Christopher de Souza, Jessica Tan elected as new Deputy Speakers

Parliament yesterday elected Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) and Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) as Deputy Speakers of Parliament.

They will replace Mr Charles Chong, who has retired from politics, and Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten).

Mr Chong had held the post for two terms, since 2011, while Mr Lim had served in the role for one term, since 2016.

As Deputy Speakers, Mr de Souza and Ms Tan will take over the responsibilities of Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin when he is not around.

These duties include presiding over parliamentary proceedings and regulating the time allotted to various MPs during debates.

The motion to elect the two fourth-term MPs as Deputy Speakers was moved by Deputy Leader of the House Zaqy Mohamad, who referred to them as highly experienced parliamentarians and model professionals with a strong sense of fairness and objectivity.

In 2014, Mr de Souza introduced a Private Member's Bill - a proposed law put forth by an MP who is not a minister - on preventing human trafficking which was later passed by Parliament, said Mr Zaqy. He added that Mr de Souza had also served as chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Home Affairs and Law from 2015 to this year.

And Ms Tan "comes with extensive corporate experience in senior leadership roles with international firms", said Mr Zaqy. He added that she had served as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 2016 to this year, and as chairman of the GPC for Finance, Trade and Industry from 2010 to 2015.

"I am confident that both Mr Christopher de Souza and Ms Jessica Tan, with their expertise, experience and character, will make good deputies in discharging their duties and support Mr Speaker in the course of this 14th Parliament session," Mr Zaqy said.