<P> As a legislative review mechanism, it plays a "limited quasi Second Chamber" role . It has also been called "the closest body (Singapore has) to a Second Chamber for many years". However, the Council has been criticized for lacking teeth to act as a real check on potential legislative abuses . As of 2009, the PCMR had not issued an adverse report regarding any piece of legislation referred to it . Nevertheless, it forms part of the statutory framework for the People's Action Party government's internationally lauded efforts in managing minority issues in multiethnic Singapore . Former Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar, formerly a member of the Council, has noted that the PCMR is also a symbol of the paramount importance placed on racial harmony in a world still rife with racial and communal conflict . </P> <P> On 18 January 1966, shortly after Singapore's independence, the President of Singapore appointed a Constitutional Commission helmed by Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin to consider how the rights of racial, linguistic, and religious minorities in the nascent nation should be protected . Singapore had just been ejected from Malaysia, and had experienced an extended period of racial and religious tension resulting from the Maria Hertogh riots . This experience reinforced the need for a multiracial society based on equality among races . </P> <P> The Commission, in its report on 27 August 1966, found that such equality was best protected by giving minority rights equal footing with the fundamental liberties in the Constitution . In addition, it recommended a "Council of State", an advisory body that would inform the Government of the effects its laws would have on minorities . This concept was based on the Kenyan Council of State which was established in 1958 during its phase of transition to African majority rule . The idea of an advisory body which could not significantly impede the legislative agenda was viewed by lawmakers as a promising innovation . In addition, the creation of an advisory council ensuring equal treatment in legislation was very much in line with the idea that, as citizens become increasingly aware of racial and religious issues, national growth will very much depend on an approach to such problems that is not fraught with religious and racial tensions . </P> <P> Some of the recommendations for the new Council of State included the following: </P>

Who decide on the issue whether a bill is a money bill or not