NON-RESPONSE TO NCMP'S LETTERS

Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam asked the Prime Minister whether any directive was issued to Ministries and statutory boards not to respond to any letter sent by me as NCMP.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng) (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, Sir, no directive has been issued to Ministries not to respond to letters sent by a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.

However, in February 1992, the Secretary to Prime Minister informed all Permanent Secretaries that, and I quote:

`It is the Government's ruling that Government organisations will only consider representations from Members of Parliament or Advisors to grassroots organisations on behalf of their own constituents. This is to prevent constituents from making multiple representations through different Members of Parliament or Advisors and requiring Government organisations to respond to several representations on the same cases. Government organisations would then be able to devote more time and resources to consider representations from Members of Parliament and Advisers and to respond expeditiously.'

Mr Jeyaretnam: May I ask the Leader, in the light of what he said, whether the Ministries and statutory boards have been directed to reply to any questions from NCMPs if no letters had been sent on the same subject by elected MPs?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: I have just answered the question. There was no directive given to Ministries and statutory boards not to reply or to reply to the NCMP, because the directive given in 1992 is very clear. Ministries only reply to MPs who write on behalf of their constituents. An NCMP does not represent any constituent and therefore, by logic, naturally the NCMP's letters will not be answered because he does not represent any constituent.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Regardless of whether the NCMP represents voters or not, and that is a moot question, why is it not considered necessary that Government departments and statutory boards should answer letters from Members of Parliament here writing on behalf of members of the public?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: It is not a moot question that Non-Constituency MPs do not represent any electors. Mr Jeyaretnam himself said so in 1985, that NCMPs do not represent any electors. So it is not a moot question. He has determined that already.

Ministries and departments have been given very clear instructions that they only reply to MPs who write on behalf of their constituents, because if they do not do that, then residents will go MP hopping, from one MP to another and, as a result, create, not just more work for the Ministries and departments, but also more confusion to their own cases.