Public invited to submit names for Nominated Members of Parliament

SINGAPORE: From Monday (Oct 26), members of the public can submit their nominations for individuals to become Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs).

A constitutional provision for the appointment of up to nine NMPs was made in 1990 to ensure a wide representation of community views, according to information on Parliament’s website.

NMPs are appointed by the President for a term of two-and-a-half years on the recommendation of a Special Select Committee of Parliament.

The eight-member committee is chaired by Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and comprises Members of Parliament (MPs) Mr Chan Chun Sing, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Ms Gan Siow Huang, Ms Indranee Rajah, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Mr Leon Perera, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

The Office of the Clerk of Parliament provided more information on the nomination criteria and process in a press release on Sunday.

"The persons to be nominated by the Committee shall 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, sports, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labour movement," the office said.

To qualify for appointment as NMPs, individuals must meet the criteria stated in the Constitution.

These include being a Singapore citizen aged 21 or above, appearing on the current register of electors, and being resident in Singapore at the date of nomination and for a period totalling not less than 10 years prior to that date, among others.

Mr Tan will meet with representatives of seven functional groups to inform them of the procedure for submitting nominations to the Special Select Committee, the office said.

Any organisation wishing to nominate an individual for consideration can make a submission to the coordinator for the relevant functional group.

The coordinators for each functional group, who have been appointed by Mr Tan, are:

- Business and industry: Mr Lim Ming Yan, Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation

- Labour: Ms Mary Liew, President of the National Trades Union Congress

- Professions: Dr Teo Eng Kiong, Master of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore

- Social service organisations: Ms Tan Li San, CEO of the National Council of Social Service

- Civic and people sector: Mr Lim Hock Yu, Chief Executive Director of the People's Association

- Tertiary education institutions: Prof Tan Eng Chye, President of the National University of Singapore

- Media, arts and sports organisations: Ms Goh Swee Chen, Chairman of the National Arts Council

The invitation for submission of names to the Special Select Committee is open to the general public, and an individual who is not selected by a functional group may be nominated by another proposer, the office said.

The deadline for submissions is Nov 23 at 4.30pm.

Submissions should be submitted online using the prescribed forms available on Parliament's website.

Alternatively, they can be sent to the Office of the Clerk of Parliament at Parliament House, 1 Parliament Place, Singapore 178880.

CONSIDERATION PROCESS

After submissions close, the Special Select Committee of Parliament will consult elected MPs on the individuals proposed. The committee will then interview the candidates.

Following the interviews, the committee will agree on a list of individuals to be appointed as NMPs and submit this to the President.

In their deliberations, the committee will be guided by the criteria set out in the Constitution, the office said.

That criteria provides for individuals who have rendered distinguished service to Singapore, and who are "able to reflect as wide a range of independent and non-partisan views as possible".

The individuals proposed will be appointed by the President and presented with the instruments of appointment at the Istana, before taking their oaths of allegiance at a Parliament sitting.