SINGAPORE - The newly-appointed batch of nine Nominated Members of Parliament were sworn in on Monday afternoon.

They took the oath of allegiance in a five-minute ceremony presided by Speaker of the House Halimah Yacob.

Lawyer Chia Yong Yong, a wheelchair user with peroneal muscular dystrophy, was the first to be called.

The others are Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Thomas Chua, 60; veteran unionist K. Karthikeyan, 55; social entrepreneur Kuik Shiao-Yin, 36; Board of Architects Singapore president Rita Soh, 55; doctor and former national sailor Benedict Tan, 47; labour economist Randolph Tan, 50; veteran historian Tan Tai Yong, 51; and banker Ismail Hussein, 51, who is a director of the Association of Muslim Professionals.

They recited the oath together, promising to protect and defend the constitution of Singapore to the best of their ability.

They will serve a two-and-a-half-year term.