Mr Seah Kian Peng, a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, will be nominated as the next Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office said on Friday (July 21).

"The Prime Minister intends to nominate Mr Seah Kian Peng to be the Speaker of the Parliament at the next sitting of Parliament in August," the office said in a statement.

Mr Seah was previously the Deputy Speaker between 2011 and 2016.

Outside of politics, he is the chief executive officer of NTUC Enterprise.

The position was vacated following the resignation of then-Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin over his extramarital affair with then-Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui on Monday. Both Mr Tan and Ms Cheng also quit from the ruling People's Action Party.

Mr Tan had also cited his "hot mic" incident as a reason for his resignation. The former Speaker was filmed muttering the words "f****** populist" following a speech by Associate Professor Jamus Lim from the Workers' Party during a Parliamentary sitting.

Mr Tan has apologised to Assoc Prof Lim for his comment, and the latter has accepted the apology.

In his place, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jessica Tan was appointed the Acting Speaker until a new Speaker is elected by Parliament to fill that office.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

According to the standing orders of Parliament, any MP may nominate another person or himself to the office. If only one candidate is so proposed, he shall be declared by the Clerk of Parliament to be elected as the Speaker.

If more than one candidate is proposed, Parliament shall proceed to elect a Speaker by ballot.

The next Parliament sitting will be on Aug 2.

Political pundits previously told TODAY that the circumstances of Mr Tan's resignation meant more intense scrutiny on his successor, with an increased focus on the importance of the Speaker's impartiality.

Prior to Mr Tan's term as Speaker from 2017 to 2023, Madam Halimah Yacob served for four years from 2013 to 2017 before she stood down to successfully run for the Elected Presidency.

Her predecessor, Mr Michael Palmer served for one year and resigned in 2012 after admitting to an extramarital affair.

Before that, those serving in the role did so for relatively long periods, noted experts to TODAY.

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi served for nine years from 2002 to 2011 while Mr Tan Soo Khoon served for 13 years from 1989 to 2002.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Today Online

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