Government of Singapore
Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the President but exercised on the advice of the Cabinet led by the Prime Minister.
There are five Community Development Councils (CDCs) appointed by the board of management of the People's Association (PA) for districts in Singapore.
Constitutional talks between Legislative Assembly representatives and the Colonial Office were held from 1956 to 1958, and Singapore achieved full internal self-government in 1959.
In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore.
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore uses the word Government to mean the Executive branch, made up of the President and the Cabinet.
On 30 January 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles, an Englishman who was the Governor of Bencoolen (now Bengkulu, Indonesia), entered into a preliminary agreement with the Temenggung of Johor, Abdul Rahman Sri Maharajah, for the British East India Company to establish a "factory" or trading post on the island of Singapore.
On 24 June 1824, Singapore and Malacca were formally transferred to the East India Company,[2] with the result that they came under the control of Fort William.
[3] Full cession of Singapore to the company by the Sultan and Temenggung was effected by a treaty of 19 November 1824, which was ratified by Calcutta on 4 March 1825.
[4] In 1826, Malacca, Penang and Singapore were amalgamated into the Straits Settlements, which were made a Crown colony with effect from 1 April 1867.
The governor was required to consult the executive council on all affairs of importance unless they were too urgent to be laid before it, or if reference to it would prejudice the public service.
[10] Following the Second World War, the Straits Settlements were disbanded and Singapore became a Crown colony in its own right.
Among other things, it recommended that a Council of Ministers be created, composed of three ex officio Official Members and six Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Leader of the House, who would be the leader of the largest political party or coalition of parties having majority support in the legislature.
[13] In the general election held that year, the Labour Front took a majority of the seats in the Assembly, and David Saul Marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore.
This led to confrontation between Marshall, who saw himself as a Prime Minister governing the country, and the Governor, Sir John Fearns Nicoll, who felt that important decisions and policies should remain with himself and the Official Members.
[17] Other constitutional arrangements were swiftly settled in 1958, and on 1 August the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the State of Singapore Act 1958,[18] granting the colony full internal self-government.
In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.
The PAP has been repeatedly returned to power by voters and has thus formed the Cabinet since Singapore's 1959 general election.
[27] The Government is generally perceived to be competent in managing the country's economy,[28] and largely free from political corruption.
[30] It has also been accused of violating freedom of speech[31] through Ministers bringing defamation suits against opposition politicians,[32] and by restricting the circulation of foreign newspapers deemed to have engaged in domestic politics.
[40] Following a general election, the President appoints as Prime Minister an MP who, in their judgment, is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the MPs.
They are managed by boards of directors whose members usually include businessmen, professionals, senior civil servants and officials of trade unions.
[65] Without prejudice to the generality of that provision, the Board also has power to, for example, develop and manage museums, archives, oral history centres and other facilities related to its functions;[66] to advise and facilitate the preservation of historic sites;[67] and to establish liaison with other museums, archives, oral history centres, universities and other institutions to secure maximum collaboration of all activities relevant to its functions.
[74] The board is entitled to appoint employees and officers on such terms as to remuneration or otherwise as it may determine, and to engage other persons and pay for their services as it considers necessary for carrying out its functions and duties.
[75] The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board, the objects of which include the organisation and the promotion of group participation in social, cultural, educational and athletic activities for the people of Singapore in order that they may realise that they belong to a multiracial community, the interests of which transcend sectional loyalties;[76] and the establishment of institutions for the purpose of leadership training in order to instill in leaders a sense of national identity and a spirit of dedicated service to a multiracial community.
