How Active Are Your MPs in Parliament? Exploring MPs’ Attendance and Speaking Count

As Singaporean citizens, we cast our votes based on who we think can best represent us. Elected by the people, Members of Parliament (MPs) help relay and illuminate our everyday concerns to those in power. One way to gauge MPs’ performance is through their level of participation in Parliament. Before the 2015 General Election, the now defunct socio-political site The Middle Ground published a useful article looking at the parliamentary attendance and participation of each MP.

Five years and one election later, we thought it would be useful to revisit the topic to see if things had changed. 

MPs’ Parliamentary Attendance 

For starters, to discharge your duties as a Member of Parliament, you first need to be physically present. The job requires the MP to take on the role of a middleman: they must pay attention to the needs of their grassroot constituents and relay their woes and concerns to government leaders, all the while ensuring that important information from the top is efficiently passed downstream. Absenteeism in Parliament makes it hard for MPs to do either of these functions well. The Constitution of Singapore acknowledges the importance of parliamentary attendance. It says that if an MP is absent for 2 consecutive months from Parliament sittings or any committee of Parliament without getting permission from the Speaker, the MP’s seat will become vacant. 

While most MPs have a full-time job outside of their political duties, this cannot be a reason for them to neglect the responsibilities that come along with their role. In a letter titled “Rules of Prudence” in 2015, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasised to his party’s MPs that they are “all expected to attend all sittings of Parliament. If (they) have to be absent from any sitting, (they should) seek permission from the Government Whip.”

The present 13th Parliament (2016-2020) has a total of 100 MPs. As of now, there are only 132 Voters and Proceedings documents filed by the 13th Parliament. We combed through all of them to find out the attendance record of each MP.  

Party	Constituency	Name	Number of Sittings Attended (Out of 132)
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr LOW THIA KHIANG	127
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr PRITAM SINGH	129
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Mr CHRISTOPHER DE SOUZA	132
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Ms DENISE PHUA LAY PENG	132
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Mr LOUIS NG KOK KWANG	132
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Mr DESMOND CHOO	132
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Mr MELVIN YONG YIK CHYE	132
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Mr PATRICK TAY TECK GUAN	132
Workers' Party	Non-Constituency MPs	Mr DENNIS TAN LIP FONG	132
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr LEE HSIEN LOONG	131
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Ms LOW YEN LING	131
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Mr YEE CHIA HSING	131
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Ms JOAN PEREIRA	131
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr ANG HIN KEE	130
Workers' Party	Hougang SMC	Mr PNG ENG HUAT	130
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr GOH CHOK TONG	130
People's Action Party	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Mr ONG TENG KOON	130
People's Action Party	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Mr LAWRENCE WONG	130
People's Action Party	Mountbatten SMC	Mr LIM BIOW CHUAN	130
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Ms INDRANEE RAJAH	129
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mr CHONG KEE HIONG	129
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Ms RAHAYU MAHZAM	129
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Mr CHAN CHUN SING	129
Workers' Party	Non-Constituency MPs	Mr LEON PERERA	129
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Ms SYLVIA LIM	128
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mr SAKTIANDI SUPAAT	127
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Mr LIANG ENG HWA	128
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Mr ANG WEI NENG	128
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Mr DESMOND LEE	128
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Dr TAN WU MENG	128
People's Action Party	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Mr ALEX YAM ZIMING	128
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Assoc Prof Dr MUHAMMAD FAISHAL IBRAHIM	128
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	ER Dr LEE BEE WAH	128
People's Action Party	Potong Pasir SMC	Mr SITOH YIH PIN	128
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Mr VIKRAM NAIR	128
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr DARRYL DAVID	127
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Dr INTAN AZURA MOKHTRAR	127
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr GAN THIAM POH	127
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Mr GAN KIM YONG	127
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Prof YAACOB IBRAHIM	127
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Mr BAEY YAM KENG	127
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Miss CHENG LI HUI	127
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr MUHAMAD FAISAL BIN ABDUL MANAP	126
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mr CHEE HONG TAT	126
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Mr HENG CHEE HOW	126
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Dr LILY NEO	126
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr SEAH KIAN PENG	126
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Dr JANIL PUTHUCHEARY	125
People's Action Party	Punggol East SMC	Mr CHARLES CHONG	126
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Ms FOO MEE HAR	126
People's Action Party	MacPherson SMC	Ms TIN PEI LING	125
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Mr AMRIN AMIN	125
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Dr LIM WEE KIAK	125
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Mr LIM HNG KIANG	125
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr EDWIN TONG CHUN FAI	124
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Mr ONG YE KUNG	124
People's Action Party	Bukit Panjang SMC	Dr TEO HO PIN	123
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Mr ZAQY MOHAMAD	123
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr TAN CHUAN-JIN	123
People's Action Party	Sengkang West SMC	Dr LAM PIN MIN	122
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Ms SIM ANN	122
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Mr KWEK HIAN CHUAN HENRY	122
Workers' Party	Non-Constituency MPs	Assoc Prof DANIEL GOH PEI SIONG	121
People's Action Party	Fengshan SMC	Miss CHERYL CHAN WEI LING	121
People's Action Party	Pioneer SMC	Mr CEDRIC FOO CHEE KENG	121
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Dr CHIA SHI-LU	121
People's Action Party	Yuhua SMC	Ms GRACE FU HAI YIEN	121
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr CHEN SHOW MAO	120
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Dr KOH POH KOON	119
People's Action Party	Hong Kah North SMC	Dr AMY KHOR LEAN SUAN	120
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Ms SUN XUELING	120
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Mr ZAINAL SAPARI	120
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Mr THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM	119
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Mr KHAW BOON WAN	119
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Mr NG CHEE MENG	118
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Mr TEO CHEE HEAN	118
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Ms JESSICA TAN SOON NEO	116
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Dr VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN	117
People's Action Party	Radin Mas SMC	Mr SAM TAN CHIN SIONG	115
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Mr LEE YI SHYAN	114
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Mr TEO SER LUCK	113
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mrs JOSEPHINE TEO	111
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Dr NG ENG HEN	111
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Dr MOHAMAD MALIKI BIN OSMAN	111
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Mr HENG SWEE KEAT	111
People's Action Party	Bukit Batok SMC	Mr MURALI PILLAI	110
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Mr K SHANMUGAM	110
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Mr MASAGOS ZULKIFLI BIN MASAGOS MOHAMAD	107
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Mr S ISWARAN	106
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Mr LIM SWEE SAY	96
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Prof FATIMAH LATEEF	98
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr ARASU DURAISAMY	50
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr MOHAMED IRSHAD	50
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Ms ANTHEA ONG	50
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr TERENCE HO WEE SAN	49
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Assoc Prof Dr WALTER THESEIRA	49
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Prof LIM SUN SUN	46
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Ms IRENE QUAY SIEW CHING	43
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr DOUGLAS FOO	39
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Ms YIP PIN XIU	33

*9 of the NMPs (Mr Arasu Duraisamy, Mr Mohamed Irshad, Ms Anthea Ong, Mr Terence Ho Wee San, Dr Walter Theseira, Prof Lim Sun Sun, Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching, Mr Douglas Foo, Ms Yip Pin Xiu) were elected to Parliament from the 83rd sitting onwards. Hence, their total attendance should be taken as 50.

**Murali Pillai was elected to Parliament on 9 May 2016 and attended Parliament from the 20th sitting onwards. Hence, his total attendance should be taken as 113.

***Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong took up the NCMP role from 4 Feb 2016. As such his total attendance should be taken as 126

1 Workers’ Party and 6 PAP MPs have attended all 132 sittings of parliament. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and cabinet members like Lawrence Wong and Chan Chun Sing have also been present for most sittings, with an attendance of 131, 130 and 129 sittings respectively. Meanwhile, Workers’ Party leader Low Thia Khiang and his successor Pritam Singh both attended 127 and 129 sittings respectively.

Amongst elected MPs, S Iswaran, Lim Swee Say and Fatimah Lateef attended the least number of sittings, with 106, 96 and 98 respectively. 

MPs’ Parliamentary Speaking Count 

Next, we turn our attention to the MPs’ individual speaking count. More specifically, we looked through thousands of Parliament Reports (or Hansard Records) to find out which backbenchers were most active and vocal. The number of sittings spoken at is a good indicator of how active they are in contributing to meaningful debate, which is critical to representing the many interests of different groups in the country. 

In “Rules of Prudence,” Prime Minister Lee expressed that he had “asked the Speaker to give all MPs, particularly new MPs, ample opportunity and latitude to speak in Parliament”. He went on to encourage MPs to “speak freely and with conviction,” and to “not shy away from robust debate”. 

Clearly, speaking up to illuminate pressing issues for their constituents are vital for MPs. 

Here’s how our MPs performed in Parliamentary debates: 

Party	Constituency	Name	Number of Sittings Spoken (Out of 131)
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Mr LOUIS NG KOK KWANG	114
Workers' Party	Non-Constituency MPs	Mr LEON PERERA	99
Workers' Party	Non-Constituency MPs	Mr DENNIS TAN LIP FONG	96
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr PRITAM SINGH	94
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Er Dr LEE BEE WAH	92
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Ms JOAN PEREIRA	87
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr GAN THIAM POH	86
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Ms SYLVIA LIM	82
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Mr DESMOND CHOO	79
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mr SAKTIANDI SUPAAT	77
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Mr CHRISTOPHER DE SOUZA	76
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Mr PATRICK TAY TECK GUAN	76
Workers' Party	Non-Constituency MPs	Assoc Prof DANIEL GOH PEI SIONG	76
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Ms RAHAYU MAHZAM	73
People's Action Party	Bukit Batok SMC	Mr MURALI PILLAI	71
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Ms SUN XUELING	71
People's Action Party	Mountbatten SMC	Mr LIM BIOW CHUAN	67
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Mr ANG WEI NENG	66
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Mr ZAINAL SAPARI	66
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Mr ZAQY MOHAMAD	65
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Mr LIANG ENG HWA	65
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Mr MELVIN YONG YIK CHYE	65
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Dr INTAN AZURA MOKHTRAR	63
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Miss CHENG LI HUI	63
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr DARRYL DAVID	60
Workers' Party	Hougang SMC	Mr PNG ENG HUAT	60
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr SEAH KIAN PENG	59
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Mr AMRIN AMIN	59
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr LOW THIA KHIANG	58
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Mr YEE CHIA HSING	58
People's Action Party	Jurong GRC	Dr TAN WU MENG	58
People's Action Party	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Mr ALEX YAM ZIMING	58
People's Action Party	Hong Kah North SMC	Dr AMY KHOR LEAN SUAN	57
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Mr KWEK HIAN CHUAN HENRY	57
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr MUHAMAD FAISAL BIN ABDUL MANAP	56
People's Action Party	Fengshan SMC	Miss CHERYL CHAN WEI LING	56
People's Action Party	Sengkang West SMC	Dr LAM PIN MIN	55
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Ms DENISE PHUA LAY PENG	54
People's Action Party	Nee Soon GRC	Assoc Prof Dr MUHAMMAD FAISHAL IBRAHIM	54
People's Action Party	MacPherson SMC	Ms TIN PEI LING	53
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Dr JANIL PUTHUCHEARY	53
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Mr VIKRAM NAIR	52
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Mr ANG HIN KEE	49
People's Action Party	Sembawang GRC	Dr LIM WEE KIAK	48
People's Action Party	Tanjong Pagar GRC	Dr CHIA SHI-LU	46
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Prof FATIMAH LATEEF	45
People's Action Party	Chua Chu Kang GRC	Ms LOW YEN LING	44
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Ms JESSICA TAN SOON NEO	44
People's Action Party	Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Mr ONG TENG KOON	43
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Ms FOO MEE HAR	43
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Prof YAACOB IBRAHIM	42
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Ms ANTHEA ONG	42
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mr CHEE HONG TAT	41
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Assoc Prof Dr WALTER THESEIRA	41
People's Action Party	Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Mr CHONG KEE HIONG	40
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr EDWIN TONG CHUN FAI	40
People's Action Party	Ang Mo Kio GRC	Dr KOH POH KOON	34
People's Action Party	Potong Pasir SMC	Mr SITOH YIH PIN	34
Workers' Party	Aljunied GRC	Mr CHEN SHOW MAO	32
People's Action Party	Tampines GRC	Mr BAEY YAM KENG	32
People's Action Party	Bukit Panjang SMC	Dr TEO HO PIN	31
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Dr LILY NEO	31
People's Action Party	Pioneer SMC	Mr CEDRIC FOO CHEE KENG	30
People's Action Party	Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Ms SIM ANN	29
People's Action Party	Radin Mas SMC	Mr SAM TAN CHIN SIONG	29
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr MOHAMED IRSHAD	25
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Mr LIM SWEE SAY	22
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Dr MOHAMAD MALIKI BIN OSMAN	22
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Ms IRENE QUAY SIEW CHING	22
People's Action Party	Marine Parade GRC	Mr TAN CHUAN-JIN	21
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Prof LIM SUN SUN	20
People's Action Party	Jalan Besar GRC	Mr HENG CHEE HOW	14
People's Action Party	Punggol East SMC	Mr CHARLES CHONG	14
People's Action Party	West Coast GRC	Mr LIM HNG KIANG	14
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr TERENCE HO WEE SAN	14
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr ARASU DURAISAMY	12
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Mr DOUGLAS FOO	12
People's Action Party	East Coast GRC	Mr LEE YI SHYAN	8
Nominated MPs	Nominated MPs	Ms YIP PIN XIU	8
People's Action Party	Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Mr TEO SER LUCK	6

*The official sitting report was not available for the 83rd Parliamentary Sitting and thus has been excluded from the tabulation of the speaking count.

**Tan Chuan Jin has been the incumbent Speaker of Parliament since 11 September 2017; Charles Chong and Lim Biow Chuan have been the Deputy Speakers of Parliament since 2011 and 2016 respectively. It should be noted that their speeches on behalf of the House were not counted towards their individual speaking count.

Out of all MPs, activist-turned-politician Louis Ng turned out to be the most vocal, speaking at an astonishing 114 sittings of Parliament. The “maverick politician” has spoken about various things over the years, ranging from wildlife protection to busking and even the 2020 Budgets. 

Following close behind are Workers’ Party MPs Leon Perera, Dennis Tan and Pritam Singh with a count of 99, 96 and 94 respectively, proving that opposition politicians are doing their part to make debates more robust and engaging.  

Another honourable mention would be PAP MP Lee Bee Wah, who spoke at an impressive 92 sittings of Parliament. Sis Flower, as she’s now affectionately called, rose to prominence after her often unintentionally humorous speeches and stories went viral on social media. The numbers seem to indicate that she’s more than just that.

Putting things together. Scatter plot created by Jeremy Chia.

While parliamentary attendance and participation might be a measure of performance, it is also important to look out for what politicians say and do. In the time that MPs do in fact speak up, are they actually reflecting your sentiments? Are they doing regular walkabouts, turning up at Meet-The-People sessions, engaging with residents? These are important considerations for voters and the biggest gauge of them all is coming up.

The ballot box.

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Authors

Nelle Ng and Sheryl Yang

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Correction: June 24, 2020

An earlier version of this article contained slightly inaccurate data pertaining to parliamentary attendance. These issues have since been corrected. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.