Ex-NCMPs say changes make little difference

SINGAPORE — During Mr Yee Jenn Jong’s stint as Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) between 2011 and last year, he forwarded some issues relating to upgrading or road configuration, that were raised by Joo Chiat residents, to their then-MP Charles Chong. “Because I don’t have the legal standing to represent the people to say (to government agencies), ‘Hey, you should consider doing this or that’,” said Mr Yee, who is a member of the Worker’s Party’s executive council.

However, he would write in to the authorities about matters in his neighbourhood that were raised by residents, if he believed “it’s reasonable even for me as a citizen to raise”. Mr Yee added: “And to (the agencies’) credit, they do act on those.”

For Mr Steve Chia, who was an NCMP between 2001 and 2006, he wrote in a few times in his capacity as NCMP to the authorities on behalf of the public, but was “told by civil servants we don’t represent the electorate, so they won’t entertain us”. “(NCMPs) only have mouths to talk, without any teeth to bite,” the National Solidarity Party member said.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Wednesday plans to change the Constitution to allow at least 12 Opposition members, including NCMPs, in Parliament — an increase from nine currently — and to give NCMPs the same voting rights as elected MPs. NCMPs are the losing Opposition candidates who fared best in a General Election.

Former NCMPs whom TODAY spoke to felt the changes made little difference in the face of a dominant ruling party.

Mr Yee said that a “fairer” political system is needed, beyond “small cosmetic changes”. He cited the Group Representation Constituency scheme and the independence of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee as areas to be looked at. There should also be a minimum duration before boundary changes are executed, he said.

Former NCMP Lina Chiam, who is from the Singapore People’s Party, noted that the platform provides some exposure and the chance to perform well in Parliament by offering practical alternatives. Granting NCMPs full voting rights will “make a difference only if there are enough opposition MPs in Parliament”, Mrs Chiam said.

Mr Yee also cited constraints that NCMPs face in grassroots work. “My greatest restriction was not being able to do grassroots work, not being able to come down to the ground to Meet-the-People Sessions. I didn’t have access to any facilities to organise grassroots activities,” said Mr Yee. “Parliament work is important, but what gives the person the legal standing in the community is the mandate he receives from the people to represent them. And then he will get the proper recognition from the authorities, he will get at least the facilities and some resources to go about what he needs to do.”

The same topic elicited an exchange in Parliament yesterday between the People Action Party’s Marine Parade GRC MP Edwin Tong and WP chairman Sylvia Lim. Mr Tong disagreed with WP chief Low Thia Khiang likening NCMPs to duckweed in a pond on Wednesday night. He noted that NCMPs could do house visits and grow roots in their chosen constituencies. Ms Lim, however, maintained that NCMPs could “never be the same” as elected MPs representing constituents.

Wading into the debate, Mr Yee wrote on Facebook that Mr Tong comes “from a Party in which even their losing MPs will automatically sink their roots into the ground by being grassroots advisers”. “He probably understands ‘marcotting’ better than he understands about duckweeds,” said Mr Yee, referring to the propagation technique where a stem is induced to form roots while on a parent plant. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VALERIE KOH AND NG JING YNG