Paralympian Yip Pin Xiu and Sakae Holdings chairman Douglas Foo. (Photos: Sport Singapore, Sakae Holdings)

SINGAPORE: The Special Select Committee responsible for the appointment of Nominated Members of Parliament announced on Monday (Sep 17) its nine nominations to fill the vacancies in Parliament. 

The nine people proposed to President Halimah Yacob are:

1. Mr Arasu Duraisamy General secretary of the Singapore Port Workers Union (SPWU) and an elected member of the NTUC Central Committee. 

2. Mr Foo Peow Yong Douglas Executive chairman of Sakae Holdings and the president of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation.

3. Mr Ho Wee San Managing director of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO).

4. Professor Lim Sun Sun Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and member of the Media Literacy Council.

5. Mr Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad Founder and director of Roses of Peace (ROP), a non-profit organisation with the aim of promoting inter-faith understanding and dialogue.

6. Ms Ong Lay Theng Anthea Social entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Anagami, a corporate social responsibility consultancy.

7. Ms Quay Siew Ching Irene Certified pharmacist and assistant director in the Allied Health Office at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, as well as president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore. 

8. Associate Professor Walter Edgar Theseira  Transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and a member of the Ministry of Social and Family Development's research advisory panel. 

9. Ms Yip Pin Xiu Paralympian swimmer who won Singapore's first gold medal in the 50m backstroke at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in a world record time, before bettering the feat at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

Mr Arasu said he was "apprehensive" when first approached by a few union leaders to consider the post, according to an article on the NTUC website. 

"But they worked their magic on me. My main aim as a unionist is to better the lives of our workers and members and so if there is another platform for me to air the members’ views, why not. So, I said I will take up the challenge,” he was cited as saying. 

PSA Corporation technician Arasu Duraisamy and Singapore Chinese Orchestra managing director Ho Wee San. (Photos: NTUC, SCMF)

The article also stated that Mr Arasu plans to focus on "entrenching tripartism in Singapore", which he "described ... as a burning issue". 

"According to Mr Arasu, while the top management in companies and at the national level amongst government leaders and the top echelon in the ministries and statutory boards recognise the importance of tripartism, the same cannot be said of those at the middle management level.

"He said more needed to be done to emphasise the importance of tripartism and he hoped this could start at the schools by making the topic as part of the curriculum. He intends to talk about this in Parliament," the article added. 

According to the press release by the Office of the Clerk of Parliament, a total of 48 proposals were received by closing time on Jul 6. 

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/nmp-paralympian-yip-pin-xiu-sakae-holdings-chairman-douglas-foo-10728482