Concerns over the independence of Singapore’s Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme have re-emerged following the appointment of Dr Haresh Singaraju, a former People’s Action Party (PAP) grassroots leader, as one of nine new NMPs.
On 5 January 2026, social media users began circulating a screenshot of a now-deleted Instagram photo showing Haresh wearing a PAP-branded T-shirt at a Meet-the-People Session.
The image, dated 25 September 2023, included a caption in which Haresh discussed the importance of Lasting Power of Attorney arrangements and expressed gratitude to Tampines West grassroots volunteers.
The image triggered criticism on platforms including Reddit, where several users questioned whether a person with such visible party associations could be appointed under a scheme explicitly designed to be non-partisan.
The post was quickly removed, but screenshots and commentary continued to circulate widely.
According to information on his LinkedIn profile, Haresh has served as a Grassroots Leader under the People’s Association (PA) since 2023.
The People’s Association is a statutory board that promotes community engagement and has been closely associated with PAP-linked grassroots activities.
A report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) further confirmed that Haresh had previously been a PAP member and held multiple leadership roles in Tampines West, including chair of the Community Centre Management Committee and vice-chair of the Citizen Consultative Committee.
Party sources also confirmed he had attended at least one PAP tea session, an informal evaluation typically used to identify prospective electoral candidates.
In response to the public attention, Haresh clarified to SCMP that he was “previously a party member” but is “not a member today.”
He said the Instagram photo was part of earlier activities under the PA and that he had archived the post to avoid displaying identifiable images of residents and volunteers.
He added that he looked forward to “serving in Parliament in an independent, non-partisan capacity to serve Singaporeans”.
TOC has written to Dr Haresh for comment and will include his response if he chooses to reply.
Despite this explanation, his selection has reignited wider debate over the credibility of the NMP scheme, particularly with regard to how nominees are chosen and the political composition of the panel overseeing their selection.
Haresh is among nine NMPs appointed from a pool of 57 proposed candidates, the second-highest number since the scheme was introduced in 1990. Members of the public and groups could submit nominations between 8 October and 6 November 2025.
Final selections were made by an eight-member Special Select Committee, chaired by Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng. Of the eight members, seven are senior PAP politicians:
- Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Defence
- Desmond Lee, Minister for Education
- Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Leader of the House
- Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment
- Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Education and Sustainability and the Environment
- Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs
- Seah Kian Peng, Speaker of Parliament and PAP MP
The only opposition member on the committee is Louis Chua, Workers’ Party MP for Sengkang GRC.
This composition has attracted scrutiny, with critics pointing out that the structure makes it difficult to view the nomination process as genuinely non-partisan.
One Reddit user remarked that the NMP scheme appears to be a “facade to plant more pro-PAP MPs in Parliament,” arguing that if individuals with clear party ties can later stand in general elections, the scheme loses its credibility. Some called for the scheme’s abolition, citing blurred lines between party politics and civil representation.
Others countered that the NMP scheme remains useful in bringing sectoral voices into Parliament and that previous political affiliations do not necessarily translate into partisan behaviour in legislative debates.
There is historical precedent for NMPs with party links.
Gerard Ee, an accountant, remained a PAP member during his NMP tenure. Others, such as Calvin Cheng and Tan Su Shan, resigned from the party before taking up their seats. Cheng had previously served in Young PAP but stepped down from the youth wing shortly after being nominated as an NMP in 2009.
The current controversy follows increased attention to the scheme during the 2025 General Election.
Two NMPs — Syed Harun Alhabsyi, a psychiatrist, and Raj Joshua Thomas, a lawyer — resigned from their posts ahead of the polls. Syed went on to contest and win in the Nee Soon GRC, and now serves as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the ministries of Education and National Development. Raj did not contest.
A survey of 500 Singaporeans, conducted in August 2025, found that while 71 per cent believed NMPs add alternative voices in Parliament, only about one-third considered the scheme relevant.
At a forum held in September to mark the scheme’s 35th anniversary, former NMPs stressed the need to preserve its non-partisan character to maintain its integrity and public trust.
Haresh, a family physician at National University Polyclinics, is expected to take his oath during the next sitting of Parliament on 12 January 2026, following the formal presentation of instruments by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 8 January.
The post NMP-designate Haresh Singaraju clarifies past PAP ties after deleted IG photo in PAP shirt surfaces appeared first on The Online Citizen.
