SINGAPORE- President Tony Tan Keng Yam has appointed Venerable Sik Kwang Sheng to the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.
Venerable Sik's appointment, effective from from Wednesday, is for a three-year term. He was presented with his Letter of Appointment and sworn in at the Istana on Wednesday at a ceremony officiated by the President, the Council said in a statement.
His oath was taken before Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who is also chairman of the Council. Five other members of the Council were also re-appointed for another three-year term. They are Mr JY Pillay, Mr Othman Haron Eusofe, Professor Chan Heng Chee, Mr Barry Desker and Mr Philip Jeyaretnam.
The Presidential Council for Minority Rights draws attention to any Bill or subsidiary legislation that is disadvantageous to a racial or religious community and not equally disadvantageous to other such communities.
The Council also considers and reports on matters affecting any racial or religious community that are referred to it by Parliament or the Government, and makes a report on the Bills and matters considered to the Speaker of Parliament, among its functions.
