Seah Kian Peng to be appointed Speaker of Parliament, Indranee Rajah will remain House Leader
Mr Seah, who is Member of Parliament for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, has served as Speaker since 2023.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah will remain Leader of the House, while Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad will continue as Deputy Leader, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Friday (Jun 20).
All three positions were nominated by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, but the Speaker will be elected by MPs at the start of a new parliament.
The Speaker presides over the sittings of the House and enforces the rules prescribed in the Standing Orders of Parliament for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business.
Although the Speaker need not be an MP, he or she must possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP.
In carrying out his or her duties, the Speaker must remain impartial and fair to all MPs. The Speaker regulates and enforces the rules of debate, deciding who has the right to speak and putting the questions for the House to debate and vote on.
The Speaker does not take part in the debates of the House, but can abstain or vote for or against a motion if he or she has an original vote as an elected member. He or she has no casting vote.
The Speaker is overall in charge of the administration of parliament and acts as the representative of the House. In order duties, the Speaker also welcomes visiting dignitaries and represents parliament at national events and during official visits abroad.
Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and National Development, has been House Leader since 2020.
Senior Minister of State for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad has also been Deputy Leader since 2020.
The Leader of the House is responsible for the arrangement of government business and the legislative programme of parliament. He or she also proposes appropriate actions to be taken on any procedural matters arising in parliament.
House Leaders also move procedural motions relating to the business of the House during sittings, such as to extend the times of sittings beyond the usual time as set out in the Standing Orders.
The 15th parliament will have 97 elected MPs and two non-constituency MPs.
The new session will kick off with the election of the Speaker and the swearing-in of MPs at 5pm on Sep 5.
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Singapore must stay socially progressive while conserving its cultures: Tharman
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Being online means it will be accessible to a broad audience both in Singapore and abroad, added Mr Mahizhnan, who is also EST's chief editor. 'Besides preserving our history, it can also inspire younger generations to appreciate and connect with their heritage.' EST deputy editor Sivanantham Neelakandan said the encyclopaedia is meant to be a living document that will continue to grow and 'serve as a lasting testament for generations to come'. The encyclopaedia, published in conjunction with SG60 and NLB's 30th anniversary, can be accessed both in Tamil and English. In his speech, Mr Tharman paid tribute to the generations of Tamils who contributed to Singapore society in areas such as education, women's rights, politics, medicine, law, sports and the arts. He also spotlighted the Tamil community's influence on the city-state's culinary landscape, such as how mee goreng (spicy fried noodles) was created and popularised by the Muslim Chulias of Madras. 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Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
No plans to fully liberalise cross-border ride-hailing services between S'pore and Johor: LTA
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Independent Singapore
5 hours ago
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'We admire Singapore deeply': Johor calls for end to rivalry, urges deeper regional partnership
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