Role of the Council

The Constitution of Singapore was amended in 1991 to give the Elected President custodial powers to safeguard Singapore’s past reserves and the integrity of the public service. The Constitution provided for the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) to advise the President in the exercise of these custodial powers. It is obligatory for the President to consult the CPA when exercising the discretionary powers related to all fiscal and appointment-related matters.

8 Members	3 appointed at the discretion of the President 3 appointed by the President, upon nomination by the Prime Minister 1 appointed by the President, upon nomination by the Chief Justice 1 appointed by the President, upon nomination by the Chairman, Public Service Commission (PSC)
2 Alternate Members	1 appointed at the discretion of the President 1 appointed by the President on nomination by the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Chief Justice and Chairman, PSC

Front row (from left to right): Mr Bahren Shaari, Mr Eddie Teo, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Mr Lim Chee Onn and Ms Chua Sock Koong.

Second row (from left to right): Mr Tan Chong Meng, Mr Peter Seah Lim Huat, Mr Chao Hick Tin and Mr Gan Seow Kee.

Not in photo: Mrs Mildred Tan-Sim Beng Mei and Dr Sudha Nair.

Appointing a CPA Member

CPA membership is drawn into three divisions. Each member's appointment expires every sixth year.

The three divisions are staggered so that every two years, all seats in a division will expire at the same time. If a seat is prematurely vacated, the term of the replacement member will have the same expiry date as that of the member he replaces, so as to preserve the staggering.

1^stDivision	A member appointed at the discretion of the President A member appointed on the Prime Minister's advice A member appointed on the Chief Justice's advice
2^ndDivision	A member appointed at the discretion of the President A member appointed on the Prime Minister's advice A member appointed on the PSC Chairman's advice
3^rdDivision	A member appointed at the discretion of the President A member appointed on the Prime Minister's advice

Current CPA Members

The Chairman of the CPA is Mr Eddie Teo.

Members: Mr Lim Chee Onn, Mr Bahren Shaari, Ms Chua Sock Koong, Mr Peter Seah Lim Huat, Mrs Mildred Tan-Sim Beng Mei, Mr Chao Hick Tin and Mr Tan Chong Meng.

Alternate members: Mr Gan Seow Kee and Dr Sudha Nair.

The Chairman of the CPA also exercises the functions of the Office of the President in the absence of the President. If he is unavailable, this duty falls on the Speaker of Parliament.

Biographies of CPA Members

		Tenure in CPA	Tenure as Alternate Member*
1.	Mr Eddie Teo (Chairman)	Since Aug 2018	-
2.	Mr Lim Chee Onn	Since Apr 2017	Jan 2008 to Mar 2017
3.	Mr Bahren Shaari	Since Jan 2020	Apr 2017 to Jan 2020
4.	Ms Chua Sock Koong	Since Jun 2020	Jan 2019 to Jun 2020
5.	Mrs Mildred Tan-Sim Beng Mei	Since Jun 2021	Jan 2020 to Jun 2021
6.	Mr Gan Seow Kee	-	Since Jun 2020
7.	Mr Peter Seah Lim Huat	Since Jan 2021
8.	Dr Sudha Nair		Since Jun 2021
9.	Mr Chao Hick Tin	Since Jun 2022	-
10.	Mr Tan Chong Meng	Since Jun 2024	-

*Alternate Members were introduced in 2008.

CPA proceedings are private. The CPA may ask public officers to furnish information. Should any public officer appear before the CPA, the officer is prohibited from disclosing the discussions.

Past CPA Members

	Name / Appointment	Tenure
1	Mr Lim Kim San / Chairman	Jan 1992 to Jan 2004
2	Dr Michael Fam Yue Onn / Member	Jan 1992 to Jan 2004
3	Dr Cheong Siew Keong / Member	Jan 1992 to Jan 2008
4	Mr Ridzwan bin Haji Dzafir / Member	Jan 1992 to Jan 2007
5	Mr Lee Seng Wee / Member	Jan 1992 to Jan 2001
6	Dr Ee Peng Liang / Member	July 1992 to Aug 1994
7	Mr Teo Cheng Guan / Member	Nov 1994 to May 2002
8	Mr Sim Kee Boon	Sep 2005 to Jan 2007 (Member) Jan 2004 to Sep 2005 (Chairman) Jan 1997 to Jan 2004 (Member)
9	Prof Cham Tao Soon / Member	Jan 2004 to Jan 2010
10	Mr Yong Pung How / Member	Jan 2007 to Jan 2013
11	Mr Lee Tzu Yang / Member	Jan 2013 to Aug 2018
12	Mr J Y Pillay	Sep 2005 to Jan 2019 (Chairman) Jan 2001 to Sep 2005 (Member)
13	Mr Bobby Chin Yoke Choong/ Member	Jan 2010 to Jan 2020
14	Mr Stephen Lee Ching Yen/ Member	Jan 2008 to Jun 2020
15	Mr Po'ad Bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar / Member	Jan 2007 to Jan 2021
16	Mr Goh Joon Seng / Member	Jan 2008 to Apr 2021
17	Mr S Dhanabalan / Member	Jan 2004 to Jun 2022
18	Dr Chua Thian Poh / Member	Apr 2017 to Jun 2024

Role of the Council

Appointing a CPA Member

Current CPA Members

Biographies of CPA Members

Past CPA Members

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