A constitutional problem caused by delaying the next election is better than a health crisis, said Progress Singapore Party secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock yesterday, defending his earlier proposal for the president to form a caretaker government if elections cannot be held by the April 2021 deadline.
In a video on the party's Facebook page, the former People's Action Party MP and presidential candidate said the main point of his proposal was that calling an election early will expose more than 2.6 million Singaporeans to the coronavirus, and risks creating a health crisis.
"My message to the Government is very clear: Concentrate on doing your job well for the next 12 months, and let's keep everybody safe."
Last week, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean was asked in Parliament for the Government's view on Dr Tan's call for the president to form a caretaker government if the pandemic does not fade by the election deadline.
Mr Teo said he had consulted the Attorney-General's Chambers and was told delaying the polls in such a manner was unconstitutional.
"To suggest this shows a disregard for or lack of understanding of the Constitution. Putting forward constitutionally unworkable proposals at a time of serious national crisis can only confuse and mislead Singaporeans to the detriment of Singapore and Singaporeans," he said, noting that the only way to delay an election was the unprecedented step of having the president declare a state of emergency.
He added that such a move would weaken the mandate of the Government in a time when a strong one is needed. "When you are sailing into a storm, you want to be certain who your captain is and that he will not be changed halfway. You want to make sure that he's there together with you, working with you, guiding you through the storm."
In his response, Dr Tan said delaying the general election would lead to a constitutional problem but would be better than having an election during the outbreak.
"The risk here is but a legal constitutional problem as to whether a caretaker government can be formed. However, a constitutional problem does not infect people with Covid-19. A constitutional problem will not take away the lives of loved ones. A constitutional problem can be overcome."
He added: "Senior Minister Teo also said in Parliament that an early general election will allow Singapore to decide who they want to captain the ship into the future.
"But can he accept that an early general election means that the ship will potentially carry many more Singaporeans infected with Covid-19, and is this the risk he is prepared to take with our overtaxed health crisis?"
He said ministers and ministries are already hard-pressed, and would have to spread themselves even thinner if an election were to occur, in figuring out how to safely carry out the electoral process.
He said the focus over the next 12 months should be solely on fighting the outbreak, or the $48 billion Resilience Budget package would be a futile exercise.
Dr Tan added that he is not making the suggestion lightly, and also shared a list of countries, including France and Britain, that have postponed their elections in the light of the outbreak.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview that he had not yet made a decision on when to call the elections.
He said it was a very difficult decision because Singapore is going into a very big storm and "you want to have the strongest team and mandate, and the longest runway so that Singapore can have the best leadership to see it through this storm".
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