CNA Explains: What is the role of a Speaker of Parliament in Singapore?

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How is a Speaker elected?

The Speaker is usually elected when a new parliament meets for the first time after a general election.

The standing orders of parliament state that any MP may nominate another to be Speaker. 

If only one candidate is proposed, he or she will be declared by the Clerk of Parliament to have been elected. In the event that there is more than one candidate, the parliament will elect a Speaker by ballot.

Another ballot will be held if the votes between two candidates are equal.

The Speaker may or may not be an MP, but must “possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP as provided for in the Constitution”, according to the Singapore parliament website.

According to the Parliament of Singapore’s website, the Speaker may or may not be an MP, but must “possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP as provided for in the Constitution”.

How much does a Speaker earn?

The Public Service Division (PSD) said that an elected full-time Speaker’s salary is pegged to the MR4 benchmark, which is based on the median income of the top 1,000 Singaporean income earners, with a 40 per cent discount applied “to reflect the ethos of the public service”. 

The Speaker’s salary is also structured as a 14-month package – that includes a 13th-month bonus and the annual variable component, but excludes the performance and national bonuses. 

PSD said that parliament currently applies a 50 per cent discount to the position as it is not a full-time position.

This means the Speaker will receive an annual salary of S$550,000 (US$414,360), which is a 53 per cent cut from the 2010 salary.

The pension scheme was removed for the Speaker on May 21, 2011, 

The Speaker is also under the Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme and doesn’t receive any perks. An official car is provided for the Speaker, subject to tax.

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