He felt the current parliamentary procedure (standing order) should give priority to the more important issue to be heard and processed”.
Fielding a list of questions in his Facebook post, Mr Leong said he hopes the Minister of Law & Home Affairs can address the following with regard to Parti Liyani’s case:
- If he will appoint an independent committee to conduct a public inquiry into the conduct by Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Attorney-General’s Chambers
- Whether an expedited trial is possible for accused non-citizens who are “economically vulnerable”
- Whether steps are being taken to improve SPF’s interpreter service.
You can check out the full list of questions here.
Political sensitivity important to meet people’s expectations
Speaking to MS News, Mr Leong said he recognised that the ballot is provided under SO 2(8)(d) and conducted by the Speaker.
“Granted that all the issues raised by the other MPs are important and the Speaker has also been fair and proper in the process, but in this case political sensitivity to the people’s expectations is also important,” he noted.
This time it did not meet the people’s expectations.
In regards to this, Mr Leong plans to advocate for a reform of this procedure in the future. But nonetheless, he is fully behind the AM, saying PSP “will fully support the secondhand smoke motion”.
Only 1 out of 5 MPs could raise additional matters of public concern
In Singapore’s Parliamentary procedure, only 1 AM is allocated for each Parliamentary sitting. If more than 1 AM is filed, they would be balloted.
Source
For the next Parliament Sitting on Monday 5 Oct, 5 MPs had filed motions:
- Denise Phua (MP for Jalan Besar GRC) – Towards full participation of persons with disabilities in Singapore society
- Sylvia Lim (MP for Aljunied GRC) – Justice for all: Enhancing equity in the criminal justice system
- Carrie Tan (MP for Nee Soon GRC) – Increasing support for the sustenance of livelihoods amongst performing arts workers
- Dr Wan Rizal (MP Jalan Besar GRC) – Eradicating mental health stigmatisation
- Louis Ng (MP for Nee Soon GRC) – Protection against secondhand smoke in our homes
Ms Lim’s AM sought to look into “Enhancing Equity in the Criminal Justice System” in light of Ms Liyani’s case.
Hope Parti Liyani’s case will be addressed soon