The Parliament of Singapore

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

3-2023

Abstract

Legislative power is vested in a unicameral Parliament. Since 1959, the People's Action Party (PAP) has dominated political life in Singapore. It has won every general election since 1959 when Singapore first attained self-government. The PAP's one-party dominance remains relatively robust even after more than six decades of being in government. Parliament consists of the President and Members of Parliament. Parliament presently has 104 members, comprising 93 elected members, 2 Non-Constituency members and 9 Nominated members. The political intent of maintaining Parliament's relevance and legitimacy in a one-party dominant system necessitated innovations to sustain the central idea of representation. The PAP government recognised the need to ensure a minimum, if not nominal, representation of opposition and non-partisan parliamentarians. The innovations sought to keep pace with and manage the desire for more non-government voices in the legislature by regulating it. This attempt to introduce non-government members was aimed at reducing the perception that Parliament was but a mere rubber stamp institution.

Keywords

Political system, parliament, Singapore

Discipline

Asian Studies | Political Science | Public Law and Legal Theory

Research Areas

Public Interest Law, Community and Social Justice

Publication

Routledge Handbook of Asian Parliaments

Editor

Yap Po Jen & Rehan Abeyratne

First Page

311

Last Page

327

ISBN

9780367624231

Identifier

10.4324/9781003109402-20

Publisher

Routledge

City or Country

London

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003109402-20

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