Election of Speaker

At 11.00 am, the Serjeant-at-Arms laid the Mace below the Table.

The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah) stood up, and addressing herself to the Clerk of Parliament said: Clerk of Parliament, I propose that Mr Seah Kian Peng do take the Chair of this Parliament as Speaker.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Clerk of Parliament, I support the proposal.

There being only one proposal, the Clerk then declared Mr Seah Kian Peng to have been duly elected as Speaker of this Parliament.

Mr Speaker went to the Chair and sat down.

Then, the Mace (which before laid below the Table) was placed on the Table.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

11.03 am

The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the House, may I extend warm congratulations to you on your election as the 11th Speaker of Parliament.

Sir, you bring a wealth of experience to the Chair. You have served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2006, and since that time you have given voice to the aspirations and concerns of your residents and Singaporeans in this House. As a Labour MP, you have been a strong advocate for the Labour Movement. You have made many contributions in Parliament over the last 16 years, including:

(a) twice successfully moving a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Maintenance of Parents Act, the first time in 2010 and the second, just last month at the July Sitting. Both times, you led the review workgroup, and consulted extensively with members of the public and various stakeholders; and

(b) serving as Chairperson of two Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) – first for Community, Youth and Sports, and second, more recently, for Social and Family Development, though that ends today with your election as Speaker.

You have also served in various Committees of Parliament, including as Chair of the Estimates Committee, and as a member of the Committee of Privileges and the Standing Orders Committee.

More importantly, Sir, you are no stranger to the Speaker’s Chair, having previously served as Deputy Speaker from 2011 to 2016. This is especially pertinent because you are taking the Chair at a time when, having regard to recent events and the circumstances in which the Speaker’s seat became vacant, it is imperative to ensure that MPs and Singaporeans alike can continue to have trust and confidence in the office of the Speaker, and be assured that the duties and functions of the Speaker will be carried out firmly, fairly and impartially.

In this, I am encouraged by your response to the media at the time your nomination was announced, when you said that your intention was to know your role well and discharge your duties responsibly and fairly.

I understand that, for now, you will continue to work at NTUC Enterprise while serving as Speaker. However, I also understand that you are making plans to step down from your current job at NTUC Enterprise, which is expected to be within this year. In the meantime, you will be making the necessary adjustments to enable you to carry out your duties as Speaker properly and fully.

With the Speaker’s seat filled, we can once again focus our attention on the pressing issues that are at the top of people’s minds and push ahead with the Government’s agenda for the remainder of this term of Parliament.

Sir, before I conclude, may I also take this opportunity to welcome the new cohort of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) to this House. Among them is Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, who is, of course, already known to us. This will be his second term as an NMP. The eight new NMPs are: Ms Usha Chandradas, Mr Keith Chua, Mr Mark Lee, Mr Ong Hua Han, Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant, Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim, Ms See Jinli Jean and Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi.

To our NMPs, a warm welcome and we look forward to your participation in Parliament.

Mr Speaker, Sir, congratulations once again on your election and our best wishes as you take up the chairmanship of proceedings in this House.

11.07 am

Mr Speaker: Hon Members, I would like to thank the Leader of the House, Ms Indranee Rajah, and hon Member Ms Denise Phua for proposing and seconding my nomination as the Speaker of the House. I thank the Leader of the House for her kind words of support and encouragement.

I deeply appreciate the support of all Members here, for my election as the 11th Speaker of Parliament since our first Legislative Assembly. I am honoured by your trust and confidence, and it is a privilege that I take seriously.

I would like to thank members of the public, especially my residents, who showed their support when the announcement of my nomination was made almost 12 days ago. Your encouragement has bolstered my confidence and determination to carry out my duties as Speaker of Parliament effectively.

I know that some of my residents are concerned about my ability to raise issues affecting ordinary Singaporeans while serving as the Speaker. The paradox in Parliament is that the Speaker himself or herself often does not speak. But in this, as in so much of my public service over the past decades, action must do in place of words.

Although my role requires me to abstain from participating in debates, I want to assure my residents that I will continue to advocate their concerns and express my views on matters impacting the lives of Singaporeans and their family through alternative channels.

Allow me to say a few words about my predecessor, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin. I have known Chuan-Jin since 2011 when he joined the Marine Parade GRC team. He was a good colleague and had served his residents well.

During his time as Speaker, he made commendable efforts to demystify the work of parliamentary process and enhance public awareness of Parliament through social media engagement and dialogues with the younger generation, and in turn, fostering a better understanding of this important institution among Singaporeans.

Hon Members, I am fully aware of the weight of this responsibility, and I pledge to discharge my duties impartially, firmly and fairly, ensuring the orderly conduct of parliamentary business. We all share a common goal – that is to serve the people of Singapore, and I am committed to giving my best to achieve it.

In my first Parliamentary session in 2006, the Speaker then was Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, who was unanimously elected. Rising to speak on the occasion, Mr Low Thia Khiang reminded the Speaker of the need for fairness. He said: “Sir, you have been re-elected again and I believe that in your past years as Speaker of the House, your eyesight has been trained to be as sharp as a razor and to be swift as lightning and I think we can all expect that whoever wishes to speak will catch your eye.”

So, my first point is this: I wish to assure Members on both sides of the House that I intend for my eyes to be easily caught too!

Second, I want to recall what the then Leader of the House, Mr Wong Kan Seng, said in that 2006 session. He reminded MPs that our role comes with a great responsibility. And he said, I quote: “We are elected by the people to represent their interest and we must perform our duties with a high standard of honesty and integrity. We must never abuse the privileges accorded to us as Members and must be worthy of the House which we are elected to.”

In the performance of our duty, I want to place on record today, our thanks and best wishes to fellow Members Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Faisal Manap, who are both on the road to recovery. This is a reminder to Members of our own mortality and fragility.

We are all too human – and as recent events have reminded us, our weaknesses are not only physical but also spiritual and moral. I say this not to join with the chorus of sanctimony but to reflect, first on the need for us all to be vigilant in our personal conduct and choices, vigilant with ourselves first of all, but also with our colleagues. To hold one another to account, not to fear to tell truth to power nor be slow to listen to hard truths.

I say this to point to the rules and codes of conduct which govern us all, as members of the highest rule making body in the land, and equally, as members of political parties.

This is a reminder that even though we, as individual humans, may fail, these rules and institutions – which apply without exception – do not.

And so, onto my last point. I started my speech by recalling the first Parliamentary session which I attended as an MP and what the Speaker at that time said. I must confess that I actually did not remember any of it – and had to look it up in the Hansard!

So, that is the last thing I wanted to remind Members – that you and I are here for a day, for a fleeting number of terms, but our words here, and our work here, live on far beyond us. We must therefore remember and bear the weight of our office with dignity and a constant sense of duty.

Today, we are seeing the latest batch of NMPs taking their oaths of allegiance; we have 85 Parliamentary Questions for Oral Answer; there is a Ministerial Statement, two Bills for Second Reading and one Motion to follow. Our work is certainly complicated as it is important. We need to do this work, knowing we are all too human; and therefore, we must self-exceed and surpass ourselves in order to meet the standards of a Parliamentarian.

It is this that I urge us all, Members of the House, to turn to our paramount duty – to serve the people of Singapore.

I look forward with cautious optimism that, even during spirited debates, you, the hon Members, will maintain the highest standards of decorum and conduct that are fitting for this esteemed House.

By all means, debate and speak with passion and conviction, but let us all ensure we keep to and uphold the rules that we had all signed up to when we became Parliamentarians in this House. This applies to elected MPs, Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs) and NMPs. I ask all of you to also help me to help you and our Parliament achieve this.

On this note, I express my deepest gratitude to all of you for your trust and support. Thank you, hon Members. [Applause.]