NMPs are appointed for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a
Special Select Committee chaired by the
Speaker of Parliament. The Committee may nominate persons who have rendered distinguished public service or who have brought honour to Singapore, and also invites proposals of candidates from community groups in the fields of arts and letters, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service, and the labour movement. In 2009,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong proposed in Parliament that the Committee should also invite nominations from the civil society such as candidates from the environmental movement, young activists, new citizens, and community and grassroots leaders. In addition, the Committee must have regard to the need for NMPs to reflect as wide a range of independent and nonpartisan views as possible.
During a debate in
Parliament on 29 and 30 November 1989, the
First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong set out the Government's reasons for implementing the scheme. The NMP scheme was a move to provide more opportunities for
Singaporeans to participate in politics. It was a "privilege" extended to Singaporeans who could make valuable contributions to public policy but for good reasons did not desire to enter politics and look after
constituencies. Women were mentioned as an example of people who might be more willing to become NMPs, as many have to handle their families and careers and therefore do not have much spare time.
The aim of the scheme was to create a more "consensual style of government where alternative views are heard and constructive dissent accommodated". NMPs could play a constructive role in contributing to good governance that the Opposition and MPs of the ruling
People's Action Party (PAP) could not provide. While PAP MPs had been encouraged to air opposing views, they were after all Government MPs and were not allowed to vote against the Government unless the
Whip was lifted. Moreover, there were very few Opposition MPs. According to Goh, the Opposition had not been constructive as their objective was to discredit the Government so that they could win office. In contrast, NMPs would not belong to any political party, and could therefore represent the views of people who did not identify themselves with the PAP or the Opposition. Thus, NMPs would be able to concentrate on the "substance of the debate rather than form and rhetoric", and provide dissenting and constructive views that would contribute to good government.
