New batch of NMPs appointed by President

All nine NMPs will take their oaths of allegiance in the House on Monday.

EIGHT Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) were appointed yesterday.

They received their Instruments of Appointment from President S R Nathan at a ceremony at the Istana, witnessed by their family members.

The ninth NMP, businessman Teo Siong Seng, 54, is away on a business mission in Guangdong, China.

But Mr Teo, who is president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he will be back in time for Monday's Parliament sitting.

All nine, who are new to Parliament, will take their oaths of allegiance in the House on Monday. They will serve a 2 1/2-year term.

They include former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo, 30, an executive at New Creation Church's youth ministry; fashion and media entrepreneur Calvin Cheng, 33; and artistic co-director of contemporary arts centre The Substation, Audrey Wong, 41.

Also in the new batch of NMPs are consultancy-firm boss and Singapore Indian Development Association vice-president Viswa Sadasivan, 49; veteran labour unionist Terry Lee, 57; National University of Singapore faculty vice-dean and sociology academic Paulin Tay Straughan, 46; Presbyterian Community Services executive director Laurence Wee, 63; and Ernst & Young Advisory managing director Mildred Tan-Sim Beng Mei, 50.

The term of service of the outgoing batch of nine NMPs expires today.

On July 6, an eight-member select committee of MPs chaired by Speaker Abdullah Tarmugi nominated the new group to President Nathan to be appointed as NMPs. The nine names had been whittled down from a list of 43 eligible candidates nominated by different fields and professions, as well as by members of the public.

The NMPs will attend a briefing in Parliament today, where they will be informed of parliamentary procedures.

But they are not likely to speak at next week's sitting, as Parliament rules state that they have to notify the House of any issues or questions they want to raise seven days before a sitting.

A political party at St James

PAP Women's Wing celebrates 20th anniversary with bash

IT IS your 20th and you're having a party at a hip club.

WOMEN IN WHITE: Miss Chloe Khoo (right) and Mrs Serene Wong of the PAP Women's Wing, decked out for a catwalk during the party.

How stressful can it be?

The Women's Wing of the People's Action Party (PAP) decided on the theme of 'hot white' with 'red hot accessories for women'.

But having fun isn't always painless.

'I had a lot of e-mails from the male PAP members about the dress code,' recalled MsIndranee Rajah, the organising chairman, with a chuckle. She's also a Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC.

The dress code was her brainchild.

'I replied saying they have to look hot in their white and white, but more than they usually do, of course!' she said, laughing.

Their reaction?

'They all seemed very pained, but to their credit, they were all very sporting and turned up looking hot in white,' she said.

But why the addition of 'hot' to the standard white?

'We wanted to move away from the perceived conservative image for ladies and show that we know when to be serious, and when to have fun,' she explained.

'We wanted the party to be something happening, not the usual sit-down dinner at a hotel. This venue could accommodate our 1,000 guests and naturally, we wanted the dress code to match the venue.'

But she pointed out that while giving the colour for the dress code, she had deliberately left it generic and open to interpretation.

SMILES ALL AROUND: (From left) Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean sharing a laugh with Ms Indranee Rajah , Ms Lim Hwee Hua, Mrs Josephine Teo and Ms Diana Pang

Anyhow interpret? That can be stressful.

Take Ms Diana Pang, a party member and party goer yesterday.

With less than four hours to the event, MsPang, an organising committee member, had to sprint through the shops at VivoCity to buy a white dress in 15 minutes.

Three days earlier, she had picked out the perfect outfit to suit the dress code but then, horrors.

Yesterday morning, she packed it in a bag, intending to change into it later, as she had to be at the venue from 10am to oversee the final preparations for the party.

To her dismay, at 1pm when Ms Pang wanted to change into her outfit, she realised she had left her bag at home. She may have been red-faced but there was no white dress.

'I panicked because I had been reminding everyone about the dress code and I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans with no dress to wear,' said Ms Pang.

She quickly ran across to VivoCity in the hope of finding something suitable.

ROSE AMONG THE THORNS: MP Jessica Tan (centre) with MPs (from left) Lim Wee Kiak, Baey Yam Keng, Abdullah Tarmugi and Michael Palmer. --TNP PICTURES: KUA CHEE SIONG

'It was a nightmare. I went to three shops and none of them sold all-white dresses without prints,' she said.

But she breathed a huge sigh of relief when she found one at the fourth store.

'I was very lucky and even more so because the dress was on sale,' she said with a laugh.

She wasn't the only one who took 'white' so seriously.

'White hot'

Mrs Josephine Chew, secretary of the executive committee of the Women's Wing said of theme:

'When coal is at the highest burning point, it is white, hot. That for me, symbolises our passion and commitment.

'It is good that we have a party like this because it shows that the PAP is not inflexible, unchanging and rigid. We are open to new ideas.

'The dress code allows individual women to express themselves according to their own interpretation, but at the same time there is a cohesion as we are all in white.'

So serious. Ask about party theme and get party manifesto.

Maybe the younger ones know it's okay to not talk shop.

A new member of the Women's Wing, undergraduate Chloe Khoo, 22, gushed:

'The fact that they chose this venue shows that they are helping the younger generation and new blood feel integrated and welcome.'

Then she added: 'When the female politicians dress fashionably like today, it catches the younger crowd's attention. It shows us that we can have principles, yet be hip at the same time.'

Maybe the men are different.

Of the party theme, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said: 'We think that white is plain, but it can also be exciting and creative.

'The dress code for this party reflects that we can maintain our key values while moving with the times.'

Just goes to show. Parties for this party mean fun taken seriously.

Election Department begins recruiting officers

THE guessing game over Singapore's next general election continues as the Elections Department said that it had started appointing assistant returning officers to conduct the polls, which is due by February 2012.

The department's chief, Mr Lee Seng Lup, told Channel NewsAsia on Friday that it needs 1,300 assistant returning officers and it is sending out notification letters in batches to inform those affected. So far, 900 have been notified.

The department also requires another 26,000 officers for roles such as presiding officers and counting assistants. Some 20,000 of these officers have been notified so far.

The officers are organised into nine contingents, each under the charge of a contingent leader who is designated as the group assistant returning officer (Garo).

Among other things, the notification letter informs an officer of the contingent he belongs to and the URL of the computer systems he can log onto for more information to access the e-learning programme. The officers will be trained on their specific roles and duties. These include their legal powers and activities leading to Nomination Day and Polling Day.

46 names on NMP Nomination List

Global Aviation Leadership Award for MM