Yeah, wayang so much and then take can't wait to take pay and look at their CPF statement daily and smile widely....that's what these chobolans are fucking good for.........when the MOST important question on the return of our CPF @ 55, never ask.
File photo of Singapore's Parliament House. (AFP/Roslan Rahman).
SINGAPORE: If the number of questions raised in parliament is any indication, Members of Parliament (MPs) in the current 12th term might just be the most active parliamentarians ever.
Collectively, they have logged enough parliamentary questions to see 2,624 answers provided. With more than a year to go, the current term of parliament, sworn in after the 2011 General Election, has seen more answers to parliamentary questions than past terms.
The 11th term, which ran from Nov 2006 to Apr 2011, saw 1,643 answers. And it's no surprise to at least one political observer.
Singapore Management University's Associate Professor of Law and former NMP, Eugene Tan, said there is growing interest in issues that impact Singaporeans. “We're talking about issues such as immigration, transport, housing, hot-button issues - Little India riot, concerns about the MRT system, foreign worker issues - as well. So it's this combination that has resulted in more questions filed,” Professor Tan said.
MP for Marine Parade GRC Tin Pei Ling agreed. “I think after 2011, there is this general sense that we need to be more vocal about the issues we have been fighting for. It's not enough to just discuss it in private settings but also take it to the parliament because that gives a serious tone to it,” Ms Tin said.
Beyond the bread-and-butter issues, Professor Tan said he has seen an increase in questions that point to aspirational concerns.
Associate Professor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies Alan Chong said this could also be due to the varied profile of Members of Parliament. “There has been a manifestation of a more complex society in terms of the profile of MPs, NMPs, NCMPs and so on. Singapore society is complex in the sense that people are very educated and they've got particular needs you see which are well-represented by this particular cross-section of parliament,” he said.
Dr Chong added: “You realise that they're not your usual politicians who have served at the grassroots, helped with the RCs or the inter-racial confidence circle. They've done none of that and instead, they're there because they've been achievers in the field of say architecture and the arts. I think Singaporeans have reached that level of maturity where they want to take the arts seriously.”
EVOLVING NATURE OF QUESTIONS
Questions are also evolving to reflect the economic and social setting.
Four-term MP Yeo Guat Kwang said he has observed how questions are so much more different from the past. “For example, we're starting to raise the request from residents to say can we actually give rental flats or sell two-room flats to singles. Over time, you can see the social landscape has changed,” he said.
The current term also sees a record number of opposition MPs, with seven out of 87 elected seats occupied by Workers' Party (WP). The WP's Yee Jenn Jong and Gerald Giam take up two more seats, while Singapore People's Party's Lina Chiam takes up one as Non-constituency MP (NCMP).
Professor Eugene Tan said this could be another reason why more questions have been filed. “It is certainly a platform in which they can challenge each other on policies or on alternatives to policies. It's that greater interest and awareness and willingness to use the parliamentary process as part of the overall governance process that has resulted in the fact that we are seeing a lot more questions,” he said.
Apart from daily interaction with their residents, IT-savvy MPs like Mr Baey Yam Keng turn to online platforms as a source of inspiration when coming up with questions to file. He raised a question on the film ban of Tan Pin Pin's To Singapore with Love.
“There was a lot of online discussion and the petition as well. So the inputs from social media gave me the sense that it's something that interests a lot of people and then it's complemented by mass media reporting as well. That's why I decided to raise it in Parliament,” Mr Baey said.
LONGER QUESTION TIME NEEDED
Among the 2,600 answers to questions so far, about 750 were oral answers and the rest written.
MPs lament that that most parliamentary sittings do not go beyond the first 20 questions within the allotted question time, leaving a surplus sometimes, of about 50 questions unanswered and not debated in parliament.
When that happens, MPs can opt for written answers but that's usually second choice for MPs like Ms Tin. “What happens is that you don't get that instantaneous to-and-fro exchanges and follow-up questions. So in that case, there's no proper discussion per se. If you choose to postpone the question session, there's at least a one month lapse in between. Sometimes the momentum is no longer there, or the issue would no longer be as hot by then,” she said.
She therefore thinks it would be useful to have a slightly longer question time in view of the rise in questions filed which could, in the future, lead to even longer sittings to see to the greater number of questions.
- 938LIVE/ec
SINGAPORE: If the number of questions raised in parliament is any indication, Members of Parliament (MPs) in the current 12th term might just be the most active parliamentarians ever.
Collectively, they have logged enough parliamentary questions to see 2,624 answers provided. With more than a year to go, the current term of parliament, sworn in after the 2011 General Election, has seen more answers to parliamentary questions than past terms.
The 11th term, which ran from Nov 2006 to Apr 2011, saw 1,643 answers. And it's no surprise to at least one political observer.
Singapore Management University's Associate Professor of Law and former NMP, Eugene Tan, said there is growing interest in issues that impact Singaporeans. “We're talking about issues such as immigration, transport, housing, hot-button issues - Little India riot, concerns about the MRT system, foreign worker issues - as well. So it's this combination that has resulted in more questions filed,” Professor Tan said.
MP for Marine Parade GRC Tin Pei Ling agreed. “I think after 2011, there is this general sense that we need to be more vocal about the issues we have been fighting for. It's not enough to just discuss it in private settings but also take it to the parliament because that gives a serious tone to it,” Ms Tin said.
Beyond the bread-and-butter issues, Professor Tan said he has seen an increase in questions that point to aspirational concerns.
Associate Professor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies Alan Chong said this could also be due to the varied profile of Members of Parliament. “There has been a manifestation of a more complex society in terms of the profile of MPs, NMPs, NCMPs and so on. Singapore society is complex in the sense that people are very educated and they've got particular needs you see which are well-represented by this particular cross-section of parliament,” he said.
Dr Chong added: “You realise that they're not your usual politicians who have served at the grassroots, helped with the RCs or the inter-racial confidence circle. They've done none of that and instead, they're there because they've been achievers in the field of say architecture and the arts. I think Singaporeans have reached that level of maturity where they want to take the arts seriously.”
EVOLVING NATURE OF QUESTIONS
Questions are also evolving to reflect the economic and social setting.
Four-term MP Yeo Guat Kwang said he has observed how questions are so much more different from the past. “For example, we're starting to raise the request from residents to say can we actually give rental flats or sell two-room flats to singles. Over time, you can see the social landscape has changed,” he said.
The current term also sees a record number of opposition MPs, with seven out of 87 elected seats occupied by Workers' Party (WP). The WP's Yee Jenn Jong and Gerald Giam take up two more seats, while Singapore People's Party's Lina Chiam takes up one as Non-constituency MP (NCMP).
Professor Eugene Tan said this could be another reason why more questions have been filed. “It is certainly a platform in which they can challenge each other on policies or on alternatives to policies. It's that greater interest and awareness and willingness to use the parliamentary process as part of the overall governance process that has resulted in the fact that we are seeing a lot more questions,” he said.
Apart from daily interaction with their residents, IT-savvy MPs like Mr Baey Yam Keng turn to online platforms as a source of inspiration when coming up with questions to file. He raised a question on the film ban of Tan Pin Pin's To Singapore with Love.
“There was a lot of online discussion and the petition as well. So the inputs from social media gave me the sense that it's something that interests a lot of people and then it's complemented by mass media reporting as well. That's why I decided to raise it in Parliament,” Mr Baey said.
LONGER QUESTION TIME NEEDED
Among the 2,600 answers to questions so far, about 750 were oral answers and the rest written.
MPs lament that that most parliamentary sittings do not go beyond the first 20 questions within the allotted question time, leaving a surplus sometimes, of about 50 questions unanswered and not debated in parliament.
When that happens, MPs can opt for written answers but that's usually second choice for MPs like Ms Tin. “What happens is that you don't get that instantaneous to-and-fro exchanges and follow-up questions. So in that case, there's no proper discussion per se. If you choose to postpone the question session, there's at least a one month lapse in between. Sometimes the momentum is no longer there, or the issue would no longer be as hot by then,” she said.
She therefore thinks it would be useful to have a slightly longer question time in view of the rise in questions filed which could, in the future, lead to even longer sittings to see to the greater number of questions.
- 938LIVE/ec
