SINGAPORE: People's Action Party Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng will speak about protection against secondhand smoke in the home at the next Parliament sitting in October.
His adjournment motion, one of five submitted in total, was selected at random in a ballot by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIn a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sep 29), Mr Tan explained how at every Parliament sitting, MPs will "table issues close to their heart and/or surface topics that are important and of public interest".
"When chosen, these will take place at the end of the day with up to 20 minutes allocated to the MP and 10 for the Minister to respond.
"Those that aren't chosen can be resubmitted for the next ballot for the next sitting," he said.
Mr Ng's motion was selected on Tuesday in what Mr Tan described as a "rather low tech draw", which was witnessed by Mr Ng and Ms Lim.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe adjournment motions that were not selected include one filed by Workers' Party chair and Aljunied MP Sylvia Lim, who intended to speak about enhancing equity in Singapore's criminal justice system.
The motion would make reference to "deeper issues" raised by the recent acquittal of former maid Parti Liyani, WP had said in a statement.
"The intention is to discuss aspects of the criminal justice system and the challenges faced by persons of less means in navigating it. Specific suggestions to improve the system will be made," WP said.
Ms Parti was this month acquitted of all charges after her conviction in March 2019 of stealing from the family of former Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong. Mr Liew was her employer from 2007 until 2016 when she was fired.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said that the acquittal of Ms Parti raises questions that "warrant further investigation”. A review of the case is being led by Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair.
Ms Parti has filed a court action to seek disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutors in her case.
[h=3]READ: Timeline: How former maid Parti Liyani was acquitted of stealing from Changi Airport Group chairman's family[/h]These were the adjournment motions filed for the October sitting:
- Denise Phua – Towards full participation of persons with disabilities in Singapore society
- Sylvia Lim – Justice for all: Enhancing equity in the criminal justice system
- Carrie Tan – Increasing support for the sustenance of livelihoods amongst performing arts workers
- Wan Rizal – Eradicating mental health stigmatisation
- Louis Ng – Protection against secondhand smoke in our homes
More...