Experts Suggest Changes to Singapore Law

Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2009 Posted: 12:19:20AM HKT

Theological and legal experts have lately suggested changes to the Singapore legal system.

In a book compiling Christian perspectives on law and justice, a theologian has commented on the legal provision for the welfare of foreign workers, the Group Representative Constituencies system, and the consideration of the views of faith communities in the implementation of controversial policies.

“[T]he welfare of foreign workers should be and could be better protected than what we have provided for thus far,” wrote The Rev Dr Daniel Koh, a lecturer in church and society, ethics and pastoral theology at Trinity Theological College, in Issues of Law and Justice: Some Christian Reflections (TTC and Armour Publishing, 2009), which he co-edited.

Addressing the subject of the GRCs, he said they should represent no more than 20 percent of the total number of seats and that each GRC should not have more than three members.

This is “so that what was a good innovation to protect the interest of the minority groups will not be exploited beyond the number required to safeguard their interest,” he said, having noted earlier that the GRC system was introduced to “guarantee the presence of minority ethnic groups in parliament”.

Currently, nine five-member and five six-member GRCs account for nearly 90 percent of elected seats, according to a 2008 Insight report.

Thirdly, he called on the government to take ‘reasonable’ voices of the various faith communities into ‘serious’ consideration before implementing controversial policies. And he cited the examples of the building of casinos and the widespread presence of lottery outlets.

“Such policies and enterprises usually depend on virtues like hard work, goodwill, trustworthiness and justice to take off, and yet they have a parasitical way of undermining if not destroying the very virtues they depend on to survive,” he added, in his chapter on Justice: A Christian Social Ethical Perspective where he argues that the effort to promote justice must be informed by an understanding of Christian love or agape.

The book where Dr Koh’s comments appeared comprises the academic essays by six other theological and legal experts. It was launched Thursday as the first volume in the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia’s Christianity in Southeast Asia series, which seeks to encourage pastors, theologians and sincere Christians in Singapore to explain the Christian faith to their generation. The CSCA is the research arm of TTC.

In his offering on criminal law and punishment, lawyer and pastor William Wan commented on the extraordinary powers of the government minister and noted the potential for abuse.

“There is no reason at all to suggest that the extraordinary powers accorded to the minister had been abused, or is likely to be abused under the present regime,” he wrote. “But clearly, the powers are such that it can be abused for reasons of politics and expediency since there is no need for an open trial of the person so accused.”

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Edmond Chua
edmond@christianpost.com