Former national swimmer, NTUC member among 9 to be appointed NMPs

A former national swimmer and a high-ranking National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) member are set to be new Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP).

Darryl Lo and Jeremy Tan, the two independent candidates in the last General Election who threw their hats in the ring for consideration, will not be among the eight new faces appointed to parliament.

Mark Lee Kean Phi, chief executive officer of apparel company Sing Lun Holdings, will return for a second term, according to a press release by the Clerk of Parliament on Friday (Jan 2).

The nine are:

1. Azhar Othman, Executive Chairman of Emerson Asia
2. Associate Professor Goh Toh Chuan Kenneth, President of Singapore Aquatics
3. Haresh Singaraju, family physician at National University Polyclinics
4. Associate Professor Terence Ho Wai Luen, academic at the National University of Singapore
5. Kuah Boon Theng SC, managing director of Legal Clinic LLC
6. Mark Lee Kean Phi, CEO of Sing Lun Holdings.
7. Neo Kok Beng, founder and CEO of NEO Aeronautics
8. Professor Kenneth Poon Kin Loong, professor at the National Institute of Education and Nanyang Technological University
9. Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari, general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees and Central Committee Member of NTUC.

They will be appointed by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Jan 8 and take their oaths on Jan 12 when Parliament convenes.

The Clerk of Parliament said that 57 proposal forms were received, as the Special Select Committee considered all eligible candidates to assess suitable candidates for NMPs.

Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, who is also the chairman of the committee, said that they received applications from a “strong pool” of candidates.

"Having to determine the maximum of nine NMPs to nominate is challenging and we deliberated very carefully on all the candidates," he said. "We are satisfied that these nine nominees meet the Constitutional requirements, demonstrated by their distinguished contributions to society and in their respective fields."

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said she is confident that the nine NMPs’ "diverse expertise and experience will enrich the discussions in Parliament".

"We wish to thank and express our appreciation to all applicants for the NMP position and are greatly encouraged by their interest to serve."

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chingshijie@asiaone.com