SINGAPORE, July 2 — The Progress Singapore Party chief Tan Cheng Bock said today that if he were to be offered a seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), he would reject it, calling 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 voters should ask themselves why the 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 politicians who were out on walkabouts today, were asked for their views on the NCMP scheme, which has been a matter of debate during this election campaigning period.
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 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 voting for 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 got no base, it is very difficult to function as an MP. You cannot just be like a virtual MP.”
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted 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.
Still, PSP’s Chua agreed with Dr Tan, saying: “We want to be the real and actual representative Members of Parliament for the GRC, rather than being in a very nebulous kind of position as an NCMP.”
Nevertheless, Chua said that if offered an NCMP seat, he would take it up.
His teammate, Wendy Low, added 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.
Meanwhile, Dr Tan said that he would not personally take up an NCMP seat if offered one, as he had already spent 26 years 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.”
The WP, meanwhile, has adamantly opposed the NCMP scheme since its inception, arguing that the ruling party created it for its own political advantage.
When asked to comment on the issue today during a walkabout at Kovan Market and Food Centre, 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 on Thursday morning, the National Solidarity Party’s (NSP) secretary-general Spencer Ng said that while his party does not agree with the scheme, its candidates would still take up an NCMP post if offered.
He said that he believes the NCMP scheme came about because the PAP was concerned that voters would not be happy if there were zero opposition voices in Parliament.
“So in a way, to have a fail-safe feature, (the 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 the PAP,” said Ng, who is leading the NSP team in Sembawang GRC.
“So I feel that it’s a bit ridiculous to say ‘No need to vote for the opposition because there are NCMP seats’.”
Nonetheless, Ng said he would “strongly encourage” opposition parties to take up the NCMP seats if offered to them, as this would help them build up experience in Parliament.
Singapore People’s Party (SPP) chief Steve Chia, likewise, said the party’s goal in contesting this GE was not to be offered NCMP seats, but to be elected.
“But if we get (offered seats as) NCMPs, we will still send our (members) into Parliament,” said Chia, who is contesting Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
Chia, who was an NCMP from 2001 to 2006 under the NSP banner, added 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 tweaked 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 secretary-general Desmond Lim, who is running in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, echoed the views of other opposition politicians, 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.
Asked if he would pick up the NCMP seat if offered it, he said: “Let’s cross that bridge then.” — TODAY
