- (2) The Deputy Speaker may at any time resign his office, by writing under his hand addressed to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and shall vacate his office—
- (a) if he ceases to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly; or
- (b) if he is appointed to be a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary; or
- (c) if he is elected as Speaker.
- (3) The Deputy Speaker shall be paid such salary or allowance as the Legislative Assembly may from time to time determine, and that salary or allowance, which is hereby charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall not be diminished during his ontinuance in office.
Performance of functions of Speaker. 27. The functions conferred by this Constitution upon the Speaker shall, if there is no person holding the office of Speaker or if the Speaker is absent from a sitting of the Legislative Assembly or is otherwise unable to perform those functions, be performed by the Deputy Speaker, or if there be no Deputy Speaker or if he is likewise absent or unable to perform those functions, by some other person to be elected by the Legislative Assembly for the purpose.
Qualifications for membership of Legislative Assembly. 28. (1) Members of the Legislative Assembly shall be persons qualified for election in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and elected in the manner provided by or under any law for the time being in force in the State.
- (2) A person shall be qualified to be elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly if—
- (a) he is a citizen of Singapore;
- (b) he is of the age of twenty-one years or upwards on the day of nomination;
- (c) his name appears in a current register of electors;
- (d) he is resident in the State at the date of his nomination for election;
- (e) he is able, with a degree of proficiency sufficient to enable him to take an active part in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, to speak and, unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, to read and write at least one of the following languages, that is to say, English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil; and
- (f) he is not disqualified from being a Member of the Legislative Assembly under the provisions of Article 29 of this Constitution.
- (3) Any question whether any person possesses the qualifications mentioned in paragraph (e) of the preceding clause shall be determined in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law for the time being in force in the State or, in so far as not so prescribed, as may be provided by Order made by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara and published in the Gazette.
