Singapore's ruling party unveils 12 parliamentary committees

Singapore, November 13: Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) on Friday unveiled 12 Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) for the island tion’s 13th Parliament, which will commence in January 2016. The new line-up of back-bencher committees will scrutinise legislation and programmes of the various ministries, Xinhua news agency reported. Two separate GPCs were formed for the ministry of tiol development (MND) and the ministry of environment and water resources (MEWR) instead of a combined one in the past. All the GPCs are being maged by veteran back-bench MPs, but newly-elected ones are serving as deputies in three committees. In 1987, Singapore’s then-deputy prime minister Goh Chok Tong proposed the formation of the GPCs, which serve as an additiol channel of feedback on government policies. (IANS)