Parliament to debate the President’s Address and the duties, privileges of Opposition Leader Pritam Singh on Aug 31

• Leader of the House Indranee Rajah is set to deliver a ministerial statement on the duties and privileges of the Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh
• Mr Singh will be given the privilege to speak for 40 minutes, in response to any parliamentary question, double that of a regular MP
• MPs will also debate the President’s Address, with 33 new faces expected to be giving their maiden MP and NCMP speeches
• Parliament is expected to sit for five days from Aug 31

SINGAPORE — Parliament is set to debate the duties and privileges of Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, who will be entitled to speak for an extended 40 minutes in response to any parliamentary question, when the House resumes on Monday (Aug 31).

His other privileges include the right of first response among the Members of Parliament (MPs), as well as access to confidential briefings on certain matters from the Government, as revealed last month by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jinand former Leader of the House Grace Fu.

On Monday, the current Leader of the House Indranee Rajah will be giving a ministerial statement on Mr Singh’s duties in his newly designated role, according to the Parliament’s order paper for the sitting.

Mr Singh’s extended speaking time is twice the usual 20 minutes given to an MP and is the same period as that given to political office-holders, including parliamentary secretaries.

Thereafter, Mr Patrick Tay, MP for Pioneer Single Member Constituency, will move a motion of thanks on President Halimah Yacob’s opening address for the 14th Parliament that was delivered on Aug 24.

Mdm Halimah’s address, which was prepared by the Government, had outlined its outlook and priorities for the new term, spanning jobs and the economy, social mobility, the nature of politics and the Singaporean identity.

Over the next week, MPs will then deliver their speeches on the goals mapped out by Mdm Halimah in her speech, and scrutinise the policies, initiatives and targets laid out this week by various government ministries in their addenda to the President’s Address.

A total of 31 MPs are expected to be giving their maiden speeches as elected MPs, as this is the first regular sitting of Parliament following the General Election last month.

Out of the 93 elected MPs, 10 are from the Workers’ Party, making it the widest opposition bench since the country's independence. Another two Non-Constituency MPs from the opposition Progress Singapore Party are also expected to be speaking for the first time.

On Monday, Ms Indranee will also move a motion to appoint seven members of the Committee of Selection, a standing select committee that is empowered to nominate MPs to other committees, including those that can scrutinise Government Bills.

The MPs who are set to be appointed the role are: Ms Indranee, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Ms Denise Phua, Dr Tan See Leng, Mr Edwin Tong, Mr Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Singh. The committee is chaired by the Speaker of Parliament.

The sitting will be held at Parliament House as usual, unlike the first session of the new parliamentary term on Aug 24 when MPs were sworn-in. The earlier session was held at both Parliament House and a second location, The Arts House, due to safe distancing measures.