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SINGAPORE: Starting Monday (October 26), members of the public can submit their nominations for individuals to become Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP).
A constitutional provision was made in 1990 for the appointment of up to nine NMPs to ensure broad representation of community views, according to information on Parliament’s website.
NMPs are appointed by the President for a period of two and a half years on the recommendation of a Special Select Committee of Parliament.
The eight-member committee is chaired by President Tan Chuan-Jin and consists of 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 Secretary of Parliament provided more information on the criteria and the nomination process in a press release on Sunday.
“Persons who have rendered a distinguished public service, or who have brought honor to the Republic, or who have distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, sports, culture, science, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labor movement, “the office said.
To qualify for appointment as NMP, individuals must meet the criteria set forth in the Constitution.
These include being a Singapore citizen aged 21 or over, being on the current voter registry, and being a resident of Singapore on the date of nomination and for a period totaling no less than 10 years prior to that date, among others.
Tan will meet with representatives from seven functional groups to brief them on the procedure for submitting nominations to the Special Select Committee, the office said.
Any organization wishing to nominate an individual for consideration can submit an application to the appropriate functional group coordinator.
The coordinators of each functional group, who have been appointed by Mr. Tan, are:
– Trade and Industry: Mr. Lim Ming Yan, President of the Singapore Business Federation
– Labor: Mrs. Mary Liew, president of the National Congress of Trade Unions
– Professions: Dr. Teo Eng Kiong, Master of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore
– Social service organizations: Ms. Tan Li San, General Director of the National Council of Social Services
– People and civic sector: Mr. Lim Hock Yu, Executive Director of the People’s Association
– Institutions of higher education: Prof Tan Eng Chye, President of the National University of Singapore
– Media, arts and sports organizations: Ms. Goh Swee Chen, President of the National Council for the Arts
The invitation to submit names to the Special Selection Committee is open to the general public, and a person who is not selected by a functional group can be nominated by another proponent, the office said.
The deadline for submissions is November 23 at 4.30 pm
Submissions must be submitted online using the prescribed forms available on Parliament’s website.
Alternatively, they can be sent to the Office of the Secretary of Parliament at Parliament House, 1 Parliament Place, Singapore 178880.
CONSIDERATION PROCESS
After the closing of the presentations, the Special Select Committee of the Parliament will consult with the elected parliamentarians on the proposed persons. The committee will then interview the candidates.
After the interviews, the committee will agree on a list of people to be appointed as PNM and send it to the president.
In its deliberations, the committee will be guided by criteria established in the Constitution, the office said.
That standard establishes for individuals who have provided distinguished service to Singapore and who are “capable of reflecting as wide a range of independent and non-partisan views as possible.”
Proposed persons will be appointed by the President and the instruments of appointment will be presented to them in Istana, prior to taking the oath of allegiance in a session of Parliament.
