , the executive, the judiciary and the law makers are one from the same ruling party or appointed by the executive. You don't appoint an opposition, right?
In parliamentary system Parliament is supreme.It can do anything it likes.
In a presidential system ,like US, there is separation of powers. They provide real check and balances.They can screw each other.
Minsters or secretaries are non elected and they can be chosen from outside the party or among some prominent people. The Executives or the administration is not allowed in the house of reps or senates but only on special occasion.
The constitution is supreme.
The most democratic government in the world today is the US system.
Singapore is a unicameral system, ie. only one chamber..debates are actually discussions and they are like Q&A session. Any bills will be passed without amendments.The President just puts his rubber stamp with 2 eyes blind folded and he has no right of vetoing or even make a comment.He is not a politician.His role is ceremonial, 'pai swee' only.He lost the other key or has he misplaced it?
The ultimate power lies in the people, the electorates ONLY provided it is properly, rationally and fearlessly exercised at the right time.

The Watchman; April 11, 2010 1:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Someone will say it is a highfaluting ideal! LOL; April 11, 2010 4:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Right hand check left hand? When opposition peform their duty to check, they are being critized, laughed at as if every idea from them is ridicules while ideas from PAP are consider good, great and excellent like Change of COE calculation has nothing to do with present price hike, no strong objections from PAP MP on Ministers' pay increase, no probe into GIC and Termasak hugh losses on Sgp reserve, no serious discussion of DBS misselling of High Notes to 1400 people....; April 11, 2010 6:22 PM
Anonymous said...: "Role of Parliament"

What is wrong with me?

I can't seem to get this picture of a rubber stamp out of my head.

Help!!; April 11, 2010 6:54 PM
Anonymous said...: How to self-check yourself? self reflection is an extremely difficult task! In Singapore, the parliament is actually the government, unless more capable opposition members are voted into the parliament by our one and only democratic vote that we can called ours. We need to see more changes to improve Singaporeans life. Dear fellow Singaporeans! let's exercise our right at the next GE.; April 11, 2010 7:26 PM
Anonymous said...: The Singapore Parliament is the world's biggest joke, most MPs just say aye-aye sir in unison, every bill passed just need to be rubber-stamped and pushed through.
When UBS question is tabled for discussion in Parliament, the most important person involved conveniently left for London on "official business", sparing him the embarassment to face the music and the TV audience.
May as well do away with Parliament, it is a non necessity.; April 11, 2010 11:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Singapore is a one party system too.
A one party system means there is no credible alternative. The same party has ruled since independence.
In UK and US 2 parties take turn to rule.It is a 2 party system. There is an alternative.
Voting is along party line and NOT on candidates unlike Singapore people insist on good and educated candidates before they vote.
Eg. If the electorates want the ruling party to be replaced it is replaced by casting on the party symbols and not who the candidate is.Electorates recognise and vote on symbols only.
If they want an opposition even a monkey or a pig can be voted in. It is an opposition and NOT the candidate that they want in. In Singapore people want a good voice in parliament. Just think about it, how many times the voice is heard and heeded. Don't waste time on candidates.
Those who are old enough surely remember the time when PUB man and 'chee cheong fun' seller and their likes were voted into parliament. Why? Were the people looking for 'chee cheong fun' sellers' to champion their cause in parliament? No, they wanted to vote in a party to replace a useless government of the time and that was the objective and that objective was used effectively by the party.
What do you want?; April 11, 2010 11:50 PM
limsweesuay said...: "Role of Parliament" is best demonstrated by PAP MPs i.e.
'pretend to be frogs that r deaf'; April 12, 2010 3:10 AM
Vincent Sear said...: If one takes a closer scrutiny into the Singapore parliamentary system, it's commonsense mathematics that parliament can't check and balance government.

There're 84 seats. Regardless of which party is in power, more than half are holding government appointments (cabinet ministers, ministers-of-state, parliamentary secretaries and even NTUC appointments are counted on government side under so-called tripartite arrangement).

It's unicameral, there's no upper house. I'd support a bicameral parliament with an upper house for seniors like LKY and GCT, or even CST and LTK when they retires from Parliament, with upper house veto powers on constitutional, finance and defence matters.; April 12, 2010 2:47 PM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Several commentators have observed that the Singapore Parliament is not functioning in its role to check the Government.

This is a peculiar feature (and weakness) of the Singapore Parliament. We should not accept that this is the only state of affair, but should realise the importance of having an independent and active Parliament, such as the kind that exists in most other countries.

Let us be ready to change Parliament into the type of body that it should be.; April 12, 2010 3:16 PM
Vincent Sear said...: To: 3:10AM

That Lim Swee Say deaf frog in the well is the worst arrogance and ignorance I've ever heard before in my life. He's not my constituency MP. If he is and it's contested, I'd simply vote for any opposition who contests him.

To be on the rude side, since he's so crude, he can't even comb his hair properly and speak English properly, even with Singapore accent taken into mitigation.

He even declared that he's so happy feel so rich with his CPF statement. Oh my God, who doesn't know he's a multi-millionaire, paid with taxypayers' money.; April 12, 2010 4:14 PM
Anonymous said...: QUOTE:
"Mr van Baalen says that he invited the PAP for a dialogue but was refused. “Never has any government refused us discussion. This proves that the government is very insecure. The governing party has got to change or loose significance”, he adds."

I wonder why PAP turn down this request?They should get some of them to enguage with them and let the citizen see for themself how fortunate that we are represented by this sole party.

Retiree; April 12, 2010 10:54 PM