COVER STORY
PAP makes position clear
V
arious party members took part in the 90-minute debate on the WP’s motion on January 29. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing (Tanjong Pagar GRC) said that while the PAP wants to see the third NCMP seat filled, what was troubling was the manoeuvering by the WP. “When one takes up the NCMP scheme, I hope it’s for the correct reason, which is to serve Singapore. I hope it’s not for the wrong reason – to showcase our talent. We don’t want the NCMP scheme to be a revolving door,” said Mr Chan, who is the Government Whip.
PAP MPs: Review rules on NCMP seat “transfer” Others called for the rules governing the “transfer” of NCMP seats to be reviewed. Deputy Speaker Charles Chong (Punggol East SMC) reminded the House that there are established rules in place, be they in the Parliamentary standing orders, legislation or Constitution. “Where there is a framework within which we must work, everyone involved should respect it and not try to find ways to game the system,” he said.
He added that it was an opportune time for the government to review the provisions related to filling a vacant NCMP seat to prevent abuse, in particular the practice of “transferring” an NCMP seat to a candidate from a different constituency. Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) made the point that “transferring” the NCMP seat to another candidate undermined the legitimacy of the role. In this case, Ms Lee Li Lian’s vote share in Punggol East was nearly 9 per cent higher than what the WP’s East Coast GRC team managed. “There is a rule to allow the best performing loser to be qualified as an NCMP. If, to a certain extent, we change the NCMP system into proportional representation, will it still be in line with the spirit of our institution?” she asked. Mr Chong and Dr Lee also noted that there are political merits for any party to take up the NCMP scheme. The WP has brought in new members to Parliament in this way, such as Sylvia Lim in 2006 and both Yee Jenn Jong and Gerald Giam in 2011.
PAP inserts clause Towards the end of the debate, Mr Chan
“The honour and privilege to join this House is for service to the nation. It is not for us to showcase ourselves. It is not for us to showcase our party talents. If we do that, we come in with the wrong end in mind.” - Government Whip Chan Chun Sing, responding to Ms Lee Li Lian's point about turning down her NCMP seat to give another colleague a chance to be “showcased”.
inserted a clause to the motion. It stated that Parliament “regrets that Ms Lee Li Lian, having stood as a Workers' Party candidate and received the highest vote share among all losing opposition candidates, has now decided to give up her NCMP seat to another candidate from her party with a lower vote share, contrary to the expressed will of the voters. And that the WP supports this political manoeuvre to take full advantage of the NCMP seat, even as its secretary-general criticises NCMPs as just duckweed on the water of the pond”.
WP abstains Both Mr Low and WP chairman Sylvia Lim requested their party's objection to the amendment be noted when Speaker Halimah Yacob called for a vote at the end of the debate. In a twist of irony, the WP eventually abstained from voting on its own motion. All the PAP MPs present voted in favour of the amended motion.
Shanmugam to WP: Be honest
Minister of Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam (Nee Soon GRC), speaking at a community event two days after the debate, called on the WP to be honest about its intentions. “The Workers’ Party should just come out and say: ‘Look, we would prefer a direct choice being given to the voters between the PAP and the Workers' Party, or some other opposition. But we don’t like the people being given an additional choice, which is you vote for the PAP and you still get an opposition candidate. Nevertheless, we benefit from it and therefore we want to fill the third seat’, ” he said.
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February 2016
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