By MP for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh
[Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015]
Madam Chair, when a member proposes that a Bill – which will become law – ought to be committed to a Select Committee of parliament, it means that while the member agrees with the objectives of the Bill, he or she is generally concerned about its implementation or its provisions.
The last time a select committee was formed after the second reading of a Bill in this House was in 2004 when the Building Maintenance and Management Bill came up for second reading. A variety of reasons were put forth by members for the committal of the Bill. Some MPs cited better representation of the interests of all stakeholders and to gain support for the Bill. Others highlighted the importance of the Bill by virtue of the number of people who would be affected by its enactment into law, hence requiring further feedback. Another called for extensive consultations to ensure the relevance of the proposed law.
Madam Chair, according to the parliament website, “select committees are mostly set up to discuss the details of a Bill which affects the everyday life of the public”. Over the last year, the Workers’ Party and the SPP through Mrs Lina Chiam proposed two Bills in particular for committal to a select committee. In both those cases, the Government rejected the calls as the consultation process through the Government feedback channel or REACH was deemed to have been sufficient.
Mdm Chair, I would like to request the Government to consider committing more Bills to select committees in future. Participation on such select committees is envisaged to take up more of an MP’s time, and rightly so. While I accept citizens have an opportunity to engage issues through the Government feedback channel and this should continue to be encouraged, this should not mean that parliament’s role in scrutinising Bills through select committees is minified or rendered unnecessary.
In fact, in today’s day and age, select committees can add much needed civility to the public discourse through the active engagement of issues as select committees are empowered to call for witnesses and for documents and records. They present a good opportunity to deepen discussions and generate greater public support for laws.
I hope the Government can look into this matter from a fresh perspective in light of the changing contours of Singapore society where more engagement is sought on issues affecting the public.
Thank you.