Seah Kian Peng to be nominated Speaker of Parliament, Indranee Rajah will remain House Leader

SINGAPORE: Mr Seah Kian Peng will be nominated for re-election as Speaker of Parliament when the House convenes on Sep 5 in the first sitting since the May General Election.

Mr Seah, who is Member of Parliament for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, has served as Speaker since 2023.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah will remain Leader of the House, while Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad will continue as Deputy Leader, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Friday (Jun 20).

While a Speaker is nominated by the prime minister, he or she will have to be elected by MPs at the start of a new parliament. The House Leader and Deputy Leader positions are designated by the prime minister.

The Speaker presides over the sittings of the House and enforces the rules for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business, deciding who has the right to speak and putting the questions for the House to debate and vote on.

In carrying out his or her duties, the Speaker must remain impartial and fair to all MPs.

Although the Speaker need not be an MP, he or she must possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP.

The Speaker does not take part in the debates of the House, but can abstain or vote for or against a motion if he or she has an original vote as an elected member. He or she has no casting vote.

The Speaker also welcomes visiting dignitaries and represents parliament at national events and during official visits abroad.

Mr Seah has brought "a steady hand and thoughtful leadership" to the House, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post on Friday.

"He has presided over our debates with fairness and ensured that proceedings are conducted with dignity and decorum," he added. "I am confident he will continue to discharge his responsibilities with distinction."

Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and National Development, has been House Leader since 2020.

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad has also been Deputy Leader since 2020.

The Leader of the House is responsible for the arrangement of government business and the legislative programme of parliament. He or she also proposes appropriate actions to be taken on any procedural matters arising in parliament.

House Leaders also move procedural motions relating to the business of the House during sittings, such as to extend the times of sittings beyond the usual time as set out in the Standing Orders.

The 15th parliament will have 97 elected MPs and two non-constituency MPs.

The new session will kick off with the election of the Speaker and the swearing-in of MPs at 5pm on Sep 5.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will deliver his opening address later that day. He will outline the priorities, policies and programmes of the government.