GE2020: Opposition chiefs decry NCMP scheme as a PAP ‘ploy’, ask voters to question ruling party’s intentions

• PSP chief Tan Cheng Bock said that he had already served as an elected MP
• NCMPs cannot properly represent voters without a town council to manage, he added
• WP chief Pritam Singh said that voters should question the reasons behind the scheme
• Some opposition members said that they would likely accept NCMP seat if offered

 

SINGAPORE — The Progress Singapore Party chief Tan Cheng Bock said that if he were to be offered a seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), he would reject it. He called the NCMP scheme a “ploy” by the People’s Action Party (PAP) to entice voters to vote only for the ruling party.

Echoing his sentiment, Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh said that voters should ask themselves why PAP would be “so magnanimous” as to give the opposition 12 unelected seats in Parliament under this scheme.

Both leaders, as well as several other opposition party leaders who were out on walkabouts on Thursday (July 2), were asked for their views on the NCMP scheme, which has been a matter of debate during this election campaigning period before the July 10 polls.

Under the NCMP scheme, the losing opposition candidates with the highest percentage of votes during a General Election (GE) are offered seats in Parliament.

They all said that they did not fully support the scheme, although most of them also said that they would likely accept an NCMP seat if offered one.

Dr Tan said that while the scheme has its merits, he thinks that it is ultimately a “ploy” by the PAP to “entice voters” into picking the ruling party, and that without a constituency to run, the NCMP would not be a proper representative of the people.

With a constituency to manage, an opposition MP would be able to speak on behalf of residents with strength, he said, and not just raise concerns based on hearsay.

Dr Tan said: “If you’ve no base, it is very difficult to function as an MP. You cannot just be like a virtual MP.”

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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a media conference that recent changes to the scheme means that there will be more NCMPs in the next Parliament — 12, up from nine — and that these NCMPs will also have equal voting rights as elected MPs.

He added that with these changes to the scheme, there will be a “significant” opposition presence guaranteed in Parliament.

Mr Michael Chua, organising secretary of PSP, agreed with Dr Tan on the matter, saying: “We want to be the real and actual representative Members of Parliament for the GRC (Group Representation Constituency), rather than being in a very nebulous kind of position as an NCMP.”

However, Mr Chua said that if offered an NCMP seat, he would take it up. He will be contesting at Tanjong Pagar GRC with teammate Wendy Low.

Ms Low said that PSP’s aim is to deny the incumbent PAP a two-thirds majority in Parliament, and merely striving for NCMP seats would not achieve this.

“Having 12 NCMPs does not form an effective counter to any proposal on constitutional changes,” she said.

Dr Tan himself said that he would not personally take up an NCMP seat if offered one, as he had already had his time in Parliament as an elected MP of the PAP.

“For me, I won’t take it. But if my men want to take, I’ll let them take… If the new ones feel like they want to have a feel of what Parliament is like, I don’t want to stop them because I’m already 80 years old.”

'WHY SO MAGNANIMOUS?' 

WP, which has adamantly opposed the NCMP scheme since its inception, argued that the ruling party created the scheme for its own political advantage.

When asked to comment on the issue during a walkabout at Kovan Market and Food Centre, Mr Singh said: “Why is the PAP so magnanimous in offering additional NCMP seats? It’s something I hope every voter reflects on and we will, of course, make the point through the course of this election campaign.”

Speaking to reporters during a walkabout at Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre, Mr Spencer Ng, head of National Solidarity Party (NSP), said that while his party does not agree with the scheme, its candidates would still take up an NCMP post if offered.

He believes that the NCMP scheme came about because PAP was concerned that voters would not be happy if there were no opposition voices in Parliament.

“In a way, to have a fail-safe feature, (PAP) came up with this NCMP scheme because it allowed lions to go into Parliament but at the same time de-tooth them. So it’s a win-win kind of situation for PAP,” Mr Ng, who is leading the NSP team in Sembawang GRC, said.

“So I feel that it’s a bit ridiculous to say, ‘No need to vote for the opposition because there are NCMP seats’.”

Having said that, Mr Ng would “strongly encourage” opposition parties to take up the NCMP seats if offered to them, because it would help them build up experience in Parliament.

Singapore People’s Party (SPP) chief Steve Chia, likewise, said that his party’s goal in contesting this GE is not to get an NCMP seat but to be elected.

In the event that NSP candidates are offered NCMP seats though, the party will still send them into Parliament.

Mr Chia, who was an NCMP from 2001 to 2006 when he was with NSP and is now contesting Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said that his one term in Parliament “impacted (him) a lot”, as he was able to raise concerns directly to ministers and certain government policies were revised as a result.

SPP chairman Jose Raymond, who is contesting the single seat at Potong Pasir, said that he would not have gone through the trouble of reaching out to residents over the years and creating his own Potong Pasir manifesto if he were merely aiming for an NCMP seat.

His aim remains to win the seat that PAP’s Sitoh Yih Pin has held for two consecutive terms.

“If (the NCMP role is) on the table, there is every chance that we will accept (it),” he said. “But in saying that, let me repeat that when we take part in elections, it is about going in for the win.”

Singapore Democratic Alliance chairman Desmond Lim, who is running in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, shares the same views, saying that while an elected MP would be able to represent constituents by writing on their behalf to relevant authorities when they run into problems, an NCMP cannot do that.

Asked if he would pick up the NCMP seat if offered it, he said: “Let’s cross that bridge then.”

Similarly, Dr Paul Tambyah from the Singapore Democratic Party, who is contesting the single-seat Bukit Panjang ward, told reporters during a walkabout on Petir Road that “it’s going to be a very difficult decision to make”, if he were offered an NCMP seat.

“I think it's a ridiculous scheme... (it) is just a fig leaf you see, it doesn't really deal with the fundamental issues. It's a way of trying to smoke the voters, so I’m hoping the voters will be able to see through this.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NAVENE ELANGOVAN, JUSTIN ONG, KENNETH CHENG AND LENA LOKE