Three Indian-origin parliamentarians were among the nine nominees who took their oaths in Singapore on Wednesday. They included Raj Joshua Thomas, a lawyer and president of the Security Association Singapore, in his second term.
The other Indian-origin Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) are Parekh Nimil Rajnikant, who serves as the chairperson of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chandradas Usha Ranee, an art historian and lawyer who is the co-founder of Plural Art magazine.
Meanwhile, Sean Kian Peng was elected as the new Speaker of Parliament, replacing Tan Chuan Jin after the latter resigned after a reported extramarital affair with fellow parliamentarian Cheng Li Hui.
Apart from Thomas, all eight NMPs have been appointed for the first time. They are appointed for a two-and-a-half-year term as part of the NMP scheme established in 1990 to ensure a wide representation of community views in the Parliament.
Other NMPs who took the oath include Chua Tiang Choon Keith, vice president of the Singapore Anglican Community Services and Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim, head of the public safety and security programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Meanwhile, Singapore's former Indian-origin minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam formally launched his presidential campaign last month and pledged to evolve the country's culture to keep it a "shining spot" in the world. The official launch comes more than a month after Tharman first announced his intention that he will run for president.
Tharman, 66, stepped down from active politics after 22 years last month. He said he intended to be "a President for a new era" as he officially launched his campaign for the office.
Tharman was an economist and a civil servant, mainly at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, before joining politics in 2001. He has served as the Minister for Education and Finance and was the Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019.
(with inputs from PTI)
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