Speaker to be elected on Monday

Parliament will elect a new Speaker when it sits on Monday.

Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin will be put forward for the post, which Madam Halimah Yacob vacated last month to contest in the Sept 23 presidential election.

People's Action Party MPs, who form the majority in Parliament and were briefed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong about his choice, have said they will give their full support.

PM Lee said on Tuesday that he made the difficult decision to nominate Mr Tan for Speaker as he "has the temperament and personality for this role".

The election will be the first order of business for the sitting, as Parliament proceedings cannot continue without a Speaker.

Mr Tan will have to resign from his ministerial post. Once elected, he will become Singapore's 10th Speaker.

Parliament will also discuss issues such as Singapore's transition to a cashless public transport system by 2020, and the push to become a Smart Nation, among other things.

MPs filed nine questions about the two topics, with Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson)and Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC) asking what will be done to ensure elderly Singaporeans are not left behind.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied GRC), meanwhile, wants to know whether the use of electronic payment options will lead to more security risks, such as payment systems being used by loansharks.

Six Bills will also be tabled, including one to amend the Property Tax Act and another to change the Goods and Services Tax Act.

Tham Yuen-C

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 09, 2017, with the headline Speaker to be elected on Monday. Subscribe