MHA proposes law changes that ‘strengthen safeguards’ against undesirable societies

SINGAPORE - Rules governing the registration of societies will be made clearer under proposed legislation put forth for public consultation by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), including listing the grounds on which the Registrar of Societies can reject a society’s application to change its rules, name and place of business.

The proposed changes also seek to expand and codify powers that the registrar has already been exercising in assessing new societies’ applications. These include allowing the registrar to make “further inquiry” or requiring new societies to include specific rules in their Constitutions – for instance, that race-based and faith-based groups should not conduct activities that could undermine racial or religious harmony in Singapore.

The MHA said on Friday that these changes will strengthen safeguards against unlawful and undesirable groups in the Societies Act 1966, which governs the registration of societies here. It is now seeking public feedback on the proposed changes until Dec 9.

In the proposed amendments, the MHA specified some reasons for which the registrar can reject an existing society’s application to change its rules, name or place of business. Currently, such reasons are not set out in the Act.

The amendments state that rule changes can be rejected if they allow the society to be used for unlawful purposes or if they are prejudicial to public peace, or if the changed name would be identical to that of an existing society or if it is undesirable or offensive.

The ministry said a change can also be rejected if the new name gives the impression that the society is in some way connected with the Government or any public authority when it is not. Another reason is if the changes “would be contrary to Singapore’s national security or interest”.

It added that the cited reasons are not exhaustive. The registrar can still consider other grounds when assessing applications.

As for the powers of the registrar when approving new societies, the ministry wants to make three changes.

Since 2004, many new groups have been able to register their societies via a more streamlined automatic registration route, as long as they do not fall under special categories such as political and religious associations or be affiliated with foreign parties, in which case they must undergo the more stringent normal registration route.

In the part of the Societies Act on automatic registration, there is a reference to “without making any further inquiry”, which may constrain the registrar’s ability to find out more about the nature of the new society. The ministry wants to remove this reference.

Second, it also wants to amend the Act to make clear that the registrar has the power to move societies that applied through the automatic route but require further assessment to the normal registration stream. It wants to amend the Act so that this is allowed even if the new societies do not fall within the special political, religious and other categories specified in the normal registration stream list.

Current rules state that the registrar can move societies from automatic to normal if they fall within the special categories.

The MHA said that over the last three years, about half of the societies were registered via the automatic route each year. 

Third, the ministry also wants to amend the Act to clarify that the registrar can ask for the inclusion of specific clauses into a new society’s Constitution before it is registered.

Current rules state only that the registrar can order a society’s rules to be changed. The amendment would bring the automatic stream on a par with the normal stream, where the MHA already requests applicants to insert clauses into their applications, such as those that prohibit them from political activities or funds or those that require the majority of committee members to be Singapore citizens.

The MHA has also proposed other administrative changes, including allowing the registrar to charge fees when an application is submitted, instead of the current arrangement where fees are charged only after the application is approved. It said this is as costs are incurred in processing the application, regardless of the outcome.

Other changes suggested would allow the registrar to compound fines for regulatory offences and do away with the need for physical documents in some instances.

Those who want to give feedback can do so via e-mail at

MHA_ROS_Feedback@mha.gov.sg

or by mail to the Registry of Societies at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority Building in Kallang Road.