SINGAPORE - The Parliament of Singapore has invited the public to nominate suitable candidates for a new batch of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs).

Only the names of those who qualify for appointment, however, should be submitted to the Special Select Committee for consideration, said the Office of the Clerk of Parliament in a press released issued on Tuesday (Feb 2).

Introduced in 1990 to offer Singaporeans more opportunities for political participation, NMPs are appointed by the president and serve a 2½-year term.

The current number of NMPs allowed in Parliament is nine.

Nominated persons should "have rendered distinguished public service, or who have brought honour to the Republic, or who have distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, sports, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service or the labour movement".

They must also fulfil several requirements, which include being a Singapore citizen aged 21 and above, as well as a resident in Singapore at the date of nomination and for not less than 10 years prior to that date.

Their names must appear in the current register of electors; they should also have the capability to take an active part in parliamentary proceedings and speak, read and write at least English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil.

Organisations that wish to nominate members for selection should submit their names to the coordinators of the respective functional groups they fall under.

The coordinators are: Mr Teo Siong Seng (business and industry), Ms Mary Liew (labour), Dr Lim Shih Hui (professions), Mr Sim Gim Guan (social service organisations), Mr Ang Hak Seng (civic and people sector), Professor Tan Chorh Chuan (tertiary education institutions) and Professor Chan Heng Chee (media, arts and sports organisations).

Submission of names must be made using the forms available on the Parliament website or the Office of the Clerk of Parliament at Parliament House, 1 Parliament Place.

The closing date for submission is Feb 23 at 4pm.

There will be a five-step process for the Special Select Committee to consider the names proposed.

The committee will consider all applications.

The previous batch of nine NMPs were appointed on Aug 26, 2014. They were chosen out of 36 candidates and included disabled lawyer Chia Yong Yong, social entrepreneur Kuik Shiao-Yin and Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Thomas Chua.