PAP appoints new heads of backbench parliamentary committees
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The 15th term of Parliament, comprising MPs elected at the May 3 polls, opens on Sept 5.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – A fresh slate of 12 MPs will head the PAP’s backbench committees that scrutinise government policy.
The People’s Action Party announced the make-up of its government parliamentary committees (GPCs) for the 15th term of Parliament on its website on July 10.
None of the chairpersons from the previous term continued in their roles. In 2020, three did so.
Mr Alex Yam heads the Culture, Community and Youth GPC, while Mr Yip Hon Weng chairs the Defence and Foreign Affairs GPC.
Mr Sharael Taha is chairman for Digital Development and Information, while Mr Darryl David chairs Education.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat, who was formerly the chairman for Transport, now heads Finance and Trade and Industry, while also serving as deputy chairman for Manpower.
Ms Mariam Jaafar chairs Health, while Ms Yeo Wan Ling chairs Manpower.
Mr Vikram Nair moves from chairman of Defence and Foreign Affairs to become its deputy, while taking up the chair for Home Affairs and Law.
Mr Henry Kwek takes the National Development portfolio, while Mr Xie Yao Quan takes Social and Family Development.
Ms Poh Li San, who was deputy chair for Sustainability and the Environment, is now the chair.
Ms Tin Pei Ling chairs Transport, relinquishing her role for Digital Development and Information.
All but Mr Nair, Mr Saktiandi, Ms Tin and Mr Yam have never led a GPC before.
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The number of members in GPCs ranges from seven to nine. Education is the largest with nine, while Digital Development and Information, Health, Home Affairs and Law, and National Development have seven each.
These committees, first set up in 1987, bring together PAP backbenchers to look at government policy and serve as an additional feedback channel. They are broadly mapped to the existing ministries of the day, and generally serve through a whole parliamentary term.
The 15th term of Parliament, comprising MPs elected at the May 3 polls, opens on Sept 5
The announcement follows changes to the PAP backbench triggered by the general election and subsequent Cabinet reshuffle. Six of the 12 GPC chairpersons from the previous term of Parliament either retired or have been appointed to political office.
The GPC chairman for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, and his counterpart for Health, Dr Tan Wu Meng, retired from politics.
Ms Cheryl Chan, who headed the GPC for National Development, and Mr Louis Ng, who did so for Sustainability and the Environment, also did not stand for election in May.
Two will leave the backbench.
Mr Desmond Choo, who chaired the GPC for Manpower, was promoted to Minister of State for Defence.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, who chaired the GPC for Home Affairs and Law, will become Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Social and Family Development. He was also a member of the GPC for Defence and Foreign Affairs.
Mr Saktiandi, who is executive vice-president and chief foreign exchange strategist of global markets and global banking at Maybank Group, said that while GPCs are embedded in Parliament, they are also part of the ruling party’s set-up.
They are a separate platform to get views from a wider range of people, he added.
“It is all the more important in this current environment to have all hands on deck to ensure Singapore can continue to have good jobs, and create opportunities for young graduates and future generations,” he said.
He said his new portfolio of Finance, Trade and Industry is a heavy responsibility amid the economic uncertainty surrounding tariff developments and geopolitical tensions.
His GPC will continue to tap its existing resource panels – groups of 10 to 30 cross-sector industry leaders and experts – that were in place when he first joined the committee as a member after being elected in 2015.
In past years, these panels have gathered around the Budget period to provide feedback on policies and views on the ground, he said.
He also hopes to engage new groups of people and work with other GPCs, such as Manpower, which he is also part of. GPCs “won’t have a monopoly of ideas”, he added.
Mr Saktiandi took over from five-term MP Liang Eng Hwa, who served in the role for 12 years.
Mr Liang, a managing director at DBS Bank, said he is glad that the new chairman has good credentials and has served as a member of the GPC for many years. He believes the GPC will sustain its push for Singapore’s continued status as an economic hub with an eye on job creation.
Having seen how the Government responded to financial crises over the years, he is confident that Singapore has what it takes to deal with ongoing market volatilities contributed by US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime and other geopolitical developments, he added.
Ms Poh said that under her watch, the GPC for Sustainability and the Environment will move from helping society understand why Singapore’s green goals matter, to determining ways that can rally industries to move faster towards these goals.
This is because 2030 is the checkpoint for many goals under the Singapore Green Plan
Previously, the GPC, when headed by two-term MP Louis Ng, had emphasised parliamentary debate through private members’ motions, to translate ideas into ground solutions or programmes, she noted.
For this term of Parliament, the GPC will also speak up about what has been learnt from ideas already implemented, and identify other changes needed to attain the goals, Ms Poh said.
“Maybe at a policy level, you will need some tweaks to sustain these successful ground efforts,” she said. “It could be a back-and-forth thing to see how we can journey together, because (sustainable development) is, after all, a very new space.”
Ms Poh, a second-term MP who is also Changi Airport Group’s senior vice-president for Terminal 5 planning, said she foresees greater collaboration with the other GPCs as well.
Several of her GPC’s priorities, such as maintaining green cover and green energy adoption, cross into other domains, including National Development and Trade and Industry, she said.
Among the newly elected MPs appointed to the GPCs is Dr Hamid Razak, who sits on the committees for Education and Health.
Dr Hamid, an orthopaedic surgeon, hopes to speak up on healthcare affordability and accessibility.
Referencing the recent chatter around Great Eastern and health insurance
He also hopes to tap his community ties to improve integration of healthcare and social support.
The GPCs are where each MP’s networks and professional experiences come in, and are also a platform to engage people outside of Parliament, he said.
Dr Hamid will also focus on mental health, an area the party has already made moves in, such as the PAP Mental Health Group set up in 2024
Correction note: This article has been updated for accuracy.
