President Tony Tan has officially approved the budget for 2014 and he posted a status to facebook to explain this.
The president is required to safeguard the national reserves and as such, he must judge whether a budget is likely to draw on past reserves and is able to reject a budget if it is deemed to be likely to draw too much from the national reserves.
Tony Tan explained that the budget has already been debated in Parliament and been passed and he felt that it was a "prudent and responsible" Budget.
He had been advised by the council of Presidential advisors that the budget is suitable for assent and he has approved of it accordingly.
He said that he has exercised his constitutionally given discretionary power to assent to the budget.
Here is his facebook status in full:
The Singapore Budget 2014 was debated over a two-week period in Parliament which concluded on 13 March 2014. At the end of the debate, Parliament passed the Supply Bill to authorize the Government expenditures proposed in the Budget. The Bill has been submitted to me for assent as required under the Constitution.
This is a prudent and responsible Budget. The Government will be setting aside $8 billion from its Current Reserves to fund the special measures proposed for members of our pioneer generation beyond the next few years. The pioneer generation has stood by Singapore through the difficult early years of our independence, and it is only right that we take care of their healthcare needs in their old age.
In accordance with the Constitution, the Council of Presidential Advisers has considered the proposed Budget and recommended that I assent to the Supply Bill on the basis that the Budget is unlikely to draw on the Government’s Past Reserves. The Ministry of Finance had also given me a detailed briefing on Budget 2014. I have therefore exercised the President's discretionary power provided for under the Constitution to give my assent to the Supply Bill.
TT