Political systems Appoint ministers from outside of Parliament
If we change the constitution to require the prime minister and ministers to be appointed outside of Parliament, it will achieve a significant impact. 

Here are the benefits:

a) It will become clear that Parliament, comprising of the elected MPs, is the supreme body and that the cabinet has to work under the overall direction of Parliament.

b) It will remove the conflict of interest when the ministers are both MPs and running the government and will prevent the ministers from playing a dominant role in Parliament. 

c) It will lead to better accountability and transparency of the government, as the actions of the government can be scrutinized by Parliament.

d) It allows Parliament to select ministers from a wider choice of the population, and not restricted to the elected MPs. This will include many capable people with proven experience and leadership in business, social organizations and public service, including retirees.

e) If a minister is appointed from among the elected MP, he should step down as the MP and be allowed to nominate a successor to take over the duties of the MP. The moninee needs to be approved by Parliament.

f) It will lead to a better quality of MPs who can serve full time and spend more time in understanding and debating on issues and government policies. 

g) In practice, the party or coalition who command the majority of the seats in Parliament will put up their slate of ministers. They could include their party leaders but could also include people who share their political views outside of the party. 

This simple change to the constitution could have a significant impact and influence in the manner in which a country is governed. In a recent poll, a large majority (95%) voted in favor of this change.

I suggest that this change should be made. 

Tan Kin Lian

Vote - do you support this change in the way that the government operates?
 

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