SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party politician Yee Jenn Jong, a former Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), is gearing up for the release of his latest book, next month.
Co-authored by historian Loke Hoe Yeong, who has written extensively on Singapore politics in his own books, the new book that will be published in June will cover Singapore’s unique NCMP scheme.
Mr Yee announced the book, entitled ‘Non-constituency Member of Parliament: What’s next for the scheme?’ on Wednesday (15 May), sharing a photo of the book cover, and excerpts from its reviews.
He also shared a screenshot of the book’s contents, which include contributions from former Attorney-General Walter Woon.
Interestingly, a chapter of the book is titled ‘Views from the PAP: Is the scheme still relevant?’ and includes contributions from former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and former PAP MP Inderjit Singh.
“40 years after the NCMP scheme first came to being in GE1984, we have only had 12 NCMPs, but definitely a lot of talk about it at every GE. That GE marked the first time the Opposition won any seat in a GE since independence (JBJ first won in a BE),” wrote Mr Yee.
“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,” the book’s description reads.
Mr Yee added that he and Mr Loke have been working on the book for the past two years, and thanked Mr Singh and Mr Woon, who, prior to his stint at the AGS, had served as a Nominated Member of Parliament; as well as current NCMPs Mr Leong Mun Wai and Ms Hazel Poa from the Progress Singapore Party.
Mr Yee also expressed gratitude toward “ex-Zaobao journalist Ng Wai Mun for the chapter on whether the scheme has been boon or bane for the Opposition,” and added a shoutout to Prof Tommy Koh, who wrote the foreword to the book.
“This is probably the first book with significant contributions by members of the Opposition, from members of the PAP, a political desk journalist, and many political observers. While looking at the evolution of the scheme and how this unique political invention had served Singapore, the book also looked at how our politics has evolved during that period. 40 years on, what’s next for the scheme?” added Mr Yee.
Those who are interested in getting copies of the book may place discounted advance orders here. /TISG
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