Submission of names for new NMPs opens from Thursday till April 19

SINGAPORE – Members of the public can submit names of individuals for the role of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) from Thursday till 4.30pm on April 19.

Introduced in 1990, the NMP scheme aims to ensure a wide representation of views in Parliament, and nominees should have performed distinguished public service, brought honour to Singapore, or distinguished themselves in their respective field.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Office of the Clerk of Parliament specified these fields to consist of arts and letters, sports, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service, or the labour movement.

There can be up to nine NMPs each term, which lasts for 2½ years. A person is qualified for appointment as an NMP if he or she is Singaporean, aged 21 or above on the day of nomination, and on the current register of electors.

Among other requirements, he or she should also be able to take an active part in Parliament’s proceedings.

Names of candidates are to be submitted to an eight-member Special Select Committee chaired by Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin.

The other seven members consist of Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for National Development and Finance Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman, Aljunied GRC MP Leon Perera, and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Besides submissions from the public, seven functional groups – business and industry; the professions; the labour movement; social service organisations; civic and people sector; tertiary education institutions; and media, arts and sports organisations – are also invited to submit names of suitable candidates. Each has an appointed coordinator to seek the views of its constituent organisations.

After the submission period, the committee will inform elected MPs and seek their views on the individuals proposed, while also considering various criteria, with nominees undergoing interviews.

The committee will then discuss and decide who to nominate before submitting a list of candidates to the President for appointment as NMPs.

In 2021, nine NMPs were selected from 61 nominations, of whom 46 had applied on their own. The remaining 15 were submitted by the seven functional groups.

The nine, appointed on Jan 21, 2021, comprised Olympic swimmer Mark Chay, conservation scientist Koh Lian Pin, economics professor Hoon Hian Teck, NTUC vice-president Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab, security industry association head Raj Joshua Thomas, Sistic chairman Janet Ang, GuocoLand group managing director Cheng Hsing Yao, dental surgeon and National Youth Council member Shahira Abdullah, and Singapore Medical Association president Tan Yia Swam.

Their term will end in July.

Submission of names must be through forms downloaded from the Parliament website, and submitted online in PDF format via FormSG. Alternatively, one may submit the completed forms and supporting documents at the Office of the Clerk of Parliament at Parliament House.