Debate stirs among Singaporeans over role of the president

The wish for more checks and balances is dramatized in the view offered by several prospective presidential candidates, amplified by a sampling of netizens, that the office of president could or should be more openly interventionist, almost a rival power center to the Government.

The Law Minister has explained that such exercise would be unconstitutional, but this alone is unlikely to quell the debate. There is clearly some misunderstanding of the role of the elected president, but this may not be all of it.

Singapore is maturing. This newspaper suggests that Singaporeans do not confuse the quest for political maturation with an erosion of trust for a government that has done remarkable things for the people and the nation through the past five decades. One is healthy, the other quite unjustified.

As Singapore marked its 46th year of independence on Tuesday, that bond which has brought out the best in the people and their government through trying times should be celebrated anew.

The trust that Singaporeans have placed in the Government has been the source of the country's resilience since the earliest days of independence. Handle it with care — it is precious.

Pride of nationhood was properly reaffirmed, demonstrably so at the National Day Parade and in constituency parties. Many visitors who have witnessed the parade have spoken of the frisson they felt at seeing the spontaneous display of oneness in praise of a small nation's founding ideal — and all this accomplished without a show of missiles and tanks.

But as they take pride in the nation's accomplishments — did they know Singapore is among a handful of countries with a triple-A credit rating? — they should steel themselves against the possibility of harder economic times over the next few years.

The cut by a notch in the United States' triple-A rating by Standard & Poor's will magnify the weaknesses of the eurozone and the Japanese economies.

Singapore's weak second-quarter result was an early indication; it had come as a shock to workers who had not quite gotten over the euphoria of the fantastic rebound in 2010. Trust that whatever sacrifices the government asks of them to overcome lean times will be equitable and fair, is crucial.

The same unity of purpose that saw the government, unions and employers come together to overcome past crises will be necessary to see off a fresh one.

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