New NMPs appointed by President Halimah
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The new cohort of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) received their appointment papers yesterday, marking the start of a 2 ½-year term.
President Halimah Yacob presented eight new NMPs with their instruments of appointment in a ceremony at the Istana.
The eight are: Paralympian swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, 26; Sakae Holdings chairman Douglas Foo Peow Yong, 49; Singapore Chinese Orchestra executive director Ho Wee San, 49; Professor Lim Sun Sun, 46; Roses of Peace founder Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad, 29; social entrepreneur Anthea Ong Lay Theng, 50; Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore president Irene Quay Siew Ching, 43; and Associate Professor Walter Edgar Theseira, 40.
The ninth NMP, labour unionist Arasu Duraisamy, 50, did not attend yesterday's ceremony.
The new NMPs will be sworn in next week when Parliament sits.
A select committee chaired by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin had picked the nine NMPs - the maximum allowed under the Constitution - from among 48 proposals.
The NMP scheme was introduced in 1990 to provide more alternative voices in Parliament.

