9 new Nominated MPs chosen to join Parliament

SINGAPORE - Nine new Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) have been selected to represent the views of various segments of Singapore society in Parliament.

They are:

Labour unionist Arasu Duraisamy

Sakae Holdings chairman Douglas Foo Peow Yong

Executive director of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Ho Wee San

Communication and technology professor Lim Sun Sun

Founder of inter-religious non-profit group Roses of Peace Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad

Corporate social responsibility consultant Anthea Ong Lay Theng

President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore Irene Quay Siew Ching

Labour economist and associate professor Walter Edgar Theseira

Paralympian swimmer Yip Pin Xiu

All nine are new to the role, and all the current NMPs, whose terms end on Sept 21, have stepped down.

Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who chaired the Special Select Committee which chose the NMPs, said in a statement on Monday (Sept 17) that these nine nominees met all the constitutional criteria and requirements.

"We are also confident that these passionate and committed individuals will ably represent the views within and across their communities, thus expanding and deepening perspectives shared at Parliamentary debates," he added.

Leader of the House Grace Fu said in the statement that these nine NMPs come with good credentials in their respective fields, and have keen interest in a broad range of issues.

"As a group, they add to the diversity of expertise and experience in the House. Among them, we will have a pharmacist, a para-athlete, a leader of the traditional arts sector and an activist for inter-religious harmony."

She noted that two of the NMPs - Ms Yip, 26, and Mr Abbas, 29 - are below the age of 30, and expressed confidence that they "will enrich debate by bringing the voices of the youth to the House".

The NMP scheme, introduced in 1990, is meant to provide non-partisan views in Parliament.

There can be up to nine NMPs in each term, which lasts 2½ years.

The Special Select Committee had invited the general public and certain groups to submit names for consideration in June.

By the time submissions were closed a month later, the committee had received 48 proposal forms.

The committee said in its statement that as most of the names proposed were of high quality, this made the selection of the nine final candidates a challenge.

When assessing each individual, the committee said it took into account the criteria set out in the Constitution, which is that NMPs should be "persons who have rendered distinguished public service, or who have brought honour to the Republic, or who have distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labour movement".

The Constitution also states that NMPs should "be able to reflect as wide a range of independent and non-partisan views as possible".

In addition, the committee said it also considered whether the individuals proposed had a record of significant achievement demonstrating a range of experience, skills and competencies, understood the current issues and challenges facing Singapore, had the ability to make effective and significant contributions to debates in Parliament, and were willing and able to commit the time necessary to participate in Parliamentary proceedings.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.