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SINGAPORE: The Constitution “expressly provides” for a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) to join a political party after resigning from the position, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Monday (Mar 31).

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas and Dr Syed Harun Taha Alhabsyi quit their NMP roles on Feb 14 – a move that fuelled speculation that they could be contesting the General Election (GE) this year.��

Mr Thomas has said that he has joined the PAP as a member. Dr Syed Harun has not confirmed whether he has joined the ruling party, but has been seen alongside Mr Shanmugam and other Nee Soon advisers at community events of late, including Monday’s visit to the Ahmad Ibrahim Mosque in the GRC.
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The NMP scheme was introduced in 1990 and made permanent in 2010. An NMP is appointed by the president to provide for a wider representation of independent and non-partisan views in the House. Up to nine NMPs can be appointed in each parliament.

An NMP serves a fixed term of two-and-a-half years. Both Mr Thomas and Dr Syed Harun, appointed in July 2023, had resigned before seeing out the full term.

Mr Shanmugam said he recalled taking part in the parliamentary debate on the NMP scheme in 1989 and had spoken in support of it.

“I thought that it was a good idea to bring in more voices into parliament and I strongly supported it,” he told reporters.

“If you look at the Constitution, it expressly provides for an NMP to step down as an NMP and … join a political party and take part in elections.”

Referring to debates, speeches and background papers that were put forward then, Mr Shanmugam also noted that then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had “talked about potentially NMPs becoming ministers”.

“Certainly, the constitutional documents clearly envisaged that NMPs could join political parties and take part in elections … but we must make sure, of course, that while they are NMPs, they are independent,” the minister said.

“But the fact that they can contribute subsequently or prior is something that was always understood and provided,” he told reporters, while standing alongside Nee Soon GRC MPs Louis Ng, Carrie Tan and Derrick Goh. Dr Syed Harun, the former NMP, and ex-PAP Hougang branch chairman Jackson Lam were also present.

Past NMPs linked to political parties include entrepreneur Calvin Cheng who was a member of Young PAP and resigned from the party before becoming an NMP.

Banker Tan��Su Shan similarly resigned from the party in 2011 before stepping into her NMP role.

Former National Kidney Foundation chairman Gerard Ee was still a PAP member when he stepped into the NMP role in 1997.

Mr Shanmugam was later asked if Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim will remain an MP in Nee Soon GRC given how he had been seen on a walkabout in the new Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC on Sunday.

The minister replied that it would be “difficult” for him to give a “complete final answer” as that is decided by the party’s central executive committee (CEC).

“But as people can see, he is spending a lot of time in Marine Parade and I think that is one indication of what might happen.”

On whether Dr Syed Harun and Mr Lam could be fielded in Nee Soon GRC and what that means for the existing MPs, Mr Shanmugam said he “don’t want to go into the extended speculations”.

He added: “Whoever we put forward in Yishun, we will have to have the confidence that they can serve the residents of Yishun very well, and we will try and make sure of that.

“Both of them, Jackson and Dr Harun, have been walking the ground very actively but you know … who is fielded, that is something the CEC will decide in the end.”

Asked to share his experiences in the community, Dr Syed Harun said he has been an active volunteer since young, including being a youth volunteer at self-help group Yayasan Mendaki. He has also been a board member of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore for seven years.

“In recent weeks, I have been at Nee Soon to be able to see some of the challenges, as well as learn from Minister, (Minister of State) Faishal as well as the other MPs on some of the issues in the community.

“It's myself putting myself forward to be able to serve whatever capacity that's possible in the future, and I look forward to continuing my service for the country,” said the 39-year-old psychiatrist.

RESCUE EFFORTS IN MYANMAR

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to the mosque on Hari Raya Puasa, Mr Shanmugam also commented on ongoing disaster rescue efforts by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in Myanmar following the deadly 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday.

The SCDF had on Saturday morning deployed an 80-member contingent to Myanmar. Of which, 48 of the officers are Muslims.

“They were planning for their Hari Raya to be with their loved ones, their family. So now, when the duty called, they stepped up, they went,” said Mr Shanmugam.

“We thank them, and we thank their families too for making the sacrifice. It's a very noble act to go out there (and) help other people far away.”