The new cohort of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) received their appointment papers yesterday, marking the start of a 21/2-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; Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore president Irene Quay Siew Ching, 43; Roses of Peace founder Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad, 29; Singapore Chinese Orchestra executive director Ho Wee San, 49; Sakae Holdings chairman Douglas Foo Peow Yong, 49; Professor Lim Sun Sun, 46; social entrepreneur Anthea Ong Lay Theng, 50; 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
