his intention to gazette his opinion that one of its proposed transactions draws down on the nation's past reserves, to give the Government an opportunity to avoid such a draw-down by transferring an equivalent sum from the current reserves to the past reserves. The principles adopted in the white paper remain binding unless either (or both) the Government or the President formally notifies the other that it no longer wishes to abide by them. Soft law has also been described by academics as a method of influencing communitarian conduct or even enforcing constitutional standards in a subtle manner. One example is the issuance of the Declaration of Religious Harmony in 2003, which was proposed by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in October 2002 following a series of domestic events which had heightened racial and religious sensitivities. Constitutional conventions Constitutional conventions are unwritten political customs which aid the smooth operation of the government. They are characterized as "rules of constitutional behaviour" which are "binding by and upon those who operate the Constitution", but are not legally enforceable. Such conventions which are consistently practised and not flouted become an intrinsic part of the constitution over time. However, since Singapore now has a written constitution, conventions play a much less significant role. In comparison, countries such as the United Kingdom which lack a written constitution derive a major part of constitutional law from conventions. Back in Singapore's colonial days, the Government adopted many constitutional conventions from the United Kingdom. After independence, an attempt was made to incorporate many of these Westminster conventions into the new written constitution. For example, section 3 of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act – the Act was enacted pursuant to Article 63 of the Constitution – states that the privileges and immunities of Parliament are to be the same as those associated with the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. In addition, Article 21(1) of the Constitution embodies the constitutionally recognised Westminster convention that the President generally acts on the advice of the Cabinet. Aside from adopted Westminster conventions, indigenous conventions have since developed or are developing to cater to local needs. During parliamentary debates in 1990 on the introduction of the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Goh Chok Tong, noted that the select committee tasked to look into the issue had considered whether NMPs should