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Parliament of Singapore

Overview

The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President

President of Singapore

The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...

jointly make up the legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. Parliament is unicameral

Unicameralism

In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...

and is made up of Members of Parliament

Members of the Singapore Parliament

The following is a historical list of members for the current and past ten Parliaments of Singapore:-See also:*1st Parliament of Singapore*2nd Parliament of Singapore*3rd Parliament of Singapore*4th Parliament of Singapore*5th Parliament of Singapore...

(MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are members of the opposition parties who are appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election....

(NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament

Nominated Member of Parliament

A Nominated Member of Parliament is a Member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed instead of being elected into office by the people, and who does not belong to any political party or represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in Parliament...

(NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2011 general election, 87 MPs were elected

Parliamentary elections in Singapore

Parliamentary elections in Singapore must be held within three months after five years have elapsed from the date of the first sitting of a particular Parliament of Singapore. However, in most cases Parliament is dissolved and a general election called at the behest of the Prime Minister before the...

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Encyclopedia

The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President

President of Singapore

jointly make up the legislature

Legislature

of Singapore

Singapore

. Parliament is unicameral

Unicameralism

and is made up of Members of Parliament

Members of the Singapore Parliament

(MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are members of the opposition parties who are appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election....

(NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament

Nominated Member of Parliament

(NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2011 general election, 87 MPs were elected

Parliamentary elections in Singapore

, and one NCMP appointed to the 12th Parliament. Nine NMPs will be appointed during the first session of this Parliament. As the first sitting of the 12th Parliament took place on 10 October 2011, its term will end on 9 October 2016 and the next general election must be held by 8 January 2017, unless Parliament is dissolved earlier.

Between 1819, when modern Singapore was founded, and 1867, the lawmaking authorities were the British government in India and the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. After the Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements

The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...

(Malacca

Malacca

Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

, Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

, and Singapore) became a Crown colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

, this function was taken over by the Settlements' Legislative Council

Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements

The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was a legislature formed on April 1, 1867, when the Straits Settlements was made a crown colony...

which was an unelected body. Following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

the Straits Settlements were dissolved and Singapore became a colony in its own right with its own Legislative Council

Legislative Council of Singapore

The Legislative Council of Singapore was a Legislative Council in Singapore that assisted the Governor in making laws in Singapore. It officially came into existence in 1946, when the Repeal Act abolished the Straits Settlements, and Singapore became a Crown Colony on its own that would need its...

. In 1948 the Constitution was amended to allow for six seats in the Council to be elected; the country's first democratic elections were held that year. A further amendment in 1955 increased the number of elected seats to 25, and in the general elections that followed, the Labour Front

Labour Front

The Labour Front was a political party in Singapore. It was founded before the 1955 legislative council elections by David Saul Marshall, Singapore's first chief minister in 1955 and Lim Yew Hock, Singapore's second chief minister...

won the majority of the seats in the Legislative Assembly of Singapore

Legislative Assembly of Singapore

The Legislative Assembly of Singapore was the legislature of the government of Singapore from 1955 to 1965 and the predecessor of the Parliament of Singapore. The Rendel Constitution, proposed in 1953, sought to give the local population more self-governance as the Merdeka independence movement grew...

and its leader, David Saul Marshall

David Saul Marshall

David Saul Marshall was the leader of the Singapore Labour Front and became the first Chief Minister of Singapore in 1955....

, became the first Chief Minister of Singapore

Chief Minister of Singapore

The Chief Minister of the state of Singapore was the head of government of the State of Singapore until its abolition on 3 June 1959.-List of Chief Ministers:...

. Self-government

Self-governance

Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...

was negotiated with the Colonial Office

Colonial Office

Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...

in London in 1956–1957, and became a reality in 1959. In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

(PAP) swept to power, and its leader Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

was appointed Prime Minister of Singapore

Prime Minister of Singapore

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...

. Singapore gained independence from Britain by joining the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, but became a fully independent republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

on 9 August 1965. Its Legislative Assembly was renamed the Parliament of Singapore.

The Speaker of Parliament

Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore

The speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the head officer in the Parliament of Singapore.The role of the Speaker in Singapore is similar to that in most Commonwealth legislatures. The Speaker presides over the Parliament and enforces the rules in the Standing Orders of Parliament to allow for...

has overall charge of the administration of Parliament and its secretariat, and presides over parliamentary sittings. The Leader of the House is an MP appointed by the Prime Minister to arrange government business and the legislative programme of Parliament, while the unofficial Leader of the Opposition

Leader of the Opposition

The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...

is the MP who is the leader of the largest opposition

Opposition (parliamentary)

Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...

party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

which is able and prepared to assume office if the Government resigns. However, in September 2011, Low Thia Khiang

Low Thia Khiang

Low Thia Khiang is a politician and businessman from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Workers' Party, and since 1991 has been a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Hougang until 2011 where he contested and won in Aljunied GRC. He is in charge of the Bedok...

, the Secretary-General of the Workers' Party of Singapore

Workers' Party of Singapore

The Workers' Party of Singapore is a centre-left opposition political party in Singapore. The party currently has six elected seats in Parliament, with the party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Muhamad Faisal Manap and Pritam Singh serving as Members of...

which holds the most opposition seats in Parliament, said that he would not be accepting the title. Some of Parliament's work is carried out by select committees made up of small numbers of MPs. Standing Select Committees are permanently constituted to fulfil certain duties, and ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....

Select Committees are established from time to time to deal with matters such studying the details of bills

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

. In addition, selected PAP backbencher

Backbencher

In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...

s sit on Government Parliamentary Committees that examine the policies, programmes and proposed legislation of government ministries.

The main functions of Parliament are lawmaking, controlling the nation's finances, and ensuring ministerial accountability. Parliament convenes when it is in session. The first session of a particular Parliament commences when Parliament meets after being formed following a general election. A session ends when Parliament is prorogued (temporarily suspended) or dissolved

Dissolution of parliament

In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...

. The maximum term of each Parliament is five years, after which Parliament is automatically dissolved. A general election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

must then be held within three months.

The quorum

Quorum

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

for a Parliamentary sitting is one quarter of the total number of MPs, not including the Speaker. An MP begins a debate by moving a motion

Motion (parliamentary procedure)

In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. In a parliament, this is also called a parliamentary motion and includes legislative motions, budgetary motions, supplementary budgetary motions, and petitionary...

and delivering an opening speech explaining the reasons for the motion. The Speaker (or chairman, if Parliament is in committee) then puts the motion in the form of a question, following which other MPs may debate the motion. After that, the mover may exercise a right of reply. When the debate is closed, the Speaker puts the question on the motion to the House and calls for a vote. Voting is generally done verbally, and whether the motion is carried depends on the Speaker's personal assessment of whether more MPs have voted for than against the motion. MPs' votes are only formally counted if an MP claims a division

Division (vote)

In parliamentary procedure, a division of the assembly is a voting method in which the members of the assembly take a rising vote or go to different parts of the chamber, literally dividing into groups indicating a vote in favour of or in opposition to a motion on the floor...

.

Parliament regulates its own privileges

Parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...

, immunities

Parliamentary immunity

Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which members of the parliament or legislature are granted partial immunity from prosecution. Before prosecuting, it is necessary that the immunity be removed, usually by a superior court of justice or by the parliament itself...

and powers. For instance, the freedom of speech and debate and proceedings in Parliament may not be impeached

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

or questioned in any court or other place out of Parliament. Parliament may punish an MP for acting dishonourably, abusing a privilege or behaving contemptuously

Contempt of Parliament

In some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...

.

Parliament convened at the Old Parliament House

Old Parliament House, Singapore

The Old Parliament House, now known as the Arts House at the Old Parliament, is a building in Singapore. It is currently a multi-disciplinary arts venue which plays host to art exhibitions and concerts. The building was formerly home to the Parliament of Singapore from 1965 to 1999, when it moved...

between 1955 and 1999, before moving into a newly constructed Parliament House

Parliament House, Singapore

The Parliament House of Singapore is a public building and cultural landmark and houses the Parliament of Singapore. It is located in the Civic District of the Downtown Core within Singapore's central business district . Within its vicinity is Raffles Place, which lies across it from the Singapore...

on 6 September 1999.

Terminology

The term Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

is used in a number of different senses. First, it refers to the institution made up of a group of people (Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

or MPs) who are elected to discuss matters of state. Secondly, it can mean each group of MPs voted into office following a general election

General election

. In this sense, the First Parliament of the independent Republic of Singapore

Singapore

sat from 8 December 1965 to 8 February 1968. The current Parliament, which started on 10 October 2011, is the twelfth.

Parliament is sometimes used loosely to refer to Parliament House

Parliament House, Singapore

, which is the seat of the Parliament of Singapore.

History

On 6 February 1819, Sultan Hussein Shah

Hussein Shah of Johor

Sultan Hussein Mua'zzam Shah ibni Mahmud Shah Alam was the 18th ruler of Johor. He was best remembered for his role as a signatory for two treaties with the British which culminated in the founding of modern Singapore; during which he was given recognition as the Sultan of Johor and Singapore in...

and the Temenggung

Temenggung

Temenggung is an ancient Malay title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security. The Temenggung is usually responsible for the safety of the monarch as well as the state police and army...

of Johor

Johor

Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...

, Abdul Rahman Sri Maharajah, entered into an agreement with Sir Stamford Raffles

Stamford Raffles

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...

for the British East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

(EIC) to establish a "factory

Factory (trading post)

Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...

" or trading post on the island of Singapore

Singapore

. Raffles, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen (now Bengkulu

Bengkulu

Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

), placed Singapore under Bencoolen's jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

. As Bencoolen was itself a factory subordinate to the Bengal Presidency

Bengal Presidency

The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...

in British India, only the Governor-General in Council in Bengal was authorized to enact laws for Singapore. On 24 June 1824 Singapore was removed from Bencoolen's control and, together with Malacca

Malacca

, formally transferred to the EIC. This made them subordinate to Fort William in Calcutta (now Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

), the capital of the Bengal Presidency. By a treaty of 19 November 1824, the Sultan and Temenggung of Johor ceded

Cession

The act of Cession, or to cede, is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty...

Singapore to the EIC. In 1826, the Company constituted Malacca, Prince of Wales Island (now Penang

Penang

) and Singapore into the Presidency of the Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements

with Penang as the capital. The general power to make laws for the Straits Settlements remained with the Supreme Government in India and the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

; Penang's legislative power was limited to making rules and regulations relating to duties and taxes that the Settlement was empowered to levy.

On 20 June 1830, as a cost-cutting measure, the Straits Settlements ceased to be a separate presidency and were placed under the Bengal Presidency's control by the EIC. In 1833, the Government of India Act passed by the British Parliament created a local government for the whole of India made up of the Governor-General

Governor-General of India

The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...

and his Counsellors. They were collectively known as the Governor-General of India in Council and had sole power to pass laws for the Straits Settlements. However, India's slow response to problems in the Settlements such as the ineffective court system and the lack of Straits representation in the Indian legislative council prompted merchants and other prominent people to call for the Settlements to be governed directly by the Colonial Office

Colonial Office

in the United Kingdom. Finally, on 1 April 1867 the Straits Settlements were separated from the Government of India and became a Crown colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

.
Under letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

dated 4 February 1867, the Straits Settlements were granted a colonial constitution in the usual form. The Governor of the Straits Settlements ruled with the help of an Executive Council

Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)

An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...

and a Legislative Council

Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements

The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was a legislature formed on April 1, 1867, when the Straits Settlements was made a crown colony...

. The Executive Council was made up of the Governor, the commanding officer of the troops in the Straits, and six senior officials (including the Colonial Secretary

Chief Secretary

The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...

, Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, Attorney-General and Colonial Engineer). The Legislative Council, in which legislative authority was vested, consisted of the Executive Council and the Chief Justice (together known as the official members) and four unofficial members nominated by the Governor. As the unofficial members were outnumbered by the official members, they and the Governor (who had a casting vote

Casting vote

A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...

) had effective control of the Council. Legislation was generally initiated by the Governor, and he had the power to assent to or veto bills

Bill (proposed law)

. During legislative debates, official members were required to support the Governor but the unofficials could speak and vote as they wished. In 1924, the system was changed such that two unofficial members of the Legislative Council were nominated by the Governor to sit on the Executive Council. In addition, the number of members of the Legislative Council was increased to 26, with equal numbers of officials and unofficials. The Governor retained his casting vote. The Penang and European chambers of commerce each nominated one unofficial, while the Governor nominated the others on an ethnic basis: five Europeans including one each from Penang and Malacca, three Chinese

Chinese in Singapore

Chinese Singaporeans are people of Chinese ethnicity who hold Singaporean nationality. As of 2010, Chinese Singaporeans constitute 74.1% of Singapore's resident population, or approximately three out of four Singaporeans, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore...

British subjects, one Malay

Malays in Singapore

Malays in Singapore are defined by the Singaporean government using the broader and antiquated "Malay race" concept, rather than modern-day Malay ethnic group. Although Malays have inhabited the area that is now Singapore since the 17th century, most of the Malays in Singapore today are immigrants...

, one Indian and one Eurasian. This system remained in place until Singapore fell to the Japanese

Japanese Occupation of Singapore

The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...

in 1942 during World War II

World War II

.

Following the Second World War, the Straits Settlements were disbanded and Singapore became a Crown colony in its own right. The reconstituted Legislative Council

Legislative Council of Singapore

consisted of four ex officio members from the Executive Council, seven official members, between two and four unofficial members, and nine elected members. The Governor continued to hold a veto and certain reserved powers over legislation. As there was a majority of official members in the Council, the constitution was criticized for not allowing locals to play an effective role in public affairs. Governor Franklin Charles Gimson

Franklin Charles Gimson

Sir Franklin Charles Gimson, KCMG, KStJ, was a British colonial administrator, who served in Ceylon from 1914 to 1941, and later, the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong and the Governor of Singapore....

therefore formed a Reconstitution Committee which proposed, among other things, recommended that the Council should be made up of four ex officio members; five officials; four nominated unofficials; three representatives nominated by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a business chamber in Singapore.-History:Established in 1906 as the General Chinese Trade Affairs Association, the SCCCI's original purpose was to look after the interests of the Chinese business community, but it has expanded its scope...

and the Indian Chamber of Commerce to represent European, Chinese and Indian economic interests; and six members to be elected by universal suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

. For the first time, non-officials held a majority in the legislature. A new constitution embodying these arrangements came into force on 1 March 1948 and Singapore's first democratic elections were held on 20 March that year. Three out of the six elected seats were won by the Progressive Party

Progressive Party (Singapore)

The Singapore Progressive Party , or just, the Progressive Party is a now defunct political party that was formed on August 25, 1947. It won the Legislative Assembly general elections in 1948 by winning half of the contested seats in the Legislative Assembly, 3 out of 6...

.

In 1951 three more elected seats were created in the Council. In February 1954, the Rendel Constitutional Commission under the chairmanship of Sir George William Rendel

George William Rendel

Sir George William Rendel was a British diplomat. Rendel, the son of the engineer George Wightwick Rendel was educated at Downside School and at Queen's College, Oxford, graduating in Modern History in 1911....

, which had been appointed to comprehensively review the constitution of the Colony of Singapore, rendered its report. Among other things, it recommended that the Legislative Council be transformed into a Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of Singapore

of 32 members made up of three ex officio official members holding ministerial posts, four nominated unofficial members, and 25 elected unofficial members. In addition, a Council of Ministers would be created, composed of the three ex officio members and six elected members appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Leader of the House, who would be the leader of the largest political party or coalition of parties

Coalition government

A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...

having majority support in the legislature. The recommendation was implemented in 1955. In the general election held that year, the Labour Front

Labour Front

took a majority of the seats in the Assembly, and David Saul Marshall

David Saul Marshall

David Saul Marshall was the leader of the Singapore Labour Front and became the first Chief Minister of Singapore in 1955....

became the first Chief Minister of Singapore

Chief Minister of Singapore

The Chief Minister of the state of Singapore was the head of government of the State of Singapore until its abolition on 3 June 1959.-List of Chief Ministers:...

. Major problems with the Rendel Constitution were that the Chief Minister and Ministers' powers were ill defined, and that the official members retained control of the finance, administration, and internal security and law portfolios. This led to confrontation between Marshall, who saw himself as a Prime Minister governing the country, and the Governor, Sir John Fearns Nicoll

John Fearns Nicoll

Sir John Fearns Nicoll was a British colonial governor. He was Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1949 to 1952, and Governor of Singapore from 1952 to 1955.He died at the hospital located at Scio House, Putney Heath....

, who felt that important decisions and policies should remain with himself and the officials.
In 1956, members of the Legislative Assembly held constitutional talks with the Colonial Office

Colonial Office

in London. The talks broke down as Marshall did not agree to the British Government's proposal for the casting vote on a proposed Defence Council to be held by the British High Commissioner to Singapore, who would only exercise it in an emergency. Marshall resigned as Chief Minister in June 1956, and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock

Lim Yew Hock

Lim Yew Hock , later renamed Haji Omar Lim Yew Hock, was Singapore’s second Chief Minister from 1956 to 1959. He is known for suppressing the communist movements and leading the all-party delegation that won internal self-government for Singapore....

. The following year, Lim led another delegation to the UK for further talks on self-government

Self-governance

. This time, agreement was reached on the composition of an Internal Security Council. Other constitutional arrangements were swiftly settled in 1958, and on 1 August the United Kingdom Parliament passed the State of Singapore Act 1958, granting the colony full internal self-government. Under Singapore's new constitution which came into force on 3 June 1959, the Legislative Assembly consisted of 51 elected members and the Governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara

Yang di-Pertuan Negara

Yang di-Pertuan Negara, meaning "Head of State" in Malay, was used as an official title at various times in Sabah, Singapore and Brunei.-Singapore:...

(Head of State), who had power to appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to command the authority of the Legislative Assembly, and other Ministers of the Cabinet on the Prime Minister's advice. In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.

In 1963, Singapore gained independence from Britain through merger with Malaysia

Singapore in Malaysia

On 16 September 1963, which was also Lee Kuan Yew's 40th birthday, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya alongside Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia...

. In the federal legislature, Singapore was allocated 15 out of 127 seats. Under its new State Constitution, Singapore kept its own executive government and legislative assembly. However, with effect from 9 August 1965, Singapore left Malaysia and became a fully independent republic. On separation from Malaysia, the Singapore Government retained its legislative powers, and the Parliament of Malaysia

Parliament of Malaysia

The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....

gave up all power to make laws for Singapore. Similarly, the Republic of Singapore Independence Act 1965, passed on 22 December 1965 and made retrospective to 9 August, declared that the legislative powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....

(Supreme Head of the Federation) and Parliament of Malaysia ceased and vested in the President and the Parliament of Singapore respectively.

Members of Parliament

The Parliament of Singapore is unicameral

Unicameralism

– all Members of Parliament

Members of the Singapore Parliament

(MPs) make up a single chamber, and there is no senate

Senate

A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...

or upper house

Upper house

An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

. At present, the effect of the Constitution of Singapore

Constitution of Singapore

The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore and it is a codified constitution.The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament on the second and third readings . The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues...

and other legislation is that there can be a maximum of 99 MPs. Eighty-seven are elected by the people while up to nine Non-constituency Members of Parliament

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are members of the opposition parties who are appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election....

(NCMPs) and up to nine Nominated Members of Parliament

Nominated Member of Parliament

(NMPs) may be appointed, following changes to the Constitution enacted on 26 April 2010. After the 2011 general election, 87 MPs were elected and three NCMPs were appointed to Parliament.

Elected Members

As of 24 February 2011, for the purpose of Parliamentary elections

Parliamentary elections in Singapore

, Singapore was divided into 27 electoral divisions (also known as constituencies). The names and boundaries of the divisions are specified by the Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Singapore

by notification in the Government Gazette. Twelve of these divisions are Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 15 are Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). GRCs were introduced in 1991 for the purpose of ensuring representation of the Malay

Malays in Singapore

, Indian and other minority communities

Minority group

A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...

in Parliament. In a GRC, all the candidates must either be members of the same political party or independent candidates

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

standing as a group, and at least one of the candidates must be a person belonging to the Malay, Indian or some other minority community. The President, at Cabinet

Cabinet of Singapore

The Cabinet of Singapore forms the Government of Singapore together with the President of Singapore. It is led by the Prime Minister of Singapore who is the head of government...

's direction, declares the electoral divisions that are to be GRCs; the number of candidates (not less than three but not more than six) to stand for Parliament in each GRC; and whether the minority candidates in each GRC are to be from the Malay, Indian, or other minority communities. At all times there must be at least eight divisions which are not GRCs, and the number of Members of Parliament

Members of the Singapore Parliament

(MPs) to be returned by all GRCs cannot be less than a quarter of the total number of MPs to be returned at a general election.

Each electoral division returns one MP, or if it is a GRC the number of MPs designated for the constituency by the President, to serve in Parliament. All GRCs currently have between four and six MPs. In other words, a successful voter's single vote in an SMC sends to Parliament one MP, and in a GRC sends either four, five or six MPs depending on how many have been designated for that GRC. At present, SMCs return to Parliament 12 MPs and GRCs 75 MPs. All elected MPs are selected on a simple plurality voting ("first past the post") basis. A person is not permitted to be an MP for more than one constituency at the same time.

In the last general election in 2011, the incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

(PAP) won 81 of the 87 seats, but lost Hougang SMC

Hougang Single Member Constituency

Hougang Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency whose borders roughly enclose the town of Hougang, located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. The boundary includes a portion of Hougang and is an opposition held seat with its Member of Parliament the Workers' Party's Yaw...

and Aljunied GRC

Aljunied Group Representation Constituency

Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency in the north-eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of a large part of Hougang, Serangoon Gardens, a portion of Bedok and Aljunied...

to the Workers' Party of Singapore

Workers' Party of Singapore

. This was the first time a GRC had been won by an opposition party. With the Workers' Party ending up with six elected seats in Parliament, this was the best opposition parliamentary result since independence. Out of the current 87 elected MPs, 19 (about 16.5%) are female. This was a slight fall from the figure of about 20% for the 11th Parliament

11th Parliament of Singapore

The 11th Parliament of Singapore is the current Parliament of Singapore, and has been in session since November 2, 2006. The membership was set by the 2006 Singapore General Election on May 7, 2006, and it has changed twice due to the deaths of Jurong GRC MP Dr Ong Chit Chung in 2008, and Ang Mo...

, in which 17 of the 84 elected MPs were women.

Non-constituency Members of Parliament

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are members of the opposition parties who are appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election....

(NCMPs) were introduced in 1984 to ensure the representation in Parliament of a minimum number of MPs from a political party or parties not forming the Government. While the Constitution provides that there may be up to six NCMPs in Parliament, the actual number that may be declared elected at any general election is currently three, less the total number of Opposition MPs elected to Parliament. The President, at Cabinet's direction, may order that a maximum number of between four and six NCMPs may be deemed elected for the purpose of a particular general election; such an order ceases to have effect at the next dissolution of Parliament. In April 2010, the maximum number of NCMPs in Parliament was raised to nine.
To be eligible to become an NCMP, a candidate must have polled not less than 15% of the total number of valid votes in the electoral division contested by him or her. The unelected opposition candidate who receives the highest percentage of votes is entitled to be declared the first NCMP, followed by other opposition candidates in descending order according to the percentages of votes polled by them. If any candidates have an equal percentage of votes and the number of such candidates exceeds the number of NCMPs to be declared elected, the NCMPs are determined as follows:

If all the candidates are from the same group of candidates nominated in a GRC, the Returning Officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...

overseeing the election in the relevant electoral division will inform the group of the number of candidates in the group to be declared elected as NCMPs. The members of the group must determine among themselves who shall be elected and inform the Returning Officer within seven days.
In other cases, or if the Returning Officer is not notified of a decision by the group of candidates referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Returning Officer will determine the NCMPs to be deemed elected by drawing lots
Sortition
In politics, sortition is the selection of decision makers by lottery. The decision-makers are chosen as a random sample from a larger pool of candidates....

.

During the 2011 general election, the law provided for up to three NCMPs to be appointed. The seats were taken by Lina Chiam

Lina Chiam

Lina Loh Woon Lee is a Singaporean politician from the Singapore People's Party . She is a Non-constituency Member of Parliament of the 12th Parliament of Singapore.-Political career:...

of the Singapore People's Party

Singapore People's Party

The Singapore People's Party is a left of centre opposition political party in Singapore. The party's leader is Chiam See Tong.-Foundation:...

, and Gerald Giam

Gerald Giam

Gerald Giam Yean Song is a Singaporean politician from the Workers' Party who is currently a Non-constituency Member of Parliament of the 12th Parliament of Singapore.-Political career:...

and Yee Jenn Jong

Yee Jenn Jong

Yee Jenn Jong is a Singaporean politician from the Workers' Party of Singapore who is currently a Non-constituency Member of Parliament of the 12th Parliament of Singapore.-Political career:...

of the Workers' Party.

Nominated Members of Parliament

In 1990, the Constitution was amended to provide for the appointment of up to nine Nominated Members of Parliament

Nominated Member of Parliament

(NMPs) to Parliament. The change was prompted by the impression that the existing two Opposition MPs had not adequately expressed significant alternative views held outside Parliament, and that the scheme would allow the Government to take advantage of the expertise of Singaporeans who were not able or prepared to take part in elections and look after constituencies.

At present, within six months after Parliament first meets after any general election, it must decide whether there will be any NMPs during the term of that Parliament. Such a decision will no longer be necessary when constitutional changes enacted in April 2010 making NMPs a permanent feature in Parliament come into force. A Special Select Committee of Parliament chaired by the Speaker of Parliament

Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore

is established, and invites the general public to submit names of persons who may be considered for nomination by the Committee. From these names, the Special Select Committee then nominates not more than nine persons for appointment by the President as NMPs. The persons to be nominated must have rendered distinguished public service, or have brought honour to Singapore, or have distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labour movement; and in making any nomination, the Special Select Committee must have regard to the need for NMPs to reflect as wide a range of independent and non-partisan

Nonpartisan

In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....

views as possible. Subject to rules on the tenure of MPs in general, NMPs serve for a term of two and a half years. The first two NMPs sworn in on 20 December 1990 were cardiologist

Cardiology

Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

Professor Maurice Choo and company executive Leong Chee Whye. On 6 July 2009, the Special Select Committee announced that it had submitted the names of nine individuals to the President for appointment as new NMPs.

Participation in Parliament

NCMPs and NMPs can participate in all Parliamentary debates, but cannot vote on any motion

Motion (parliamentary procedure)

relating to:

bills
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

to amend the Constitution;
Supply Bills, Supplementary Supply Bills or Final Supply Bills, which authorize the spending of public funds by the Government;
Money Bills
Money bill
In the Westminster system , a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending , as opposed to changes in public law.- Conventions :...

, which deal with various finance-related matters;
votes of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...

in the Government; and
removal of the President from office.

Qualifications

Persons are qualified to be elected or appointed as Members of Parliament if:

they are Singapore citizens
Singaporean nationality law
Singaporean nationality law is derived from the Constitution of Singapore and is based on jus sanguinis and a modified form of jus soli...

;
they are 21 years of age or above on the day of nomination for election;
their names appear in a current register of electors;
they are resident in Singapore at the date of nomination and have been so resident for an aggregate period of not less than ten years before that date;
they are able, with a degree of proficiency sufficient to enable them to take an active part in Parliamentary proceedings, to speak and, unless incapacitated by blindness or some other physical cause, to read and write at least one of the following languages: English, Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

, Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....

and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

; and
they are not otherwise disqualified from being MPs under Article 45 of the Constitution.

Article 45 provides that persons are not qualified to be MPs if:

they are and have been found or declared to be of unsound mind;
they are undischarged bankrupts
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

;
they hold offices of profit
Office of profit
An office of profit is a term used in a number of national constitutions to refer to executive appointments. A number of countries forbid members of the legislature from accepting an office of profit under the executive as a means to secure the independence of the legislature and preserve the...

;
having been nominated for election to Parliament or the office of President or having acted as election agent
Election agent
In elections in the United Kingdom, as well as in certain other similar political systems such as India's, an election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent to by those running the election. In elections in...

to a person so nominated, they have failed to lodge any return of election expenses required by law within the time and in the manner required;
they have been convicted of an offence by a court of law in Singapore or Malaysia and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

2,000 and have not received a free pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...

;
they have voluntarily acquired the citizenship of, or exercised rights of citizenship in, a foreign country or has made a declaration of allegiance to a foreign country; or
they are disqualified under any law relating to offences in connection with elections to Parliament or the office of President by reason of having been convicted of such an offence or having in proceedings relating to such an election been proved guilty of an act constituting such an offence.

A person's disqualification for having failed to properly lodge a return of election expenses or having been convicted of an offence may be removed by the President. If the President has not done so, the disqualification ceases at the end of five years from the date on which the return was required to be lodged or, as the case may be, the date on which the person convicted was released from custody or the date on which the fine was imposed. In addition, a person is not disqualified for acquiring or exercising rights of foreign citizenship or declared allegiance to a foreign country if he or she did so before becoming a Singapore citizen.

Tenure of office

If an MP becomes subject to any disqualification specified in paragraph 1, 2, 5 or 7 above and it is open to the Member to appeal against the decision, the Member immediately ceases to be entitled to sit or vote in Parliament or any committee of it. However, he or she is not required to vacate his or her seat until the end of 180 days beginning with the date of the adjudication, declaration or conviction, as the case may be. After that period, the MP must vacate his or her seat if he or she continues to be subject to one of the previously mentioned disqualifications. Otherwise, the MP is entitled to resume sitting or voting in Parliament immediately after ceasing to be disqualified.

The above rules do not operate to extend the term of service of an NMP beyond two and a half years.

MPs also cease to hold office when Parliament is dissolved

Dissolution of parliament

, or before that if their seats become vacant for one of the following reasons:

if they cease to be Singapore citizens;
if they cease to be members of, or are expelled or resign from, the political parties for which they stood in the election;
if they resign their seats by writing to the Speaker;
if they have been absent without the Speaker's permission from all sittings of Parliament or any Parliamentary committee to which they have been appointed for two consecutive months in which the sittings are held;
if they become subject to any of the disqualifications in Article 45;
if Parliament exercises its power of expulsion on them; or
if, being NMPs, their terms of service expire.

NMPs must vacate their Parliamentary seats if they stand as candidates for any political party in an election or if they are elected as MPs for any constituencies.

A person whose seat in Parliament has become vacant may, if qualified, again be elected or appointed as a Member of Parliament from time to time.

Any person who sits or votes in Parliament, knowing or having reasonable ground for knowing that he or she is not entitled to do so, is liable to a penalty not exceeding $200 for each day on which he or she sits or votes.

Decisions on disqualification questions

Any question whether

any MP has vacated his or her seat; or
in the case of a person elected as Speaker or Deputy Speaker from among non-MPs, he or she ceases to be a citizen of Singapore or becomes subject to any of the disqualifications specified in Article 45;

is to be determined by Parliament, whose decision on the matter is final.

This does not mean that an MP retains his or her Parliamentary seat despite being under some disqualification until Parliament has made a formal decision on the matter. On 10 November 1986, the MP for Anson, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam was a politician and lawyer from Singapore. He was the leader of the Workers' Party from 1971 to 2001...

of the Workers' Party of Singapore

Workers' Party of Singapore

, lost an appeal against a conviction for making a false statement in a declaration and was sentenced to one month's imprisonment and a fine of $5,000. Further applications and appeals in the criminal proceedings

Criminal procedure

Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...

to the High Court

High Court of Singapore

The High Court of the Republic of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper being the Court of Appeal. It consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore and the Judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload...

, Court of Appeal

Court of Appeal of Singapore

The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore is the nation's highest court and its court of final appeal. It is the upper division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the lower being the High Court. The Court of Appeal consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore, who is the President of the...

and the Privy Council

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...

(then Singapore's highest court) were dismissed. On 9 December, the Speaker of Parliament made a statement in the House that Jeyaretnam had ceased to be an MP with effect from 10 November by virtue of having been convicted of an offence and sentenced to a fine of not less than $2,000. Jeyaretnam did not object to the statement at the time. Under Article 45(2) of the Constitution, he was disqualified to be an MP until five years had elapsed from the date the fine was imposed. Jeyaretnam subsequently applied to court for a declaration

Declaration (law)

In law, a declaration ordinarily refers to a judgment of the court or an award of an arbitration tribunal is a binding adjudication of the rights or other legal relations of the parties which does not provide for or order enforcement. Where the declaration is made by a court, it is usually...

that, among other things, he had not ceased to be an MP in 1986 and that the Speaker's statement had been ineffective because Parliament itself had not determined that he had vacated his seat. On 9 July 1990, the High Court ruled that Jeyaretnam had ceased to be an MP by operation of law

Operation of law

The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies without a will, his heirs are determined by operation...

and that no separate determination by Parliament had been necessary.

Remuneration and pensions

MPs receive a monthly allowance, a non-pensionable annual allowance (commonly known as the 13th month pay), and an annual variable component that is paid in July and December each year. The monthly allowance is 56% of the salary of an Administrative Service officer at the SR9 grade – the entry grade for Singapore's top civil servants – which is itself benchmarked at the salary of the 15th person aged 32 years from six professions: banking, law, engineering, accountancy, multinational companies and local manufacturers. In 1995, the monthly allowance was S$8,375 ($100,500 per year). The allowance was revised in 2000 to $11,900 ($142,800 per year). In 2007 it was announced that civil service salaries had lagged behind those in the private sector and required revision. MPs' salaries were therefore increased in phases. In 2007 the monthly allowance was revised to $13,200, raising the annual sum to $158,400. A gross domestic product

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

(GDP) bonus payable to civil servants was also extended to MPs to link their annual remuneration to the state of the economy

Economy of Singapore

Singapore has a highly developed state capitalist mixed economy; the state owns stakes in firms that comprise perhaps 60% of the GDP through entities such as the sovereign wealth fund Temasek...

. They would receive no bonus if GDP growth was 2% or less, one month's bonus if the GDP grew at 5%, and up to two months' bonus if the GDP growth reached or exceeded 8%. MPs' allowances to engage legislative and secretarial assistants were also increased from $1,000 to $1,300 and from $350 to $500 respectively. With effect from January 2008, each MP received another increase of his or her allowance package to $13,710 a month, bringing it to $225,000 per year.

Persons who have reached the age of 50 years and retired as MPs and who have served in this capacity for not less than nine years may be granted a pension

Pension

In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...

for the rest of their lives. The annual amount payable is of the person's highest annual salary for every completed year of service and for every uncompleted year, up to a ceiling of two-thirds of the Member's annual salary. No person has an absolute right to compensation for past services or to any pension or gratuity, and the President may reduce or withhold pensions and gratuities upon an MP's conviction for corruption.

Speaker of Parliament

The Speaker

Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore

has overall charge of the administration of Parliament and its secretariat. His or her official role is to preside over parliamentary sittings, moderating debates and making decisions based on the Standing Orders of Parliament for the proper conduct of parliamentary business. The Speaker does not participate in debates, but can abstain

Abstention

Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...

or vote for or against a motion if he or she is entitled to do so by virtue of being an MP. The Speaker also acts as the representative of Parliament in its external relations, welcoming visiting dignitaries and representing Parliament at national events and overseas visits.

The Speaker must be elected when Parliament first meets after any general election, before it proceeds to deal with any other business. Similarly, whenever the office of Speaker is vacant for some reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, no business must be transacted other than the election of a person to fill that office. The Speaker may be elected from among the MPs who are not Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries, but even a person who is not an MP can be chosen. Nonetheless, a candidate who is not an MP must possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP. The Speaker's salary may not be reduced while he is in office.

The Speaker may at any time resign his or her office by writing to the Clerk of Parliament. The Speaker must vacate his or her office

when Parliament first meets after a general election;
in the case of a Speaker who is also an MP, if he ceases to be an MP for a reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, or if he or she is appointed to be a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary; or
in the case of a Speaker elected from among persons who are not MPs, if he or she ceases to be a Singapore citizen or becomes subject to any of the disqualifications stated in Article 45.

Parliament shall from time to time elect two Deputy Speakers. Whenever the office of a Deputy Speaker is vacant for a reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, Parliament shall, as soon as is convenient, elect another person to that office. As with the Speaker, a Deputy Speaker may be elected either from among the MPs who are neither Ministers nor Parliamentary Secretaries or from among persons who are not MPs, but those in the latter category must have the qualifications to be elected an MP. Deputy Speakers may resign their office in the same way as the Speaker, and must vacate their office in the same circumstances.

If there is no one holding the office of Speaker, or if the Speaker is absent from a sitting of Parliament or is otherwise unable to perform the functions conferred by the Constitution, these functions may be performed by a Deputy Speaker. If there is no Deputy Speaker or he or she is likewise absent or unable to perform the functions, they may be carried out by some other person elected by Parliament for the purpose.

Michael Palmer was elected Speaker of the 12th Parliament on 10 October 2011. He is the eighth Speaker in the history of the Singapore Parliament since it started in 1955 as a Legislative Assembly. On 17 October 2011, two Deputy Speakers were appointed: Charles Chong and Seah Kian Peng.

Leader of the House

The Leader of the House is an MP appointed by the Prime Minister to arrange government

Government of Singapore

The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...

business and the legislative programme of Parliament. He or she initiates motions

Motion (parliamentary procedure)

concerning the business of the House during sittings, such as actions to be taken on procedural matters and extending sitting times.

Mah Bow Tan

Mah Bow Tan

Mah Bow Tan is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently a Member of Parliament representing the Tampines Group Representation Constituency...

assumed the office of Leader of the House in 2007. The Deputy Leader is Ng Eng Hen

Ng Eng Hen

Dr Ng Eng Hen is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently the country's Minister for Defence and Leader of the House.-Early life:Ng was born in Singapore in 1958...

Unofficial Leader of the Opposition

In parliamentary systems of government on the Westminster model

Westminster System

The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, the Leader of the Opposition

Leader of the Opposition

The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...

is the MP who is the leader of the largest opposition party

Opposition (parliamentary)

which is able and prepared to assume office if the Government resigns. This political party often forms a shadow cabinet

Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...

, the members of which serve as opposition spokespersons on key areas of government. Singapore law does not provide for an official Leader of the Opposition, though the leader of the largest opposition party in Parliament is usually given the title of unofficial Leader of the Opposition. This is taken into consideration by the Speaker when seats in Parliament are allocated, and during a debate the MP so designated is often given the privilege of being one of the first non-Government MPs to speak.

Singapore presently does not have a shadow cabinet in Parliament as the People's Action Party

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

(PAP) has held an overwhelming majority of the seats in the House since it came to power in 1959. However, at the 1991 general election four opposition politicians were elected to Parliament: Chiam See Tong

Chiam See Tong

Chiam See Tong is a politician and lawyer from Singapore. He is the country's longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament . Between 1984 and 2011, he represented the constituency of Potong Pasir in Singapore's Parliament....

, Cheo Chai Chen and Ling How Doong

Ling How Doong

Ling How Doong is a politician and lawyer from Singapore. A member of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party , he served as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bukit Gombak from 1991 to 1997.-Political career:...

from the Singapore Democratic Party

Singapore Democratic Party

The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...

(SDP), and Low Thia Khiang

Low Thia Khiang

from the Workers' Party of Singapore

Workers' Party of Singapore

(WP). On 6 January 1992 during a Parliamentary debate on the election of the Speaker of Parliament, the Leader of the House Wong Kan Seng

Wong Kan Seng

Wong Kan Seng is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he served as the country's Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2011...

said that he proposed to treat Chiam, then the SDP's Secretary-General, as the "unofficial Leader of the Opposition" and that the House should give him "due courtesy and precedence among Opposition MPs". He likened the situation to that in the Legislative Assembly of Singapore

Legislative Assembly of Singapore

in 1955 when the PAP won three out of four contested seats, and Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

was de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

Leader of the Opposition. After Chiam was replaced by Ling as Secretary-General of the SDP in 1993, the latter was referred to as the unofficial Leader of the Opposition.

In the 2006 general election, Chiam and Low retained their seats, and Sylvia Lim from the WP was appointed an NCMP. The Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....

referred to Low, who is the WP's Secretary-General, as Leader of the Opposition during a debate in the House on 13 November 2006. However, following the 2011 general election, Low announced he would not be accepting the title. He said: "Either you have a leader of the opposition, or you do not have it. There's no need to have an unofficial leader of the opposition." He also noted that the title appeared "derogatory" to him because it implied that "you only qualify as unofficial".

Party whip

The primary role of a party whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

in Parliament is to enforce party discipline

Party discipline

Party discipline is the ability of a parliamentary group of a political party to get its members to support the policies of their party leadership. In liberal democracies, it usually refers to the control that party leaders have over its legislature...

and ensure that sufficient numbers of MPs from his or her political parties

Political party

attend sittings of the House and vote along party lines

Party line (politics)

In politics, the line or the party line is an idiom for a political party or social movement's canon agenda, as well as specific ideological elements specific to the organization's partisanship. The common phrase toeing the party line describes a person who speaks in a manner that conforms to his...

. From time to time, a whip may "lift the whip" and allow MPs to vote according to their consciences. In March 2009, the whip was lifted for PAP MPs during debates on amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act that would permit financial compensation to be paid to organ donors. A whip also schedules the MPs that will speak for each item of Parliamentary business.

The Government Whip is Lim Swee Say

Lim Swee Say

Lim Swee Say is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently a Cabinet Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress....

, assisted by two Deputy Government Whips, Inderjit Singh and Dr. Amy Khor

Amy Khor Lean Suan

Amy Khor Lean Suan is the Mayor of South West Community Development Council and a Member of Parliament in Singapore....

. The Party Whip for the Workers' Party is Low Thia Kiang, and the Deputy Party Whip is Sylvia Lim.

Select Committees

A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of MPs which is appointed to deal with particular areas or issues. Standing Select Committees (that is, permanently constituted committees) are either chaired by the Speaker of Parliament or an MP appointed to the position, and its members are usually up to seven MPs appointed by Parliament in a manner that ensures that, so far as is possible, the balance between the Government benches and the Opposition benches in Parliament is reflected in the Committee. Parliament may also appoint ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....

Select Committees to deal with other matters, such as to study the details of bills that are before Parliament. In addition, if Parliament resolves that NMPs will be appointed during its term, a Special Select Committee on Nominations for Appointment as NMP is established to consider suggestions for nominees submitted by members of the public.

A Standing Select Committee continues for the duration of a Parliament unless Parliament otherwise provides, while other select committees last until they have presented their final reports. A prorogation of Parliament (see below) does not cause the business and proceedings before select committees to lapse; these are proceeded with in the next session of the same Parliament.

Standing Select Committees
Name	Function	Chairman	Members
Committee of Selection	In charge of selecting MPs to sit on other committees.	Speaker	7 MPs
Committee of Privileges	Looks into complaints of breaches of Parliamentary privilege and any matters that appear to affect the powers and privileges of Parliament (see below).	Speaker	7 MPs
Estimates Committee	Examines the Government's estimates of expenditure, reports what economies consistent with the policy implied in the estimates might be effected, and, subject to the provisions of the law, suggests the form in which the estimates might be presented.	Appointed by Speaker	Not more than 7 MPs
House Committee	Considers and advises the Speaker on all matters connected with the comfort and convenience of MPs.	Speaker	7 MPs
Public Accounts Committee	Examines the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure, and other accounts laid before Parliament as the Committee thinks fit.	Appointed by Speaker	Not more than 7 MPs
Public Petitions Committee	Considers all public petitions referred to it and conveys to Parliament all requisite information about their contents.	Speaker	7 MPs
Standing Orders Committee	Considers and reports on all matters relating to the Standing Orders of Parliament which are referred to it by Parliament.	Speaker	Deputy Speakers and 7 MPs

Government Parliamentary Committees

Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) were established by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in 1987. GPCs are Party organs, and were not set up because they are required by any provision of the Constitution or constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political custom)

A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...

. Each GPC examines the policies, programmes and proposed legislation of a particular government ministry, provides the ministry with feedback and suggestions, and is consulted by the ministry on issues of public interest.

The members of GPCs are PAP backbencher

Backbencher

In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...

s, and each GPC is backed by a resource panel which members of the public are invited to join. When GPCs were introduced, Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...

, then First Deputy Prime Minister, said that the three main reasons for establishing GPCs were to increase the participation of MPs in policymaking, to give the public a say in government policies through sitting on resource panels, and to strengthen democratic institutions in the country. It was envisaged that GPC members would act as a sort of proxy opposition in Parliament, challenging the views of Cabinet members. However, in the 1991 general election the PAP lost four seats to opposition parties and suffered a 2.2% drop in popular votes compared to the 1988 election. Goh, who had become Prime Minister in 1990, said in a post-election press conference that GPCs would be abolished as the increased number of Opposition MPs meant they were no longer needed. The PAP would return to the old system of having internal party committees meeting in private. A few weeks later, he said that GPCs would continue to exist, but their members would no longer take an adversarial stance in Parliament.

As of 18 May 2009 there are ten GPCs dealing with the following matters:

Community development, youth and sports
Defence and foreign affairs
Finance, and trade and industry
Health
Home affairs and law
Information, communications and the arts
Manpower
National development and the environment
Transport

Parliament Secretariat

The administration of Parliament is managed by its Secretariat. Among other things, the Secretariat organizes the business of Parliament and its committees, managing tasks such as the simultaneous interpretation of debates in the House and the preparation of Hansard

Hansard

Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...

(the official reports of Parliamentary debates). The Secretariat also assists with the work of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights

Presidential Council for Minority Rights

The Presidential Council for Minority Rights is a non-elected government body in Singapore established in 1970, the main function of which is to scrutinize most of the bills passed by Parliament to ensure that they do not discriminate against any racial or religious community...

and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization.

The Clerk of Parliament is the Chief Executive of the Secretariat. As of 2009, the Clerk is Ms. Ng Sheau Jiuan. She is the principal adviser to the House on parliamentary procedures and practices. When Parliament is sitting, she is stationed at the Clerk's Table below the Speaker's Chair, and reads the orders of the day. The Clerk is appointed by the President after consultation with the Speaker and the Public Service Commission

Public Service Commission (Singapore)

The Public Service Commission , Singapore , is constituted under Part IX of the Constitution of Singapore and its constitutional role is to appoint, confirm, promote, transfer, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over public officers in Singapore.The PSC also retains two key...

. She is supported by a Deputy Clerk, Principal Assistant Clerks and Assistant Clerks. The independence of the Clerk and her staff are protected to some extent by the Constitution. The Clerk can only be removed from office on the grounds of inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from an infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and a parliamentary resolution that has received the affirmative votes of not less than two-thirds of all MPs is required. Further, the staff of Parliament are not eligible for promotion or transfer to any other office in the public service without the Speaker's consent.

Serjeant-at-Arms

The Serjeant-at-Arms

Serjeant-at-Arms

A Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word sergeant is derived from the Latin serviens, which means "servant"....

is the officer of Parliament who has the duty of maintaining order in the precincts of the House. For instance, if the conduct of any MP is grossly disorderly during a sitting of Parliament, the Speaker or a committee chairman may order him or her to withdraw immediately from Parliament for the rest of the day's sitting, and the Speaker or chairman may instruct the Serjeant to enforce the order. The Speaker may also direct an MP to withdraw when Parliament has voted to suspend him or her for committing the offence of disregarding the authority of the Chair or of persistently and wilfully obstructing the business of Parliament. If the MP refuses to obey this direction despite having been summoned several times to do so by the Serjeant acting under the Speaker's orders, the Serjeant may use force to compel the MP's obedience to the direction.

The Serjeant-at-Arms is also the custodian of the Mace of Parliament, and bears the Mace into and out of the chamber of the House – the room in which Parliamentary debates take place – during sittings (see below).

Lawmaking

The legislative power of Singapore is vested in the Legislature of Singapore, which consists of the President and Parliament. One of the Legislature's major functions is lawmaking. As Singapore is an independent

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

and sovereign

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

republic

Republic

, Parliament has plenary power

Plenary power

A plenary power or plenary authority is the separate identification, definition, and complete vesting of a power or powers or authority in a governing body or individual, to choose to act on a particular subject matter or area...

to pass laws regulating the rights and liabilities of persons in the country and elsewhere. The power of the Legislature to make laws is exercised by Parliament passing bills

Bill (proposed law)

and the President assenting to them. The President's role in the exercise of legislative power is nominal. He may address Parliament and may send messages to it, and must assent to most bills which then become law.

A bill is a draft law. In Singapore, most bills are government bills; they are introduced in Parliament by ministers on behalf of the Cabinet. However, any MP can introduce a bill. A bill introduced by an MP who is not a minister is known as a private member's bill

Private Member's Bill

A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...

. Because the Government currently holds a majority of the seats in Parliament, a private member's bill will not be passed unless it gains the Government's support. Three private members' bills have been introduced since 1965. The first was the Roman Catholic Archbishop Bill, a private bill

Private bill

A private bill is a proposal for a law that would apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. If enacted, it becomes a private Act . This is unlike public bills which apply to everyone within their jurisdiction...

that was introduced by P. Selvadurai and Chiang Hai Ding in 1974 and passed the following year. The first public law

Public bill

In the legislative process, a public bill is a bill which proposes a law of general application throughout the jurisdiction in which it is proposed, and which if enacted will hence become a public law or public act....

that originated from a private member's bill is the Maintenance of Parents Act, which entitles parents at least 60 years old and unable to maintain themselves adequately to apply to a tribunal for their children to be ordered to pay maintenance to them. The bill was introduced on 23 May 1994 by Walter Woon, who was then an NMP, and eventually passed on 2 November 1995. In that year, the first woman NMP, Dr. Kanwaljit Soin, also introduced a Family Violence Bill but it did not pass.

Passage of bills through Parliament

All bills must go through three readings

Reading (legislature)

A reading of a bill is a debate on the bill held before the general body of a legislature, as opposed to before a committee or other group. In the Westminster system, there are usually several readings of a bill among the stages it passes through before becoming law as an Act of Parliament...

in Parliament and receive the President's assent to become an Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

. The first reading is a mere formality, during which a bill is introduced without a debate. The bill is considered has having been read after the MP introducing it has read aloud its long title

Long title

The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...

and laid a copy of it on the Table of the House, and the Clerk of Parliament has read out its short title

Short title

The short title is the formal name by which a piece of primary legislation may by law be cited in the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions , as well as the United States. It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the...

. Copies of the bill are then distributed to MPs, and it is published in the Government Gazette for the public's information. The bill is then scheduled for its second reading.

During the second reading, MPs debate the general principles of the bill. If Parliament opposes the bill, it may vote to reject it. If the bill goes through its second reading, it proceeds to the committee stage where the details of the drafting of the proposed law are examined. Where a bill is relatively uncontroversial, it is referred to a committee of the whole Parliament

Committee of the Whole

A Committee of the Whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee...

; in other words, all the MPs present at the sitting form a committee and discuss the bill clause by clause. At this stage, MPs who support the bill in principle but do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses. Bills which are more controversial, or for which it is desired to obtain the views of interested groups or the public, are often referred to a select committee. This is a committee made up of MPs who invite interested persons to submit representations on a bill. Public hearings to hear submissions on the bill may also be held. Where the Speaker of Parliament is of the opinion that a bill appears to prejudicially affect individual rights or interests (such a bill is known as a hybrid bill

Hybrid bill

In the United Kingdom, a hybrid bill is a public bill which affects the private interests of a particular person or organization. It is generally initiated by the Government on behalf of non-Parliamentary bodies such as local authorities and is treated like a private bill for the beginning of its...

) it must be referred to a select committee, and the committee must hear any affected party who has presented a petition to Parliament. The select committee then reports its findings, together with any suggested amendments to the bill, to Parliament.

Following the committee stage, the bill goes through its third reading. During this stage the principles behind the bill can no longer be questioned, and only minor amendments will be allowed. The bill is then voted upon. In most cases, a simple majority

Majority

A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...

of all the MPs present and voting is all that is needed for the bill to be approved. However, bills seeking to amend the Constitution must be carried by a special majority: not less than two-thirds of all MPs on the second and third readings.

A minister may lay on the Table of the House a certificate of urgency that the President has signed for a proposed bill or a bill which has already been introduced. Once this is done, provided that copies of the bill are provided to MPs, the bill may be proceeded with throughout all its stages until it has been read the third time.

Scrutiny of bills by the Presidential Council for Minority Rights

Most bills passed by Parliament are scrutinized by a non-elected advisory body called the Presidential Council for Minority Rights

Presidential Council for Minority Rights

(PCMR), which reports to the Speaker of Parliament whether there is any clause in a bill that contains a "differentiating measure", that is, one which discriminates against any racial or religious community. When the Council makes a favourable report or no report within 30 days of the bill being sent to it (in which case the bill is conclusively presumed not to contain any differentiating measures), the bill is presented to the President for assent.

If the PCMR submits an adverse report, Parliament can either make amendments to the bill and resubmit it to the Council for approval, or decide to present the bill for the President's assent nonetheless provided that a Parliamentary motion for such action has been passed by at least two-thirds of all MPs. The PCMR has not rendered any adverse reports since it was set up in 1970.

Three types of bills need not be submitted to the PCMR:

Money Bills
Money bill
In the Westminster system , a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending , as opposed to changes in public law.- Conventions :...

;
bills certified by the Prime Minister as being those which affect the defence or the security of Singapore or which relate to public safety, peace or good order in Singapore; and
bills certified by the Prime Minister to be so urgent that it is not in the public interest to delay their enactment.

Assent to bills by the President

Before a bill officially becomes law, the President must assent to it. The President exercises this constitutional function in accordance with Cabinet's advice and does not act in his personal discretion; thus, except in certain instances which are described below, he may not refuse to assent to bills that have been validly passed by Parliament. The words of enactment in Singapore statutes are: "Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:".

The President may act in his discretion in withholding assent to any of the following types of bills passed by Parliament:

A bill seeking to amend the Constitution that provides, directly or indirectly, for the circumvention or curtailment of the discretionary powers conferred upon the President by the Constitution.
A bill not seeking to amend the Constitution that provides, directly or indirectly, for the circumvention or curtailment of the discretionary powers conferred upon the President by the Constitution.
A bill that provides, directly or indirectly, for varying, changing or increasing the powers of the Central Provident Fund Board to invest the moneys belonging to the Central Provident Fund
Central Provident Fund
In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund is a compulsory comprehensive savings plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their retirement, healthcare and housing needs. It is administered by the Central Provident Fund Board, a statutory board under the Ministry of...

.
A bill providing, directly or indirectly, for the borrowing of money, the giving of any guarantee or the raising of any loan by the Government if, in the opinion of the President, the bill is likely to draw on the reserves of the Government which were not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office.
A Supply Bill
Money bill
In the Westminster system , a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending , as opposed to changes in public law.- Conventions :...

, Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill (see below) for any financial year if, in the President's opinion, the estimates of revenue and expenditure for that year, the supplementary estimates or the statement of excess, as the case may be, are likely to lead to a drawing on the reserves which were not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office.

As regards a bill mentioned in paragraph 1, the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet, may refer to a Constitutional Tribunal the question of whether the bill circumvents or curtails the discretionary powers conferred on him or her by the Constitution. If the Tribunal is of the opinion that the bill does not have this effect, the President is deemed to have assented to the bill on the day after the day when the Tribunal's opinion is pronounced in open court

In open court

In open court is a legal term in the United States defined by the appearance by a party or their attorney in a public court session such as during a trial...

. On the other hand, if the Tribunal feels that the bill does have the circumventing or curtailing effect, and the President either has withheld or withholds his assent to the bill, the Prime Minister may direct that the bill be submitted to the electors for a national referendum. In that case, the bill will only become law if it is supported by not less than two-thirds of the total number of votes cast at the referendum. If 30 days have expired after a bill has been presented to the President for assent and he or she has neither signified the withholding of assent nor referred the Bill to a Constitutional Tribunal, the bill is deemed to have been assented to on the day following the expiry of the 30-day period. The procedure is similar for a bill mentioned in paragraph 2, except that if the Constitutional Tribunal rules that the bill has a circumventing or curtailing effect, the Prime Minister has no power to put the bill to a referendum. This ensures that changes to the President's discretionary powers can only be made by way of constitutional amendment

Constitutional amendment

A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...

s and not ordinary statutes.

If the President withholds his assent to any Supply Bill, Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill referred to in paragraph 5 contrary to the recommendation of the Council of Presidential Advisers, Parliament may by resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the total number of elected MPs overrule the decision of the President. If Parliament does not do so within 30 days of the withholding of assent, it may authorize expenditure or supplementary expenditure, from the Consolidated Fund

Consolidated Fund

Consolidated Fund or the Consolidated Revenue Fund is the term used for the main bank account of the government in many of the countries in the Commonwealth of Nations.-Establishment:...

and Development Fund during the relevant financial year, provided that:

where the President withholds his assent to a Supply Bill, the expenditure so authorized for any service or purpose for that financial year cannot exceed the total amount appropriated for that service or purpose in the preceding financial year; or
where the President withholds his assent to a Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill, the expenditure so authorized for any service or purpose shall not exceed the amount necessary to replace an amount advanced from any Contingencies Fund under Article 148C(1) of the Constitution for that service or purpose.

If 30 days have passed after a Supply Bill, Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill has been presented to the President for assent and her or she has not signified the withholding of assent, the President is deemed to have assented to the bill on the day immediately following the expiration of the 30-day period.

Upon receiving presidential assent, a bill becomes law and is known as an Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

. However, the Act only comes into force on the date of its publication in the Government Gazette, or on such other date that is stipulated by the Act or another law, or a notification made under a law.

Financial control

All revenues of Singapore that are not allocated to specific purposes by law are paid into a Consolidated Fund

Consolidated Fund

Consolidated Fund or the Consolidated Revenue Fund is the term used for the main bank account of the government in many of the countries in the Commonwealth of Nations.-Establishment:...

. In addition, there exists a Development Fund, which is used for purposes relating to matters such as:

the construction, improvement, extension, enlargement and replacement of buildings and works and the provision, acquisition, improvement and replacement of other capital asset
Capital asset
The term capital asset has three unrelated technical definitions, and is also used in a variety of non-technical ways.*In financial economics, it refers to any asset used to make money, as opposed to assets used for personal enjoyment or consumption...

s (including vehicles, vessels, aircraft, rolling-stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

, machinery, instruments and equipment) required in respect of or in connection with the economic development or general welfare of Singapore;
the acquisition of land and the use of any invention;
the carrying of on any survey, research or investigation before the undertaking of any purpose referred to in paragraph 1, or the formation of any plan or scheme for the development, improvement, conservation or exploitation of the resources of Singapore; and
capital
Financial capital
Financial capital can refer to money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services or to that sector of the economy based on its operation, i.e. retail, corporate, investment banking, etc....

contributions for investment by way of capital injection in any statutory corporation
Statutory Corporation
A statutory corporation or public body is a corporation created by statute. While artificial legal personality is almost always the result of statutory intervention, a statutory corporation does not include corporations owned by shareholders whose legal personality derives from being registered...

.

The Government may only withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund if authorized by a Supply law, Supplementary Supply law or Final Supply law passed by Parliament. In this way, Parliament exerts a degree of financial control over the Government as the latter's budget must be approved each year following a debate in the House. However, at present it is virtually certain that the Government's budgets will be approved as it holds a majority of seats in Parliament, and MPs are required by party discipline to vote according to the party line.

The annual budget approval process begins with the Minister for Finance

Minister for Finance (Singapore)

The Minister for Finance is an appointment in the Cabinet of Singapore and heads the Ministry of Finance. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was Second Minister for Finance, took over the ministership on 2007-12-01 when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong relinquished the Finance post ....

presenting a Budget Statement in Parliament. This usually takes place in late February or early March before the start of the financial year on 1 April. The Budget Statement assesses the performance of Singapore's economy

Economy of Singapore

Singapore has a highly developed state capitalist mixed economy; the state owns stakes in firms that comprise perhaps 60% of the GDP through entities such as the sovereign wealth fund Temasek...

in the previous year and provides information about the Government's financial policy for the coming financial year, including details about tax changes or incentives to be introduced. The Budget Book is presented together with the Budget Statement. This sets out estimates of how each Government ministry proposes to use the public funds allocated to it in the budget in the next financial year. Following the Minister's budget speech, Parliament stands adjourned for not less than seven clear days.

When Parliament resumes sitting, two days are allotted for a debate on the Budget Statement, after which Parliament votes on a motion to approve the Government's financial policy as set out in the Statement. Parliament then constitutes itself as the Committee of Supply and debates the estimates of expenditure. During the debates, MPs are entitled to question Ministers on their ministries' policies after giving notice of their intention to move amendments to reduce by token sums of S$

Singapore dollar

The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

100 the total amounts provisionally allocated to particular heads of expenditure. The Committee of Supply debates usually last between seven and ten days, and upon their conclusion a Supply Bill is passed. The enacted law is called a Supply Act.

If the Government wishes to spend public money in addition to what was provided for in the budget, it must submit supplementary estimates to Parliament for approval. If the financial year has not yet ended, such supplementary estimates are passed in the form of a Supplementary Supply Act. As soon as possible after the end of each financial year, the Minister for Finance must introduce into Parliament a Final Supply Bill containing any sums which have not yet been included in any Supply Bill. This is enacted by Parliament as a Final Supply Act.

Ministerial accountability

A crucial reason why governmental powers are separated

Separation of powers

The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...

among three branches of government – the Executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

, Legislature

Legislature

and Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

– is so that the exercise of power by one branch may be checked by the other two branches. In addition to approving the Government's expenditure of public funds, Parliament exercises a check over the Cabinet

Cabinet of Singapore

The Cabinet of Singapore forms the Government of Singapore together with the President of Singapore. It is led by the Prime Minister of Singapore who is the head of government...

through the power of MPs to question the Prime Minister and other Ministers regarding the Government's policies and decisions. MPs may put questions to Ministers relating to affairs within their official functions, or bills, motions or other public matters connected with the business of Parliament for which they are responsible. Questions may also be put to other MPs relating to matters that they are responsible for. However, this is a weak check when most of the MPs are members of the political party in power, as they are constrained by party discipline to adhere to the policies it espouses.

Unless a question is urgent and relates to a matter of public importance or to the arrangement of public business and the Speaker's permission has been obtained to ask it, to pose a question an MP must give not later than seven clear days' written notice before the sitting day on which the answer is required. An MP may ask up to five questions at any one time, not more than three of which may be for oral answer. Detailed rules govern the contents of questions. For instance, questions must not contain statements which the MP is not prepared to substantiate; or arguments, inferences, opinions, imputations, epithets or tendentious, ironical or offensive expressions; and a question must not be asked to obtain an expression of opinion, the solution of an abstract legal case or the answer to a hypothetical proposition.

MPs' questions requiring oral answers are raised during Question Time

Question Time

Question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...

, which is usually one and a half hours from the commencement of each Parliamentary sitting. Written answers are sent to the MP and to the Clerk of Parliament, who circulates the answer to all MPs and arranges for it to be printed in Hansard.

Parliamentary procedure

Parliament regulates and ensure the orderly conduct of its own proceedings and the despatch of business through the Standing Orders of Parliament, which it is entitled to make, amend and revoke. If there is any matter not provided for by the Standing Orders, or any question relating to the interpretation or application of any Standing Order, the Speaker of Parliament decides how it should be dealt with. He may have regard to the practice of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, but is not bound to follow it.

Sessions

Parliament convenes when it is in session. The first session of a particular Parliament commences when Parliament meets after being formed following a general election. Each year there must be at least one session, and not more than six months must intervene between the last sitting of Parliament in any session and the first sitting in the next session. Each Parliament generally has two sessions, although the Seventh Parliament had three sessions: 9 January 1989 to 2 April 1990, 7 June 1990 to 29 January 1991, and 22 February to 14 August 1991. A session usually opens with an address by the President drafted by the Cabinet, which sets out the Government's agenda for the session.

A Parliamentary session concludes in one of two ways. First, the President, on Cabinet's advice, may prorogue Parliament by proclamation in the Government Gazette. Prorogation has the effect of suspending the sitting of Parliament, but MPs retain their seats and it is not necessary for an election to be held. Uncompleted Parliamentary business is not affected by a prorogation, and is carried over from one session to the next. For instance, Standing Order 88(1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament states: "A Bill before Parliament shall not lapse upon the prorogation of Parliament and all business and proceedings connected therewith shall be carried over to the next session of the same Parliament and continue from the stage that it had reached in the preceding session." The period between sessions is called a recess.

Secondly, a session terminates when Parliament is dissolved

Dissolution of parliament

. A dissolution puts an end to a particular Parliament, and all unfinished business is expunged. Dissolution occurs in the following circumstances:

When five years have elapsed from the date of its first sitting, Parliament is automatically dissolved. The first sitting of the 12th Parliament took place on 10 October 2011, and thus it will be automatically dissolved on 10 October 2016 unless it is dissolved earlier by one of methods stated below.
If at any time the office of Prime Minister is vacant, the President may wait a reasonable period to see if there is any other MP likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs, and who may therefore be appointed Prime Minister. If there is no such person, the President must dissolve Parliament by proclamation in the Gazette.
The President may also dissolve Parliament by proclamation if advised by the Prime Minister to do so, although he is not obliged to so act unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister commands the confidence of a majority of MPs. The President will usually be asked to dissolve Parliament in this manner if the Prime Minister wishes to call a general election.

The President is not permitted to dissolve Parliament following the giving of a notice of motion in Parliament proposing an inquiry into his conduct unless (1) a resolution is not passed pursuant to the notice of motion; (2) where a resolution has been passed, the tribunal appointed to inquire into the allegations against the President determines that he has not become permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office or that he is not guilty of any other allegations; (3) following a tribunal report that is unfavourable to the President, Parliament does not successfully pass a resolution for the President's removal from office; or (4) Parliament by resolution requests him to dissolve Parliament.

A general election

General election

must be held within three months after every dissolution of Parliament. The Prime Minister and other Ministers who make up the Cabinet do not vacate their offices upon a dissolution of Parliament, but continue in their posts until the first sitting of the next Parliament following a general election.

Speaker's procession and the Mace

Unless otherwise notified by the Speaker, a Parliamentary sitting begins at 1:30 pm. It begins with the Speaker's procession, during which the Serjeant-at-Arms enters the chamber of the House bearing the Mace

Ceremonial mace

The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...

of Parliament on his right shoulder ahead of the Speaker, the Clerk of Parliament, and the Clerk's assistants. Members of Parliament rise in their places upon the entry of the Speaker and bow to him, and he reciprocates. The mace is an ornamented staff that represents the Speaker's authority and is the Serjeant's emblem of office. When Parliament's predecessor, the Legislative Assembly, acquired the Mace in 1958, the Speaker, Sir George Oehlers, invited members to "accept that the Mace is an essential part of the equipment of this Assembly and that this Assembly cannot, in future, be considered to be properly constituted unless the Mace be first brought into the House and laid on the Table". The Mace is placed on the Table of the House, which is a table in the centre of the debating chamber between the front benches. There are two sets of brackets on the Table, and when the Speaker is in his chair the Mace is placed on the upper brackets. The Mace is removed to the lower brackets when the House sits as a committee, and is not brought into the chamber when the President addresses Parliament.

Debates

The quorum

Quorum

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

for a Parliamentary sitting is one quarter of the total number of MPs, not including the Speaker or someone presiding on his behalf. If any MP contends that there are insufficient MPs attending to form a quorum, the Speaker waits two minutes, then conducts a count of the MPs. If there is still no quorum, he must adjourn Parliament without putting any question.

MPs must occupy the seats in the debating chamber allocated to them by the Speaker. The front benches (those nearest the Table of the House) on the Speaker's right are occupied by Government Ministers, and those on the left by Opposition MPs or by backbenchers. MPs may use any one of the four official languages of Singapore – Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Mandarin

Standard Mandarin

Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....

or Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

– during debates and discussions. Simultaneous oral interpretation of speeches in Malay, Mandarin and Tamil into English and vice versa is provided by the Parliament Secretariat's Language Service Department.

At an ordinary sitting, the order of business in Parliament is as follows:

Announcements by the Speaker.
Tributes.
Obituary speeches.
Presentation of papers.
Petitions.
Questions to Ministers and other MPs.
Ministerial statements.
Requests for leave to move the adjournment of Parliament on matters of urgent public importance.
Personal explanations.
Introduction of Government Bills.
Business motions moved by Ministers.
Motions for leave to bring in bills by private Members.
Motions, with or without notice, complaining of a breach of privilege or affecting the powers and privileges of Parliament or relating to a report of the Committee of Privileges.
Public business.

Each debate in Parliament begins with a motion

Motion (parliamentary procedure)

, which is a formal proposal that a certain course of action be taken by the House. The MP who moves a motion has not more than one hour for his or her opening speech explaining the reasons for the motion, but Parliament may vote to extend this time by 15 minutes. The Speaker (or chairman, if Parliament is in committee) then proposes the motion in the form of a question, following which other MPs may debate the motion. MPs who wish to speak must rise in their places and catch the eye of the Speaker. They may speak only if called upon by the Speaker. MPs must speak from the rostrum unless they are front benchers

Frontbencher

In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then known as being on the frontbench and are described as...

, in which case they may speak at the Table of the House if they wish. Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries may speak for up to one hour, while other MPs may speak for up to 30 minutes (15 minutes if addressing a Committee of the whole Parliament). In general, MPs may only speak once to any question, though they may be heard again to clarify their speeches if misunderstood or to seek a clarification of another MP's speech. If they do so, they are not allowed to introduce new matters. After MPs have spoken, the mover may exercise a right of reply for up to one hour; again, Parliament may grant an extension of up to 15 minutes.

During debates, MPs must direct their observations to the Chair of the House occupied by the Speaker or a committee chairman, and not directly to another Member; the phrase "Mr. Speaker, Sir" is often used for this purpose. Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries are addressed by the offices held by them (for example, "the Honourable Minister for Trade and Industry"), while other MPs are referred to by the constituencies they represent ("the Honourable Member for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC") or by their names if they do not represent any constituency. MPs must confine their observations to the subject being discussed and may not talk about irrelevant matters, and will be ruled out of order if they use offensive and insulting language about other MPs. They are also not permitted to impute improper motives to other MPs, or to refer to the conduct or character of any MP or public servant other than that person's conduct as an MP or public servant. There are restrictions on discussing the conduct of the President or a Judge or Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court; and referring to matters that are sub judice
Sub judice
In law, sub judice, Latin for "under judgment", means that a particular case or matter is currently under trial or being considered by a judge or court...

(pending before a court), though when a bill is being considered such cases can be discussed in a way that does not prejudice the parties to the case.

To bring a debate to a close, an MP may move "that the question be now put". The debate ends if the motion is carried (that is, a majority of MPs vote to support the motion). The Speaker then puts the question on the original motion to the House and calls for a vote. To determine whether this motion is carried, the Speaker will "collect the voices" by saying, "As many as are of that opinion say 'Aye'", and MPs supporting the motion will respond "Aye". The Speaker then says "To the contrary say 'No'", and MPs opposing the motion will say "No". Following this, the Speaker assesses the number of votes and says, "I think the Ayes (or Noes) have it". At this point, an MP may challenge the Speaker's decision by claiming a division

Division (vote)

. If at least five other MPs rise in their places to support the challenge, the Speaker will direct that the division bell

Division bell

A division bell is a bell rung in or around a parliament to signal a division and thus call all members of the chamber so affected to vote in it.- In the United Kingdom :...

s be rung for at least a minute. After that, the Speaker orders the Serjeant-at-Arms to lock the doors of the chamber. The Speaker then puts the question a second time. If a division is again claimed, the Speaker asks each MP to vote "Aye" or "No", or to indicate that he or she is abstaining

Abstention

from voting. MPs must vote in the same way as they did when voices were taken collectively. Votes and abstentions are recorded using an electronic system. If it appears that a quorum is not present, the division is invalid and the matter is postponed till the next sitting. Otherwise, the Speaker states the numbers of MPs voting "Aye" and "No" and declares the results of the division. The Serjeant then unlocks the doors.

A Minister may make a statement in Parliament on a matter of public importance. MPs are allowed to seek clarification on the statement but no debate is allowed on it.

Suspension and adjournment

If Parliament decides, a sitting may be suspended at any time after 3:15 pm, and if so suspended resumes at 3:45 pm. The Speaker may also direct that the sitting be suspended at other times. At 7:00 pm the "moment of interruption" is reached. At that point, the proceedings on any business being considered are interrupted and deferred, together with the remaining items of business that have not yet been dealt with, to the next sitting day unless the MPs in charge of the items of business name alternative sitting days for the deferred business to be taken up again. When proceedings have been interrupted or if all items of business have been completed, a Minister must move "That Parliament do now adjourn". Upon that motion, a debate may take place during which any matter that Cabinet is responsible for may be raised by an MP who has obtained the right to raise such a matter for 20 minutes. Each sitting day, only one MP is allotted the right to raise a matter on the motion for the adjournment of Parliament.

An MP can ask for leave to move the adjournment of Parliament for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance. If the MP obtains the general assent of Parliament or at least eight MPs rise in their places to support the motion, the motion stands adjourned until 5:30 pm on the same day. At that time, any proceedings on which Parliament is engaged are suspended so that the urgent matter may be raised. Proceedings on the motion for adjournment may continue until the moment of interruption, whereupon if they have not been completed the motion lapses. The postponed proceedings are resumed either on the disposal or the lapse of the motion for adjournment. Not more than one such motion for adjournment may be made at any one sitting.

Privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament

The Constitution provides that the Legislature may by law determine and regulate the privileges

Parliamentary privilege

, immunities

Parliamentary immunity

or powers of Parliament. The first such law was enacted in 1962 prior to Singapore's independence by the Legislative Assembly. The current version of that statute is the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

In general, the privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament and of the Speaker, MPs and committees of Parliament are the same as those of the United Kingdom House of Commons and of its Speaker, Members or committees at the establishment of the Republic of Singapore on 9 August 1965. Such privileges, immunities and powers have effect even though they are not expressly prescribed by the Act, and are required to be judicially noticed

Judicial notice

Judicial notice is a rule in the law of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it cannot be refuted. This is done upon the request of the party seeking to have the fact at issue determined by the court...

in all courts.

Privileges and immunities

The Act provides that there shall be freedom of speech and debate and proceedings in Parliament, and such freedom of speech and debate and proceedings is not liable to be impeached

Impeachment

or questioned in any court, commission of inquiry, committee of inquiry, tribunal or any other place whatsoever out of Parliament.

MPs are not liable to the following:

Any civil
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

or criminal proceedings
Criminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...

, arrest, imprisonment or damages
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...

because of any matter or thing which he or she may have brought before Parliament or a committee by petition, bill, resolution, motion or otherwise, or may have said in Parliament or in committee.
To be required to serve as an assessor
Assessor (law)
In some jurisdictions, an assessor is a judge's or magistrate's assistant. This is in fact the historical meaning of this word.-By country:In Denmark, it was the former title given to Supreme Court judges. Today the title is given to Deputy Judges...

on any tribunal.
To be compelled to attend as a witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...

in any court or tribunal or at any commission of inquiry or committee of inquiry or before any similar authority empowered to summon witnesses, while they are in attendance on Parliament or any committee.
Arrest, detention or molestation in respect of any matter which may be the subject of any civil proceedings while proceeding to, or in attendance at, or returning from, any sitting of Parliament or any committee, except for a contravention of the Act itself.

No civil or criminal process

Service of process

Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...

(official notice of legal proceedings) may be served or executed on any person in Parliament or in its precincts while Parliament is sitting, or in any room in Parliament while a committee is sitting in it, except for a contravention of the Act.

No person is liable to any civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or damages by reason of any act done under the authority of Parliament or the Speaker and within its or his or her legal powers or under any warrant issued by virtue of those powers. Thus, defamation proceedings cannot be brought against a member of the public on the basis of statements in a written representation sent by him to a select committee of Parliament in response to an invitation that the Clerk of Parliament has issued.

Reports, papers or journals that are published by order or under the authority of Parliament are absolutely privileged. If civil or criminal proceedings (for instance, for defamation or sedition

Sedition

In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...

) are brought against a person or his or her employee for the publication, the person may give the court a certificate from the Speaker or Clerk of Parliament stating that the documents were published by order of Parliament or under its authority. The court must then immediately stay the proceedings

Stay of proceedings

A stay of proceedings is a ruling by the court in civil and criminal procedure, halting further legal process in a trial. The court can subsequently lift the stay and resume proceedings. However, a stay is sometimes used as a device to postpone proceedings indefinitely.-United Kingdom:In United...

. Further, in any civil or criminal proceedings started for printing or publishing any extract from or abstract of any document published under Parliament's authority, the court must grant judgment in favour of the defendant or accused if satisfied that the extract or abstract was printed or published bona fide
Good faith
In philosophy, the concept of Good faith—Latin bona fides “good faith”, bona fide “in good faith”—denotes sincere, honest intention or belief, regardless of the outcome of an action; the opposed concepts are bad faith, mala fides and perfidy...

and without malice

Malice (legal term)

Malice is a legal term referring to a party's intention to do injury to another party. Malice is either expressed or implied. Malice is expressed when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a human being...

Powers with regard to MPs

If an MP acts dishonourably, abuses a privilege or behaves contemptuously

Contempt of Parliament

, Parliament may:

commit him or her to prison for a term not extending beyond the current session of Parliament;
impose a fine not exceeding $50,000;
suspend him or her from the service of Parliament for the remainder of the current session of Parliament or any part of it; and
direct that he or she be reprimanded or admonished in his or her place by the Speaker.

It is for Parliament alone to determine what actions constitute an abuse of privilege and contempt, and the procedure for reaching a decision. On 19 March and 30 July 1986 the Leader of the House objected in Parliament to Opposition MP J.B. Jeyaretnam's allegations that the executive had interfered with the judiciary. The complaints were considered by the Committee of Privileges in September. While the hearing was in progress, Jeyaretnam wrote five newsletters about the proceedings of the Committee and sent them to residents of his constituency. On 9 October, the Leader of the House made a written complaint regarding the newsletters' contents to the Speaker of Parliament, which the Committee also considered. On 27 January 1987 Parliament accepted the Committee's reports on the complaints and found Jeyaretnam guilty of abusing the privileges of Parliament by alleging executive interference in the judiciary, and of contempt of the Committee and Parliament by publishing the newsletters. Fines totalling $25,000 were imposed. Upon Jeyaretnam's refusal to pay the fines, civil suits to recover them were brought against him by the Attorney-General acting on the Government's behalf. Jeyaretnam challenged the suits on the grounds that the Committee had been wrong in law in finding him guilty of contempt, that Parliament could not lawfully punish him by imposing fines, and that natural justice

Natural justice

Natural justice is a term of art that denotes specific procedural rights in the English legal system and the systems of other nations based on it. Whilst the term natural justice is often retained as a general concept, it has largely been replaced and extended by the more general "duty to act fairly"...

had been breached as he had not been given an opportunity to be heard. However, he failed in his appeals to the High Court and the Court of Appeal, both courts holding that the determinations made by Parliament could not be challenged in court.

Where an MP has been found guilty of abuse of privilege in respect of anything said in Parliament by him or her, Parliament may order a suspension from privileges and immunities relating to liability to civil proceedings.

Powers with regard to officers of Parliament and strangers

Parliament may exclude any officer of Parliament or stranger (that is, a person who is neither an MP nor an officer of Parliament) from any Parliamentary sitting, and regulate the admission of strangers to any sitting.

If a stranger commits a contempt, Parliament may:

commit him or her to prison for a term not extending beyond the current session of Parliament;
impose a fine not exceeding $50,000;
exclude him or her from Parliament and its precincts for the remainder of the current session of Parliament or for any part of it; and
direct that he or she be reprimanded or admonished by the Speaker at the Bar of the House. The Bar of the House is a barrier in the debating chamber that only MPs are allowed to pass through during sittings.

Other powers

Parliament and any committee of Parliament may also exercise the following powers:

It may order any person to attend before Parliament or before a committee, and to produce any paper, book, record or document in the possession or under the control of that person.
It may require that any facts, matters and things relating to a subject of inquiry be verified or otherwise ascertained by the oral examination of witnesses; and cause the witnesses to be examined upon oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

or affirmation
Affirmation in law
In law, an affirmation is a solemn declaration allowed to those who conscientiously object to taking an oath. An affirmation has exactly the same legal effect as an oath, but is usually taken to avoid the religious implications of an oath...

.

Parliament House

Between 1954 and 1999, Singapore's legislature met at what is now called the Old Parliament House

Old Parliament House, Singapore

. The building was originally a private mansion designed in the Palladian style

Palladian architecture

Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...

by George Drumgoole Coleman

George Drumgoole Coleman

George Drumgoole Coleman , also known as George Drumgold Coleman, was an Irish civil architect who played an instrumental role in the design and construction of much of the civil infrastructure in Singapore, after the island was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.Born in Drogheda County Louth,...

and completed in June 1827 for a merchant, John Argyle Maxwell. Instead of living in it, Maxwell leased it to the Government for use as Singapore's first courthouse. The building was eventually sold to Governor George Bonham and the East India Company in October 1842. It served as a courthouse up to 1865, and again from 1875 until 1939, when the courts moved to a purpose-built Supreme Court Building on St. Andrew's Road. The building fell into disrepair and was used as a government storehouse during and after World War II.

In 1953, Governor John Nicoll decided that the building should be renovated for use as a legislative chamber. Renamed Assembly House, it was declared officially open on 9 July 1954, and the existing Legislative Council had its first meeting there on 20 July. It was then occupied from 1955 by the newly formed Legislative Assembly of Singapore, and was renamed Parliament House when Singapore became fully independent in 1965. In 1988 the building's debating chamber was extensively renovated to increase the number of seats in it to 90. However, as further extensions were not feasible without causing MPs discomfort and disrupting the chamber's configuration, plans were approved in 1992 for a new Parliament building to be constructed. The present Parliament House

Parliament House, Singapore

, on a part of High Street that was renamed Parliament Place, was completed in July 1999. It was officially inaugurated on 6 September 1999 with a special sitting that began in the Old Parliament House, continued with legislators walking from the old building to the new one, and concluded in the new Parliament House. Three items from the old chamber were brought over: the Mace of Parliament, the Table of the House, and the Speaker's chair. The building formerly occupied by Parliament reopened in March 2004 as a performance venue called the Arts House at the Old Parliament, and the street it is on was renamed Old Parliament Lane.

External links

Official website of the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore