 |  | Nominated MPs (from left) Gautam Banerjee, Siew Kum Hong, Eunice Olsen, Cham Hui Fong, Thio Li-ann, Kalyani Mehta, Loo Choon Yong, Edwin Khew Teck Fook and Jessie Phua after receiving their Instruments of Appointment at the Istana in 2007. -- ST FILE PHOTO |
The Constitution will be amended so that after every general election, Parliament no longer has to vote on whether it wants NMPs for the new term, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday
'This (the voting) was a safeguard which was introduced when the scheme was new, because we couldn't be certain how the scheme would work,' he said.
'But after 20 years, this is no longer an issue,' he added, noting that the scheme has worked well.
On Tuesday, NMP Loo Choon Yong had urged the Government to make the NMP scheme permanent, saying it had been fine-tuned over the years and contributed greatly to policymaking and the quality of debate in the House.
Agreeing, Mr Lee said: 'The NMPs represent non-partisan alternative views in Parliament, and the NMPs have made effective contributions and raised the quality of debate in Parliament. 'Sometimes, if I may say so, they may have outshone even the opposition MPs.'
The NMP scheme was introduced in 1990 to provide for alternative views and constructive dissent in the House.
Initially, the Constitution allowed for six NMPs. Two were appointed in the first round. The scheme was expanded in 1997 to allow for up to nine NMPs. Besides the number, Mr Lee also proposed fine-tuning the scheme to broaden the representation of various interest groups.
A new group will be invited to submit nominations - the people sector. Mr Lee said the Government had 'paid a lot of attention to and would like to cultivate' the sector, whose members could be from the environmental movement, or be young activists, new citizens, or community and grassroots leaders.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=29771.2
No comments:
Post a Comment