Photo: Ms. Chia Yong Yong, President of the Society for the Physically Disabled, is one of the newly-appointed Nominated Members of Parliament; Young NTUC Facebook
Nine individuals have been appointed Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) for Singapore.
The new batch is made up completely of ‘fresh faces’; after two months of deliberation by the Special Select Committee of Parliament has decided not to grant second terms, for example to businessman R. Dhinakaran.
Explaining how the committee reached their final decision, Speaker of Parliament and committee chairwoman Halimah Yacob said, “We looked for eligible candidates who had distinguished themselves through their contributions to society or to their respective fields, and who could bring their specialised knowledge to add to the depth and breath of debates in Parliament.”
36 candidates in total applied to fill the available NMP positions, including controversial blogger Roy Ngerng.
The final lineup: Ms. Chia Yong Yong (President of the Society for the Physically Disabled), Mr. Thomas Chua (President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Mr. K. Karthikeyan (National Trades Union Congress Vice-president), Ms. Kuih Shiao-Yin (Director of The Thought Collective), Mr. Mohd Ismail Hussein (Director of the Association of Muslim Professionals), Ms. Rita Soh Siow Lan (President of the Singapore Board of Architects), Dr. Benedict Tan (Chief of Changi Sports Medicine Centre, Changi General Hospital), Assoc. Prof. Randolph Tan Gee Kwang (Deputy Director at the Centre for Applied Research at SIM University) and Prof. Tan Yai Yong (Vice Provost, Student Life at National University of Singapore).
While there is appreciation for several decisions made by the committee, including lending a voice to the disabled community in Parliament for the first time in recent years through Ms. Chia, as well as ensuring places for a variety of nation-building aspects like the economy, entrepreneurship and sports, there’s also widespread disappointment over the lack of representation in the arts and environment.
Channel NewsAsia reports that former NMP Janice Koh is among those let down by the decision, believing that those from the creative sector are able to offer a more unconventional point of view on the issues of the day, often with a cultural perspective. However, she also sees this as “an opportune time for the community to think more strategically” about how to keep the arts and culture agenda alive in public discourse and the media.
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