Non-Constituency Members of Parliament: What’s Next for the Scheme?

Four decades have elapsed since the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme was introduced in 1984. It has been raised and debated at every general election since -- even as Singapore’s political landscape has seen major changes since the scheme was introduced, when the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) had nearly complete domination of Parliament.To its proponents, the NCMP scheme has been an extraordinary instance of the PAP government’s magnanimity in allowing ’best losers’ from opposition parties to enter Parliament. To cynics, the scheme was designed to stave off the challenge to the PAP by guaranteeing voters a minimum level of opposition representation, to encourage them to vote for the PAP. Regardless of the perspective taken, the innovation of the NCMP scheme has been central to the question of political representation in Singapore.This book looks at the evolution of the scheme, with contributions by the NCMPs themselves, providing a platform to discuss whether the scheme is still relevant today, and how it could be changed. It captures views from both the PAP and the opposition, as well as from political observers.