Madam Speaker,
The Workers’ Party remains in principle opposed to the NCMP scheme.
Essentially, Parliament is representative of the People. MPs secure the mandate from the People to make decisions on their behalf in Parliament. Thus, “representation” is the foundation of Parliament. Any politicians who aspire to enter Parliament must seek and obtain the mandate from the People to represent them, so as to seek and effect positive change for the People.
Therefore, the NCMP scheme is a distraction from the fundamental meaning of Parliament. The NCMP scheme has the potential to anaesthetize opposition politicians from the consciousness that political conviction is what brings him or her into politics. Opposition politicians may delude themselves that they are checking the government, when in fact they are merely participating in a discussion forum, with no real power to effect change.
The NCMP scheme can also inadvertently attract candidates with a different motive and intent to participate in election, basically to seek personal fame and glory. If such political culture becomes a predominant phenomenon, we will have Bad Politics.
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 NCMP route.
On the other hand, we also recognise that Parliament is also a forum to discuss issues affecting the life of Singaporeans and the future of our nation. We recognize that having one more NCMP will contribute to the debate and possibly to better policy outcomes. Hence, it is also meaningful for well-intended individuals who aspire to represent the will of the people to be NCMPs to contribute to the process.
Madam Speaker, I beg to move.