Parliament of Singapore 
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Dummipedia, the simplified free online encyclopedia
The unicameral Parliament of Singapore is the legislature of Singapore, with the President as its head.[1] Based on the concept of parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, it is supreme over all other government institutions and may change or repeal with a majority vote any legislation passed by previous parliaments. The Parliament originally met at the Old Parliament House but in 1999, it moved into a new facility.
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Parliament of Singapore | |||||
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| Type | Unicameral | ||||
| Speaker of Parliament | Abdullah Tarmugi, People's Action Party since March 25, 2002 | ||||
| Members | 84 MPs 9 NMPs 1 NCMP | ||||
| Political groups | People's Action Party Singapore Democratic Alliance Workers' Party of Singapore | ||||
| Last elections | May 6, 2006 | ||||
| Meeting place | Parliament House, Singapore | ||||
| Web site | http://www.parliament.gov.sg | ||||
| Parliament House: Singapore's Power Centre (Video credit: focussingaporevideo) Virtual tour available here. |
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2. Until 1965, Parliament was known as the Legislative Assembly, established under the 1955 Constitution of Singapore. This was Singapore's first democratically elected legislature, replacing the colonial Legislative Council. Following the general election held under the revised Constitution in 1959, which provided for full self-government, the People's Action Party (PAP) gained a majority of seats, and its leader, Lee Kuan Yew, became the first Prime Minister. The role of the Assembly remained unchanged when Singapore became a state of Malaysia in 1963. Following Singapore's secession from the Federation on August 9, 1965, the Constitution was amended to rename the Legislative Assembly, "the Parliament".
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3. The maximum term of any one Parliament of Singapore is five years, after which a parliamentary election must be held within three months of the dissolution of Parliament. The party which forms the majority of seats will have its leader as the Prime Minister, who will then select members of Parliament to form the Cabinet. The Parliament can have a maximum of 99 members, of which:
- 84 Member of Parliaments, representing either single-member constituencies (SMCs) or group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) by the people;
- up to 6 Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP), appointed from the opposition political parties; ; and
- up to 9 Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP), appointed by the president for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a Select Committee and are not connected to any political parties.
Both NCMPs and NMPs cannot vote on the following issues:
- amendment of the constitution;
- public funds;
- Motion of no confidence in the government;
- removing the president from office.
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4. Before any law is passed, it is first introduced in Parliament as a draft called a "bill". All bills must go through three readings in Parliament and receive the President's assent to become an Act of Parliament:
- First reading: This stage is merely a formality, where the bill is introduced without a debate.
- Second reading: This stage is where Members of Parliament debate on the general principles of the bill. If parliament opposes the bill, it may vote to reject it. If the bill goes through the second reading, the bill is sent to a Select Committee where every clause is examined. Members of Parliament who do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses at this stage.
- Third reading: Following its report back to parliament, the bill will go through its last stage where only minor amendments are allowed before it is passed. more... at Wikipedia
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