National Heritage Board Act 1993

“Board” means the National Heritage Board established under section 3;

“Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board and includes any temporary Chairperson of the Board;

“chief executive officer” means the chief executive officer of the Board and includes any person acting in that capacity;

“Deputy Chairperson” means the Deputy Chairperson of the Board and includes any temporary Deputy Chairperson of the Board;

“Fund” means the National Heritage Endowment Fund established under section 35;

“member” means a member of the Board;

“object” includes any work of art and any artefact.

The Board must have a common seal which must be kept in such custody as the Board thinks fit.

All deeds and other documents requiring the seal of the Board must be sealed with the common seal of the Board, and every document to which the common seal is affixed must be signed by

All courts, judges and persons acting judicially are to take judicial notice of the common seal of the Board affixed to any document and presume that it was duly affixed.

The Board consists of

The Schedule applies with respect to the Board, its members and proceedings.

The Board has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with the performance of its functions.

Without limiting subsection (1), the powers of the Board include the following:

The Board may appoint any number of committees that it thinks fit consisting of its members or other persons or its members and other persons for purposes which, in the opinion of the Board, would be better regulated and managed by means of those committees.

The Board may, subject to any conditions or restrictions that it thinks fit, delegate to any such committee or to the Chairperson, all or any of the powers and functions vested in the Board by this Act; and any power or function so delegated may be exercised or performed by the committee or Chairperson in the name and on behalf of the Board.

The Board may, subject to any conditions or restrictions that it thinks fit, delegate to any employee of the Board or to any other person all or any of the powers and functions vested in the Board by this Act; and any power or function so delegated may be exercised or performed by the employee or person in the name and on behalf of the Board.

The Minister may give to the Board any direction under section 5 of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018.

The Board must give the Minister any information with regard to its property and activities that the Minister may require.

The Board may establish any museums that it thinks fit.

Every museum established by the Board under subsection (1) is to be known by any name that the Board thinks fit.

All museums established by the Board under subsection (1) and the museum transferred to the Board under section 37 are collectively known as the National Museum of Singapore.

Where the property in an object was vested in the Government immediately before 1 August 1993, and the object

In the case of an object mentioned in subsection (1)(a), it is immaterial that, immediately before 1 August 1993, it was situated elsewhere than at premises managed for the purposes of the National Museum.

On 1 August 1993, any right, power, duty or liability which was immediately before that date exercisable by or incumbent on the Government in relation to any object mentioned in subsection (1) is instead to be exercisable by or incumbent on the Board.

Subsections (1) and (3) do not apply as regards such object excepted from those provisions as the Minister may specify.

Subsection (2) applies to a gift (by will or otherwise)

The gift is to, in the absence of any contrary intention expressed in that or another instrument made by the testator or donor, have effect so as to vest the interest in the Board in place of the Government.

The Board may acquire (whether by purchase, exchange or gift) any object which in its opinion is desirable to add to its collections.

Without affecting any power apart from this subsection, the Minister may transfer to the Board any object (whether or not the Minister acquired it before the Board’s establishment) if in the Minister’s opinion it would appropriately form part of its collections.

The Board may not dispose of an object of significant national or historical value, the property in which is vested in the Board and which is comprised in its collections, unless the object is

The Board may dispose of (by whatever means, including destruction) any object which the Board is satisfied has become useless for the purposes of its collections by reason of damage, physical deterioration or infestation by destructive organisms.

An object may be disposed of as mentioned in subsection (4) despite a trust or condition (express or implied) prohibiting or restricting the disposal of the object.

Money accruing to the Board by virtue of a disposal mentioned in this section must be applied by the Board in the acquisition of objects to be added to its collections.

Subject to subsection (2), the Board may lend any object the property in which is vested in the Board and which is comprised in its collections (whether or not the loan is for the purposes of public exhibition, and whether or not under the terms of the loan the object is to remain in Singapore).

In deciding whether or not to lend an object, and in determining the time for which and the conditions subject to which an object is to be lent, the Board

Where the property in an object has become vested in the Board subject to a condition, the power conferred by subsection (1) is exercisable in a manner inconsistent with the condition if either

The Board may accept loans of objects for the purpose, subject to the terms of the loan, of exhibiting them, or of study or research by the Board or by persons seeking to inspect them.

There must be a chief executive officer of the Board, whose appointment, removal, discipline and promotion must be in accordance with the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018.

The Board may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint an individual to act temporarily as the chief executive officer during any period, or during all periods, when the chief executive officer

The funds and property of the Board include

The Board may open and maintain an account or accounts with any bank or banks as the Board thinks fit.

The Board may invest its funds in accordance with the standard investment power of statutory bodies as defined in section 33A of the Interpretation Act 1965.

Subject to the terms of any trust or endowment, the funds and property of the Board must be applied solely for the purposes of or in connection with the performance of the functions, powers and duties of the Board under this Act.

For the performance of its functions or discharge of its duties under this Act or any other written law, the Board may raise loans from the Government or, with the approval of the Minister, raise loans within or outside Singapore from any source that the Minister may direct by

For the purposes of this section, the power to raise loans includes the power to make any financial agreement whereby credit facilities are granted to the Board for the purchase of goods, materials or things.

A fund called the National Heritage Endowment Fund is established, which vests in the Board and consists of

Any interest, dividends and other income derived from the Fund must be credited to the general funds of the Board.

For the purposes of this section, “general funds of the Board” means the funds of the Board other than the Fund.

The Fund must not, except with the prior written approval of the Minister, be applied, disposed of or alienated otherwise than as specified in section 31(3) and (4).

As from 1 August 1993, all movable property vested in the Government immediately before that date and used or managed by the National Museum, the National Archives and Records Centre or the Oral History Department, and all assets, rights, interests, liabilities and obligations of the Government relating to the National Museum, the National Archives and Records Centre or the Oral History Department are to be transferred to and vested in the Board without further assurance.

As from 1 August 1993, the Board controls and manages the National Museum which is to be known by such name as the Board thinks fit.

If any question arises as to whether any particular property, or whether any particular asset, interest, right, liability or obligation has been transferred to or vested in the Board under subsection (1), a certificate under the hand of the Minister for Finance is conclusive evidence that the property, asset, interest, right, liability or obligation was or was not so transferred or vested.

As from 1 August 1993, such categories of persons employed immediately before that date in the National Museum, the National Archives and Records Centre and the Oral History Department as the Minister may determine must be transferred to the service of the Board on terms no less favourable than those enjoyed by them immediately prior to their transfer.

Until such time as terms and conditions of service are drawn up by the Board, the scheme and terms and conditions of service in the Government continue to apply to every person transferred to the service of the Board under subsection (1) as if the person were still in the service of the Government.

The terms and conditions of service of persons transferred to the service of the Board under section 40 must take into account the salaries and terms and conditions of service, including any accrued rights to leave, enjoyed by such persons while in the employment of the Government and any such term or condition relating to the length of service with the Board must provide for the recognition of service under the Government by persons so transferred to be service by them under the Board.

Nothing in the terms and conditions of service to be drawn up by the Board is to adversely affect the conditions that would have been applicable to persons transferred to the service of the Board as regards any pension, gratuity or allowance payable under the Pensions Act 1956.

In every case where a person has been transferred to the service of the Board under section 40, the Government is liable to pay the Board such portion of any gratuity, pension or allowance payable to such person on his or her retirement or otherwise leaving the service of the Board as the same shall bear to the proportion which the aggregate amount of his or her pensionable emoluments during his or her service with the Government bears to the aggregate amount of his or her pensionable emoluments during his or her service under both the Government and the Board.

Where any person who is transferred to the service of the Board under section 40 is a contributor under the Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension Act 1904, he or she must, for the purposes of that Act, continue to make contributions under that Act as if he or she had not been transferred to the service of the Board and, for the purposes of that Act, his or her service with the Board is deemed to be service with the Government.

Where on 1 August 1993, any disciplinary proceedings are pending against any person transferred to the service of the Board under section 40, any committee acting under due authority to hear or investigate the matter continues to exist, despite this Act, for the purpose of completing the hearing or investigation and the making of an order or rendering a decision (as the case may be) and the Government or committee must complete the hearing or investigation in accordance with the authority vested in the Government or committee immediately before that date and make such order, ruling or direction as the Government or committee could have made under the authority vested in it immediately before that date.

Any order, ruling or direction made or given by the Government or committee pursuant to this section is to be treated as an order, ruling or direction of the Board and have the same force or effect as if it had been made or given by the Board pursuant to the authority vested in the Board under this Act.

Subject to this section, any person specifically authorised in writing by the Board, after giving not less than 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier of the land of his or her intention to enter the land and on production of his or her authority, if so required by or on behalf of the occupier, may enter for the purposes of archaeological investigation or examination at all reasonable times upon any land which the Board has reason to believe contains any ancient monument and may make excavations in the land.

No person may, under any power conferred by subsection (1), enter any dwelling house or any building, park, garden, pleasure ground or other land used for the amenity or convenience of a dwelling house except with the occupier’s consent.

No excavation may be made under the power conferred by subsection (1) except with the consent of every person whose consent to the making of the excavation would, apart from that subsection, be required.

Any power of entry under this section includes the power for any person entering any land in exercise of the power of entry to take with him or her any assistance or equipment reasonably required for the purpose to which his or her entry relates and to do there anything reasonably necessary for carrying out that purpose.

Without affecting subsection (4), where a person enters any land in exercise of any power of entry under this section for the purpose of carrying out any archaeological investigation or examination of the land, he or she may take and remove any samples of any description that appear to him or her to be reasonably required for the purpose of archaeological analysis.

Where a person enters any land in exercise of any power of entry under this section for the purpose of carrying out any archaeological investigation or examination of the land, he or she may take temporary custody of any object of archaeological or historical interest discovered during the course of the excavations carried out for that purpose, and remove it from its site for the purpose of examining, testing, treating, recording or preserving it.

The Board or other person by or on whose behalf the power of entry was exercised may not retain the object without the owner’s consent beyond the period that may be reasonably required for the purpose of examining and recording it and carrying out any test or treatment which appears to the Board or to that person to be desirable for the purpose of archaeological investigation or analysis or with a view to restoring or preserving the object.

Nothing in this section affects any right of the Government in relation to treasure trove.

Any person who wilfully obstructs or hinders any person in the exercise of the powers conferred by this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

In this section —

“ancient monument” means any monument which, in the opinion of the Board, is of public interest by reason of the historic, cultural, traditional, archaeological, architectural, artistic or symbolic significance attaching to it;

“monument” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Preservation of Monuments Act 2009.

For the purposes of this section, “archaeological investigation” means any investigation of any land, objects or other material for the purpose of obtaining and recording any information of archaeological or historical interest and includes in the case of an archaeological investigation of any land

For the purposes of this section, an archaeological examination of any land means any examination or inspection of the land (including any buildings or other structures on the land) for the purpose of obtaining and recording any information of archaeological or historical interest.

The Board has the exclusive right to the use of any symbol or representation that it may select or devise and to display or exhibit in connection with its activities or affairs.

A person who, without the permission of the Board, uses a symbol or representation identical with that of the Board or which so resembles the Board’s symbol or representation as to deceive or cause confusion, or to be likely to deceive or cause confusion, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

Except for the purpose of the performance of his or her functions or the discharge of his or her duties or when lawfully required to do so by any court or where required or allowed by the provisions of this Act or any written law, no person who is or has been

Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations for any matter which may be prescribed under this Act and generally for the better carrying out of the objects and purposes of this Act.

Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may

Any scheme, contract, document, certificate, licence, permission or resolution prepared, made, granted or approved under the repealed National Archives and Records Centre Act (Cap. 193, 1985 Revised Edition) shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, continue and be deemed to have been prepared, made, granted or approved under this Act.

Any subsidiary legislation made under the repealed National Archives and Records Centre Act (Cap. 193, 1985 Revised Edition) and in force immediately before 1 August 1993 shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, continue in force as if made under this Act until it is revoked by subsidiary legislation made under this Act.