Daniel Goh sworn in as NCMP

SINGAPORE – Dr Daniel Goh was sworn in as the Workers’ Party’s (WP) third Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) at the start of Parliament on Friday (Feb 29).

Dr Goh, 42, a sociology professor at National University of Singapore, was one of the candidates in the WP’s East Coast GRC team in the General Election last September. He was nominated by the WP to take up the NCMP post vacated by Ms Lee Li Lian, its losing candidate in Punggol East SMC.

The Elections Department had formally declared Dr Goh as the third NCMP earlier this month, after WP tabled the motion for the seat to be declared empty and Parliament eventually passed the motion after a heated debate over Ms Lee’s decision and the spirit of the NCMP scheme.

Writing in a Facebook post on Friday morning, Dr Goh said he will speak on amendments to the Women’s Charter and National Environment Agency (NEA) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill in this sitting of Parliament, adding he “hope(s) it will make a difference”.

During the sitting, some of the issues Dr Goh brought up in his speech on the Women’s Charter Bill included the suggestion to set up a Commissioner for Maintenance of Families to recover maintenance from spouses who default on payment and help unwed mothers claim maintenance from the biological father.

He also called on the government to allow relatives and friends to apply for protection orders on behalf of women and mothers, especially those trapped in precarious positions of family violence.