NCMP scheme a distraction, but contributes to debate: WP

SINGAPORE — Rejecting the charge that its move to seek a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) appointment for Dr Daniel Goh was a political manoeuvre, Workers’ Party (WP) leaders yesterday mounted a defence of why they oppose the NCMP scheme in principle but have participated in it.

Against criticism that Ms Lee Li Lian, the “best loser” in the last General Election, should have felt a sense of obligation to her supporters and taken up the NCMP seat, WP chairman Sylvia Lim noted Ms Lee was the Punggol East incumbent who lost to the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Charles Chong.

It was Ms Lee’s way of respecting the voters’ decision not to re-elect her; it was not because the party had wanted to swap NCMP candidates, said Ms Lim.

The NCMP scheme, in place since 1984, sends the message to voters that they need only elect PAP MPs and should relegate Opposition parties to NCMP seats, said WP leaders who spoke in the motion to declare Ms Lee’s seat vacant and to appoint Dr Goh as NCMP in her place.

Dr Goh was part of the WP team which contested unsuccessfully in East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

The scheme is a “distraction from the fundamental meaning of Parliament”, which is to represent the people after securing a mandate from them, said WP chief Low Thia Khiang.

“Opposition politicians may delude themselves that they are checking the Government, when they are in fact merely participating in a discussion forum with no real power to effect change.”

He added: “The NCMP scheme can be a drug to Opposition parties whose candidates may stand for election, maybe just to be NCMPs instead of elected MPs. This may cause Parliament to become a coliseum in the long run, for the nation to vent their emotions in a show, but with no real consequence.”

The scheme may inadvertently attract candidates with different motives, such as those seeking fame and glory, to participate in the elections.

“What is more worrying is should the ruling party fail one day, what we have left to form an alternative government may be such politicians who have gained exposure and fame through the NCMP route,” Mr Low added.

The PAP has tried to construct a narrative that the WP are “bad people” who are shifty and whose integrity is to be questioned. This is reflected in the amended motion to fill the vacant NCMP seat the PAP tabled, said NCMP Leon Perera.If Singaporeans relegate Opposition politicians to NCMP seats, what will happen is “the negation of the evolution of genuine democracy, real political balance in this country”, he added.

Mr Perera nonetheless decided to take up the NCMP seat because he felt he could make a constructive contribution.

Mr Low added that WP members have taken up NCMP seats despite the party’s in-principle opposition to the scheme because they recognise Parliament as a forum to discuss issues affecting the lives of Singaporeans and the future of the country.

“We recognise that having one more NCMP will contribute to the debate and possibly to better policy outcomes,” he added.

Against charges from the PAP, led by Government Whip Chan Chun Sing, that the WP was trying to game the system by seeking Dr Goh to replace Ms Lee as NCMP, Hougang MP Png Eng Huat reiterated that the PAP Government enacted the law for a vacancy to be filled, in the event a candidate wished not to take up a seat.

WP is seeking to implement the letter of the law, Mr Png said.

Mr Low also defended his analogy of NCMPs as duckweed in a pond.

The analogy first surfaced on Wednesday night as the media sought his reaction to NCMP changes proposed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and has been seized upon by ruling party MPs.

Fundamental differences exist between an NCMP and an elected MP, said Mr Low yesterday. “Don’t be hypocrite to say, look, there are no differences,” he added.

An elected MP is able to write letters to the authorities on behalf of residents and follow through on matters, through which he understands problems and identifies policy gaps.

Opposition politicians cannot get access to facilities to hold events for residents, “so it is correct, you can’t sink roots in that way”.

He added: “Why you cannot grow (political) muscle — because you don’t have roots, you are floating. So let’s be honest about the difference.”