NCMP scheme ensures 'significant opposition presence' whatever election outcome: PM Lee

Singapore

WITH the expanded Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) system in place, there's no possibility of the opposition being shut out of Parliament, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday.

Regardless of the outcome of the general election, "a significant opposition presence" in Parliament is guaranteed by the constitution, he said in a People's Action Party (PAP) virtual press conference.

Mr Lee, who is the ruling party's secretary-general, pointed out that the expanded scheme has increased the number of NCMPs in Parliament from nine to 12 - six more than the number of elected opposition MPs in the just-dissolved 13th Parliament.

And, he stressed, the NCMPs now will have full voting rights, the same as elected MPs. "They can vote on budgets, they can vote on constitutional amendments, they can even vote on motions of confidence."

The comments came a day after Mr Lee responded to the Workers' Party's suggestion that the PAP could win all 93 seats in the next Parliament, which he described as an unrealistic outcome and a "tactic".

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Under the NCMP scheme, parliamentary seats are offered to the best-performing losing opposition candidates.

At Tuesday's press conference, called hours after it was officially confirmed that all 93 constituencies will be contested, the PAP leader said Singaporeans should not vote for "compromise candidates" that would weaken the national team.

Voters should scrutinise the candidates and parties carefully, vote for the candidate or GRC team they think can do the best job for them in their constituency and whose party will serve Singapore best if elected, according to Mr Lee.

Indicating the high stakes of this election, he said Singapore needs to have the best team to see the country through the covid-19 crisis.

Mr Lee called on voters to "vote for the party with the experience and the commitment and the ideas to take us home", reiterating the key theme of the PAP's manifesto - lives, jobs and the future. "Everything depends on which government you choose and the mandate that you give it," he said.

Mr Lee said the PAP expects a tough fight because of the pain and uncertainty felt by the people due to the pandemic.

Earlier, it was announced that Mr Lee and his five-member People's Action Party (PAP) team in Ang Mo Kio GRC will face another challenge from the Reform Party (RP) in the latest general election.

His running mates are incumbents Gan Thiam Poh and Darryl David and first-time candidates Ng Ling Ling, an independent healthcare consultant and lawyer Nadia Ahmad Samdin.

Mr Lee told the media that PAP incumbents Intan Azura Mohktar and Ang Hin Kee will be retiring from politics.

The RP's candidates include its party chairman Andy Zhu, secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam, criminal defence lawyer Charles Yeo, human resources practitioner Darren Soh and Noraini Yunus, who works in telemarketing.

Mr Lee said if the PAP is re-elected in Ang Mo Kio GRC as well as Yio Chu Kang (where PAP's Yip Hon Weng is standing) and Kebun Baru SMC (where PAP incumbent Henry Kwek is defending), they could form a town council.

"Then we will have five of us plus two MPs altogether - seven MPs - covering the whole of Ang Mo Kio town which was the way it was earlier when Ang Mo Kio was first opened, all one town, and actually it was just one MP, Mr Yeo Toon Chia...," he said. "So I hope that voters in Yio Chu Kang and Kebun Baru will give their support to Hon Weng and to Henry - and we will be able to work together closely after the elections."

Mr Lee's team beat a RP team made up of M Ravi, Gilbert Goh, Jesse Loo, Osman Sulaiman, Roy Ngerng and Silvia Chandran in the 2015 general election, winning 78.6 per cent to retain Ang Mo Kio.

On Tuesday, he said he is happy that RP is again contesting in the Ang Mo Kio GRC, even if its leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam is unable to be present as he is serving his 14-day Stay-Home Notice, after visiting his son in England.

Asked for his target for this election's vote share, Mr Lee said: "I never have a numerical target for an election. We go in, we give it our all, we fight for every vote, and when you open the ballot boxes, you will know how the voters have decided. This time we are taking it very seriously, we are fighting for every vote."

On his brother Lee Hsien Yang's recent involvement with the Progress Singapore Party, he said: "He is entitled to speak like anybody else. Nowadays the social media, you can have five, six million voices on the Internet. The public will assess which ones are worth listening to, which ones make sense."

As for hot-button topics such as the balance between the local and foreign workforce, Mr Lee said these are issues that can become "sensitive" and "very politicised" during election time, and his party will be discussing them over the next nine days during the campaign through a series of straight talk sessions online.

In the RP speech after the candidacy of its team for Ang Mo Kio GRC was officially declared, Mr Yeo said the party will fight for the right to have access to information that has been withheld from Singaporeans, such as the amount Singapore has in its national reserves, the salaries of the heads of state-owned companies such as Ho Ching, an executive director and CEO at Temasek, CPF returns, as well as the issue of the restoration of ageing HDB flats.

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