Question about MPs - Residency requirements?

[zzm9980]

In the US (and I imagine most of the West) an MP/Lawmaker must live in the district they represent. Is it the same here? It doesn't seem to be for the MPs. Granted Singapore is orders of magnitude smaller, but in my mind it still doesn't make sense.

[taxico]

no, not a requirement.

[ecureilx]

...

And to add on to what taxico said, after all, Singapore is just an hour, end to end ?

And the MPs are all accessible ...

And in a nearby country, candidates quitely buy property, and LEGALLY prove they are living there, etc. etc .. so that they can contest from the area .. then again, you should see the amount of disputes ..

Some are comical, like a guy from Texas having his registered address in Alaska .. (for example .. ) and boy, they do contest ..

In said country - election is about how much $ you throw, and that's all you need to win the voters ..

[teck21]

Still, the common perception is they all live in nice secluded landed homes, away from the people they govern, and are shoving it down people's throats that all can still be happy living in ever closer proximity to someone else.

[curiousgeorge]

Not only is there no residency requirement, the Group Representative Constituencies system actually allows candidates to switch their constituency to ensure a win at the polls.

For instance, "The presence of Cabinet Ministers in GRCs is often believed to give the PAP a considerable advantage in the contesting of a GRC. The PAP has used this tactic to its advantage on several occasions. Rather than stand in an uncontested GRC, in 1997, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong shifted his candidacy to where the PAP believed they were most vulnerable, which was the Cheng San GRC"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituen ... _Singapore

[the lynx]

My next simpleton question to that biased rule will be, "So what's the point of representation then?"

[ecureilx]

My next simpleton question to that biased rule will be, "So what's the point of representation then?"

err .. regardless where they live, you get to meet the MP and get things settled ... .. so ??

Not picking a fight, just asking ... vs many countries where the MP / representative lives in the area, but you may a better chance of seeing God than meeting the representative ..

[Mad Scientist]

My next simpleton question to that biased rule will be, "So what's the point of representation then?"

Nothing at all , just scared to lose and they hold the bucks and the bucket and the rotan.

There is no fairness in this and the only thing that is fair is their own skin well... almost all of them

Technically yes , they must be at grassroot level but if holding one's coat tails to enter politic says alot about kiasuism by the gahmen

[taxico]

...

[taxico]

Still, the common perception is they all live in nice secluded landed homes, away from the people they govern, and are shoving it down people's throats that all can still be happy living in ever closer proximity to someone else.

they can afford to - i think MPs earn about 200k a year. shoot, i've made a wrong career choice.

[therat]

MP allowance is $192,500 after GE2011, after 3% cut.

Note, that is allowance not salary.
You still can have your full time job.

Therefore, part time job worth $192,500. I would said it is one of the best paid part time job.

[edit to add the following]
You also can have unlimited directorship.
eg, Lew Syn Pau has 14 Corporate directorship.

[zzm9980]

My next simpleton question to that biased rule will be, "So what's the point of representation then?"

Exactly Meet the MP, right? Well, why can't I do that as a foreigner? I actually live in the district!

[ecureilx]

[edit to add the following]
You also can have unlimited directorship.
eg, Lew Syn Pau has 14 Corporate directorship.

Edit : Directorship often, (back where I come from atleast) they claim they don't get paid .. Only Director ALLOWANCES which again .. can .. run .. and run ..

[sundaymorningstaple]

Director's Pay is a normal part of business. It's not called Director's Allowance in Singapore although it about the same thing and it can be paid monthly or annually. For a non-active director (e.g., to fill statutory requirements), anywhere from 1 to 5K a year is normal.

[Mad Scientist]

To have an MP on your board means you are always looking for favors or to be on the right side of the book if you are always tendering for gahmen projects or whatever. The higher your portfolios the more remuneration you get.
Damn, the MPs here are one of the best paid in the world to run a little red dot.
Dare some of them said " they enter politics not for the money" yeah right !!
The first family runs the country, the wife holds the key to Temasek Holding, the family law firm does the HDB caveat, the brother runs telecoms and the lits goes on..................
The late Ong Teng Cheong resigned from his architect firm before enter office and just because he ruffled a few feathers no state funeral was accorded to him.