SINGAPORE: A newly released independent database of parliamentary questions and answers has unleashed a wave of praise for Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng, for asking the most number of parliamentary questions compared to his peers in the governing party.
Mr Ng, who was elected to Parliament in 2015, has asked more than a whopping 860 parliamentary questions during his tenure in the House. This means that of the 16,729 questions recorded since 2001, Mr Ng’s questions alone constitute one out of every 20 questions.
Some Singaporeans online agreed that Mr Ng is a “legend” for speaking up extensively, while others said he is “one of the rare ones” who works tirelessly for his constituents.
Some asked why the parliamentarian has yet to receive a promotion as a political office-holder, given his stellar track record in the House.
One commenter on the Singapore subreddit asked: “He deserves to be ParlSec or even MoS…. Min Louis when??”
In contrast to the positive response Mr Ng has garnered since the release of the new database, some governing party MPs are getting brickbats for their lack of questions despite taking home a hefty MP allowance.
The website, for example, shows that Mr Ng’s Nee Soon GRC colleague Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim has not asked any parliamentary questions over the last ten years.
A check on the Government’s official database shows that Assoc Prof Dr Faishal was more vocal during Committee of Supply debates in the House from 2015 onwards, having asked 15 questions during these debates until 2020.
According to the Hansard database, he has asked 32 parliamentary questions from 2007 to 2013.
At a glance, it appears that the MP may have asked less than 50 questions in Parliament since 2007 – a far cry from the 800-plus queries his colleague Mr Ng filed in a shorter time frame.
One Reddit commenter revealed that the NUS assoc prof is his MP and opined:
“I wasn’t even aware MPs knocked on doors because he never showed up the entire 13 years he was my MP. Just see the same portrait over and over advertising some grassroots event.”
He added, “If there’s anyone who’s greatly benefited from the GRC system, it’s him… I really don’t know what he has done.”
Unlike Mr Ng, Assoc Prof Dr Faishal is a political officeholder.
Having been elected in the 2006 general election – two cycles before Mr Ng – he initially served as an ordinary MP until he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in 2015.
On 1 May 2017, he was again promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary, and following the most recent election, in 2020, Assoc Prof Dr Faishal was promoted to Minister of State.
The financial implications of these roles are substantial.
A Minister of State earns an annual salary of $770,000, while a Senior Parliamentary Secretary earns $572,000, and a Parliamentary Secretary takes home $418,000 annually.
These figures are in addition to the MP allowance of $192,500 per year.
Since he was appointed a political officeholder in 2015, Assoc Prof Dr Faishal has accrued earnings exceeding $6 million.
This includes over $1.7 million as an MP since 2015, nearly $1 million as a Parliamentary Secretary, almost $1.5 million as a Senior Parliamentary Secretary, and about $2.3 million as a Minister of State.
His total earnings, including his MP allowance since 2006, approach $8 million.
The contrast between Assoc Prof Dr Faishal’s substantial earnings and his limited parliamentary questioning, especially compared to Mr Ng’s extensive activity, has raised eyebrows among the public.
The release of this independent database has not only highlighted the diligence of MPs like Mr Ng but has also sparked a broader discussion on accountability and performance among elected representatives.