THE controversy over the size of a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) was addressed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday.
He said the purpose of the scheme is to produce the right incentives for voters, candidates and political parties to ensure a good government.
PM Lee made the point to Singapore reporters in South Korea when asked to comment on public feedback to recently proposed changes to the political system.
These include shrinking the average size of GRCs, raising the number of Non-Constituency MPs to nine, and making the Nominated MP scheme a permanent feature. GRCs, set up to ensure minority representation in Parliament, now have either five or six MPs.
Asked if three-person GRCs will be a feature in the future, he said: 'The test of this is not whether the scheme is popular but whether the scheme works well.'
For the GRC scheme, that test is whether it generates the right incentives for the voters so that they vote for people who will represent them well, he added.
It must also do the same for the candidates 'so that they will work their best to look after the interests of their voters'.
Similarly, it must make political parties 'field good candidates who are capable of not just looking after a constituency, but if they win, have some chance of running a government properly and also pursuing policies which will bring our different racial groups closer together'.
Added Mr Lee: 'That's the reason why you want GRCs, why you want quite big GRCs, but not too big.'
He also said the Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) have worked well so far, but the Government will see how matters evolve. GPCs were set up to scrutinise policies of the ministries under their purview and to improve the quality of parliamentary debates.
He said the purpose of the scheme is to produce the right incentives for voters, candidates and political parties to ensure a good government.
PM Lee made the point to Singapore reporters in South Korea when asked to comment on public feedback to recently proposed changes to the political system.
These include shrinking the average size of GRCs, raising the number of Non-Constituency MPs to nine, and making the Nominated MP scheme a permanent feature. GRCs, set up to ensure minority representation in Parliament, now have either five or six MPs.
Asked if three-person GRCs will be a feature in the future, he said: 'The test of this is not whether the scheme is popular but whether the scheme works well.'
For the GRC scheme, that test is whether it generates the right incentives for the voters so that they vote for people who will represent them well, he added.
It must also do the same for the candidates 'so that they will work their best to look after the interests of their voters'.
Similarly, it must make political parties 'field good candidates who are capable of not just looking after a constituency, but if they win, have some chance of running a government properly and also pursuing policies which will bring our different racial groups closer together'.
Added Mr Lee: 'That's the reason why you want GRCs, why you want quite big GRCs, but not too big.'
He also said the Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) have worked well so far, but the Government will see how matters evolve. GPCs were set up to scrutinise policies of the ministries under their purview and to improve the quality of parliamentary debates.
