Nominated MP's- Boon or bane for Singapore?

A. NOMINATED MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT:INVITATION FOR SUBMISSION OF NAMES
The general public is invited to submit names of persons to the Special Select Committee of Parliament for nomination by the Committee for appointment by the President as Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP).

2 The persons to be nominated by the Committee shall be persons who have rendered distinguished public service, or who have brought honour to the Republic, or who have distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, sports, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labour movement.
(read on...)

B.The Nominated Members of Parliament scheme was introduced by Goh Chok Tong and approved by Parliament in March 1990. It allowed for the appointment of up to six unelected MPs for two years after which they can be reappointed. In 1997, the number of NMPs was increased to nine.
The idea behind the scheme was to allow citizens without party affiliation to participate and contribute to parliamentary debates without having to go through the electoral process. (read on...)

C. Some views from
i. singabloodypore
ii.WP's hammer-online

My comments:

Hi friends,

I challenge any reader to name more than 2 NMP’s in the previous parliament.

Most would blame their ignorance on the lack of impact that NMP’s have on their daily lives.

NMP’s represent no one. They do not have any constituencies. Heck, they are not even elected.

Although NMP’s were supposed to enrich our parliamentary debate by adding a non-partisan dimension, I am yet to be convinced that their introduction to the House has brought significant benefits.

To me, risks outweighed their benefits.

NMP’s are non-partisan- Really?

Firstly, many NMP’s were not even non-partisan. Many were actually card-carrying members of a political party. ( I wonder which?).

Granted that members of a political party do sometimes hold independent views, I do not recall many NMP’s of this party actually contributing many alternative viewpoints in past parliaments.

NMP’s speak for whom?

Secondly, since NMP’s are not elected, where is their credibility? Why should we listen to them, as they only speak for themselves. Although they are purportedly nominated by professional groups, academia, trade unions etc, I do not recall voting for any members of my profession to be put forward as NMP’s. I am fairly certain no university academics or trade unionist have been voted in by their peers in any open elections.

NMP’s undermine our parliamentary system

Thirdly, opposition MP’s play a vital and constructive role in our political system. Their role should not be undermined by NMP’s. These opposition MPs’ mandate are legitimised by the people’s vote unlike the NMP’s.

Solution- Elect all MP’s even (N)MP’s

One way to legitimise the NMP’s position would be to make them stand for election. Let a list of nominees be put before the people during the General Elections. Criteria for nomination should not be different from the present GE candidates and then let the people decide who they want sitting in the House. These MP's may not have any geographical constituencies to look after, but at least they have Singapore's mandate.

Of course, we would then have to look for a more appropriate name.

They would no longer be mere Nominated MP’s but Independent MP’s (IMP’s) … well, maybe somehow "Imps" does not sound quite right. Any suggestion?

Cheers

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Another man (Mirza Tahir Hussain) lives again (part two)...

Freed death row Briton flies out of Pakistan
(Yahoo News)
Friday November 17, 10:57 PM

A British man who spent 18 years on Pakistan's death row for a murder that he claimed was in self-defence was heading home after being freed, officials said.

Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, left jail in the morning then flew out of Pakistan a few hours later amid tight security, following a decision by President Pervez Musharraf to commute his death sentence. (Read on...)


Adjusting will be hard for death row man
By Mark Simpson BBC North of England correspondent
18 November 2006, 23:10 GMT

Life in the suburbs of north Leeds will not be easy for Mirza Tahir Hussain.

The satellite dish on the wall outside his family's home is a symbol of the changing world which passed him by during the past two decades.

He is returning to a city where things we take for granted - like internet cafes and take-away cappuccinos - will seem completely alien.

When he left Britain in the winter of 1988, Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, David Beckham was still in short trousers and the pop world was ruled by Wet Wet Wet and Phil Collins.

His family situation is now very different. He has four new nephews, a brother-in-law he has never met and, sadly, only one parent. (Read on...)

My comments:

Hi friends,

I was following closely the saga regarding Mirza.

It seemed even last week that this would be Mirza's last days in the prison. He has had reprieve after reprieve and it seemed that this stay of execution would surely be the last. He has prepared for the worst.

In my heart, I was already saying, "This world sucks!"

But what do you know? Miracles do happen after all, and often when we least expect it!

Now, Mirza's regaining back his life does not in any way negate the suffering he had endured in the past 18 years. No one can ever understand the agony and sense of hopelessness that he had to endure. Nobody can return him the years that he has forever lost.

Just watch the videos when he was interviewed with his brother and he looks totally overwhelmed and one can almost sense his "lossness".

I wish him well. Although he is a world apart from me, I am delighted for him.

He does not know any of us and neither did I know him from Adam till the past weeks when I got wind of his predicament.

But that is what humanity is about. We are of the same race- the human race. It matters not that Mirza is of a different race or creed, or even political persuasion. We are all human beings.

There is too much killing and murdering. And too little love and understanding.

Make love not war!

I bet you if I were born ten years earlier, and were an American, I would have made a convincing hippie at Woodstock!

Joy to the world.

For this week, the world sucks a little less,

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

One man dies (about Milton Friedman)... (Part one)

Milton Friedman: Free Market Thinker
BBC News)
The American economist, Professor Milton Friedman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1976, has been called the high priest of monetarism.

His death marks the passing of a giant in the world of economics whose approach to deregulation and free markets have become the centrepiece of economic policy across the world.
He was a major influence on the economic thinking of the governments of both Mrs Thatcher and President Reagan, and has influenced the thinking of most central banks today. (Read on...)

My comments:

Hi friends,

Although my knowledge of economics is fairly rudimentary, I know that Friedman is best known for his advocacy of monetarist policies.

He was a leading exponent of the "Chicago school" which held that the supply of money was the key factor in determining economic growth and the rate of inflation and was critical of governments who try to control unemployment by spending more money. To him, excessive government (fiscal) spending to create demand, leads to inflation which would undo the effects that this spending sought out to achieve.

Economic growth , he argued, is best guided by the control of interest rates and other levers at the disposal of governments and central banks.

This brings him in direct conflict with another giant, John Maynard Keynes who is best known for advocating government intervention (fiscal policy) in the economy .

Friedman's greatest admirers included Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
( Remember Reaganomics and Thatcherism?)

Unbeknownst to most, Friedman says that his proudest accomplistment was not in economics but that he played a role in the abolition of the draft .

For the uninitiated, this draft is the same as Singapore's National Service.

This talented social commentator who mesmerised many with his broadcasts on social issues (Free to Choose) also campaigned for the decriminalization of marijuana.

Links : 1.http://a-singapore-economist.blogspot.com/2006/08/milton-friedman-tv-series-available-on.html The videos here are must-sees for budding economists.
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman

Watch the videos if you have the time. It is good.

Cheers,

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
Link: Holland village voice (Fabian Lua)