• The Mandarin term “官委议员” is a paraphrase of the English term “Nominated Member of Parliament”.
• The NMP scheme was first introduced in 1990. Its aim is for NMPs to provide a wide range of alternative non-partisan views in Parliament.
• Unlike elected MPs, NMPs enter Parliament through an appointment process. The first step is for their name to be recommended by the public, in recognition of their contributions to society. Candidates must have excelled in a certain field, brought honour to Singapore or have a record of distinguished public service. They are then selected by the Special Select Committee before being appointed by the President.
• NMPs are usually selected from seven sectors of society: business and industry; professionals; the labour movement; social service organisations; the civic and people sectors; tertiary educational institutions; and the media, arts and sports.
• NMPs serve a term of two and a half years and may be reappointed after their term ends.

Before the debate on the Budget statement for the new financial year began, Members of Parliament raised nine oral questions. Of these, two questions on COVID-19 were raised by the NMPs Associate Professor Dr Walter Theseira and Mr Mohamed Irshad. (Lianhe Zaobao, 25/5/2020)

Candidates must fulfil the following criteria to become an NMP:
1. Singapore citizen;
2. At least 21 years of age on Nomination Day;
3. Name appears in the current register of electors;
4. Resident in Singapore for at least 10 years prior to the day of nomination;
5. Able to actively take part in Parliamentary proceedings and able to read and write in at least one of the four official languages (English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil);
6. Not disqualified from being an Member of Parliament (MP).