'Is my MP actually working?': User-friendly search site for parliamentary Q&As sparks online buzz
Members of Parliament at a Parliament sitting on Feb 16, 2024.
SINGAPORE — A new website allowing users to find parliamentary questions raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) over the past 12 years has generated some buzz on social media.
The site, called Telescope, was posted on a Reddit forum on Monday (May 20) night.
It allows users to "search for all the parliamentary questions our MPs have asked and answered", according to Reddit user "confused_fresh" who claimed to be one of the people behind the site.
The user added that "a few of us were bored one day and decided to create something fun".
According to a series of frequently asked questions published on the site, its creators said that they realised they "had no idea what our MPs were asking or discussing in Parliament".
"Three of us live in Aljunied, but none of us could tell you what issues Pritam (Singh) or Sylvia (Lim) cared most about, and likewise for most MPs."
They also highlighted the difficulties in navigating Hansard, the website containing the full written record of parliamentary proceedings.
"We didn't find (Hansard) very easy to search or read. Nor did it surface what we were most interested in — the questions being asked and the answers being given! Hence Telescope," the website stated.
On Reddit, user confused_fresh jokingly added: "Now you can... confirm if your favourite MP is actually doing work or just shaking leg."
TODAY reached out to confused_fresh on Tuesday for more information, but their account had been suspended.
HOW IT WORKS
The website uses "vector embedding search", according to confused_fresh in a comment on their post.
This means that the meaning of a search query is represented as an "embedding", which is "smarter" than a typical keyword search.
An "embedding" turns the word into numerical data such that the results are not limited to the literal meaning of the word.
One Reddit user said they tested the website with the keyword "meow" and received results about cats.
When users enter a keyword or phrase, they will be presented with the MPs' questions and their respective answers.
A graph showing the number of questions on a particular topic asked over a period of time also appears.
When TODAY entered the keyword "BTO" (Build-to-Order flats), it showed that 10 questions on the topic were asked on Jan 9, 2023.
Users can adjust the graph to narrow down the timeframe of their search, or by a specific government ministry.
For example, one can choose to see questions about BTOs specifically from the past five years.
The questions and answers are exact copies from the official Parliament website.
At a glance, users can see who asked the question and who replied. The date and specific topic is also included.
There are also links to government websites for those who are interested in further details.
Users can sort their answers according to relevance or date and download the results page if they wish.
When asked if the website would be updated after every Parliament sitting, confused_fresh said that they have a "script to scrape the (Hansard) website — so we can set it to run and ingest daily".
The website had a positive reception on Reddit, with many users saying they found it interesting and were curious about its potential.
One user wrote: "Can we see what users search for? Would be funny to see what's being queried."
