090809: The First National Youth Assembly

The Sunday Times, 2nd August 2009, Page 12

8th August – After months of waiting, 51 youth convened in the historic chamber of the Old Parliament House for the Inaugural National Youth Assembly. To quote the Straits Times, here were youth that had shown maturity of thought and clarity of mind to articulate their beliefs although they “were not even old enough to drink, drive or vote.”

This initiative involved around 800 Singaporean youth, aged 17-25, inside and out of the assembly grounds where it provided them with an opportunity to consider and debate the policies that will take Singapore forward in a sustainable, yet pragmatic, manner with their elected candidates.

The Old Parliament House was chosen as the venue because of its indelible place in our history as a chamber where meaningful policy debates, law making and successful nation building were conducted. We believe it is appropriate that a youth assembly sits in this historic venue to consider the way forward to shape the Singapore that they will take ownership in.

The term 'Assembly' was chosen to pay tribute to the first democratically elected legislative body of Singapore in 1959.

The Assembly started with the official appointment ceremony where the MYAs were presented with their Appointment Certificaties, the two day event quickly moved into the focussed theme based debate that everyone had been waiting for. The morning’s informal and private debates on Biodiversity and Waste brought saw plenty of disagreements, impassioned rhetoric from Mr. Edmund Lee and plenty of comments from our esteemed Speaker of Assembly, Haresh Sivaram. Many speeches, voting stalemates and compromises later both bills brought forward in the private caucus-esque sessions were passed and will thus be modified with amendments before being presented to the actual Ministries.

Dr. Lim Wee Kiak stressed the importance of understanding policy mechanisms and says that the idealistic start made by our youth is encouraging.

The highlight of the day was in the evening and our MYAs were graced with the presence of Dr. Lim Wee Kiak, a P-65 MP for Sembawang GRC, Chairman of the Government Parliament Committee on Transport and a Member of the Government Parliament Committee on Environment. The sheer presence of the Old Parliament House, with the chandeliers, spotlights, cameras, onlooking guests and media presence would have shaken nearly anyone, but after overcoming some early nerves, our MYAs displayed poise and confidence that was well beyond their years. Dr. Lim certainly seemed enthused with the efforts of our youth as he remarked “It is great to see the youth so involved”.

Shantakumar Bannirchelvan, Minister for Learning

A couple of our MYAs even had their brush with the press as they defended statements they made on the floor with regards to accordance of power and rights to a government committee and while Minister of Learning, Shantakumar Bannirchelvam stated that allowing that much power to the government was hazardous, Leader of the Opposition, Chester Tan, stated that such power was required in the event that a serious threat to the industry needed to be alleviated by a supervising authority.

If there was criticism, it was in that perhaps there was a necessity for stronger statistics in their presentations, but knowing that our MYAs did not have Personal assistants, policy aides or other staff under them, it was an understandable problem. This is where the next step of interaction with government officials will aid our MYAs as otherwise unaccessible facts will now become prevalent and readily available for their consideration.

The Opposition Bench occupied by the Youth United Front (YUF)

After an eventful first day and 3 successful Opposition (Youth United Front) bills, the Government’s( Future Empowerment Party) day to shine got off to a pleasant start as one of the MYAs’s had recovered from being under the weather and had joined us back in the Assembly. Debate on the Energy bill began soon after and in what was probably the the most confusing presentations of the two days, both parties went into the caucus with plenty of questions and clarifications for the other side. Oddly enough, the informal setting cleared doubts rather quickly and despite an obvious dissent that was audible in the voice vote, the ayes had it and it was 4/4 for the bills that were tabled.

The Government bench was occupied by the Future Empowerment Party

Unfortunately, agreement was not always present in the National Youth Assembly and as the Food Bill came in for discussion in the final session off the Inaugural NYA, there was massive contention amongst our youth assemblymen as questions of feasability, imposing food restrictions and economic black holes for companies offering less than healthy food were brought up. Through a very intense caucus that saw both sides lobbying for support within the Assembly, it seemed like perhaps an agreement was to be made. However during the first voice vote, despite a resounding ‘No’ from the house, the Speaker’s Decision was disputed and after a manual vote – the government’s fears were realised as the Assembly had decided not to put its collective weight behind the food bill despite coming to a compromise on the issue of food labels. It might have been an ending of discord, but 4 out of 5 is still at ‘A’ grade.

It's been a long and testing journey for the MYAs and YOC alike and now,the real work is about to begin.

So after months of planning, researching and working beyond normal capacities, the first session of the NYA has come to an end. For those thinking that ‘Phew, its finally over’ – you’re mistaken, because this is just the beginning. After this, bills are to be refined and brought before the people who matter to mould these ideas into bills that could actually make their way to Parliament. For the MYAs, they don’t seem to want to stop as parties are growing bigger and gaining more support and friendships made are cementing themselves. We’re just getting started, so its never too late to hop on for the this long and sustainable ride!

The next Assembly session will be on the 9th and 10th January 2010.

Missed out on the action? Then check out the debate and let us know what you thought of the youth perspective on solving the energy problems:

NYA Photo and Video Gallery: http://ecotv.smugmug.com/gallery/9159198_reTMu#611986903_zs7Py

Join and stay updated at:

The Official National Youth Assembly Websit: http://www.nationalyouthassembly.org

OR

Join out National Youth Assembly Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59908381138

OR

Visit us back here and get your montly fix of the National Youth Assembly!

Cheers,

The NYA Team

8th August 2009

270709: 5 more days to the National Youth Assembly!

It’s Monday again and we’re into our last few days before the big event on Saturday – the inaugural session of the National Youth Assembly! This writer has unfortunately been under the weather of late, but all is well now and we have your weekly updates ready to go!

What Happened?

Over the past two weeks, the bills were completed and submitted to the Office of the Chairman for final approval before being allowed to be tabled in parliament. Having come up with the final versions of their bills and searched the streets for signatures to ensure that their ideas have sufficient public backing – our MYA’s have geared up for the final 5 days before their inaugural session at the Old Parliament House. On top of all the final preparations that they’ve been making, the MYA’s were introduced to the Speaker of Parliament, Haresh Sivaram. Haresh spent half a year working in Parliament and couldn’t be better equipped to oversee our inaugural session. Having introduced himself, the Speaker went on to clearly indicate his expectations for our MYA’s, especially in the importance of maintaining decorum during their youthful discourse.

Post-introductions, there was serious business as there was a final pick of the 5 bills that would be debated during the 2 day assembly. This was after both sides of the Assembly and the YOC came to an agreement that pursuing new bills on the area of water was not required as Singapore has already looked into safeguarding its future when it comes to Water. The Government will be sponsoring bills on Food and Shelter while the areas of Biodiversity and Energy will be fronted by the Opposition. To see what happens in the area of Waste, you’ll have to come down on the day itself! So remember to head on down to the Old Parliament House on the 1st and 2nd of August to see what the future policy makers of Singapore have in mind for our sustainable future.

What’s Happening this Week?

Final discussions within parties and preparations for Saturday will be what both sides will be focussing on, but on Tuesday, there will be a meeting with the YOC to decide the order in which bills are read in the Assembly. Apart from that, its all down to the first weekend of August – 51 youth parliamentarians mirroring the 51 seats occupied by our first parliamentarians 50 years ago and its all only 5 days away. So this is an open invitation to everyone out there to be witness to the creativity of their ideas, the intensity of their determination and the results of their hard labour over the past months – join us at the Old Parliament House for the first ever National Youth Assembly!

What’s Up Next Week?

The aftermath of the NYA will slowly start to sink in as our MYAs take a short breather after months of hard work, but only a short breather as the focus will soon come back to relooking bills after public opinion has weighed in. Then the task of getting feedback and constructive criticism from policy-makers will come into play with our MYAs continuing in their endeavours to see their bills refined continously till they find them in a manner that becomes presentable to our decision makers in government.

110709: It’s not easy when it comes to policy-making

What Happened?

It’s getting closer to crunch time and the MYA’s have been going into overdrive in order to get themselves sufficiently prepared and their bills thoroughly formulated. During their session on Saturday, the party leaders from the FEP (Quek Bai Feng) and SGF (Chester Tan), sat down with the Chairman and other members of the Chief Minister’s Office and were told on how they would be proceeding over the next couple of weeks. On top of the administrative proceedings, we saw bills related to Water and Waste amongst others, taking solid form in the proper formats and they were looked through under much scrutiny. Despite significant research and thought, some bills had to be re-written and others, re-approached with a different perspective.

What’s Happening?

As of now its purely down to massive brainstorming and researching each intricate detail from the financing of the proposals to their implementation. The focus now is how to ensure that the bills being tabled are going to promote sustainable development, sit well with the people and simultaneously showcase the maturity and complexity that our youth have the capacity for. With each week that brings us closer to the Assembly itself, our MYAs are realising the difficulty of coming up with ideas and proposals, but are far from abandoning their resolute belief in their ability to make a difference and as such, the prospect of the Assembly becomes increasingly mouth-watering!

What’s Up Next Week?

With just slightly more than two weeks to go, the MYAs will have an official session with the Speaker of the Assembly (Soon to be revealed) and the Chairman in order to review the bills that have been prepared and make informed decisions on the order of bills to be debated in the Assembly. Our MYAs will be concurrently attempting to secure the 200 signatures required for bills to be tabled at the Assembly so expect your nominated MYAs to be approaching you soon! It is also understood that the MYAs and the Chief Minister’s Office have come to an understanding where they will sort out some of the possible minor contentions amidst the two parties during this session – so do check back in next week and we’ll have all the details waiting!

060709: Time to move from proposals to Bills

It’s Monday again and more NYA updates have arrived. For those who’ve just finished your exams, we hope you’re going to take a short breather before plunging back into the studying mood. And for all those enjoying their long breaks we hope you’re having a great time off your usually insanely busy schedules.

What Happened?
The 4th of July brought about yet another intensive discussion session for our Members of Youth Assembly. The Cabinet members from the Future Empowerment Party’s Government and the Shadow Cabinet from the Singapore Green Front gathered to attempt to translate their specific ideas for the 6 themes into actual proposals. Both groups were then introduced to the official bill format and structure that they will have to adhere to in the Assembly Session. The Opposition seems extremely confident in presenting a united and unwavering front in an Assembly that is nearly evenly divided, hence giving their agenda a very strong chance of dominating in the Assembly sessions. The Government does have its own pool of strong ideas and is currently working on its specific target areas for the relevant themes. In contrast to the fireworks at Sembawang Shipyard let off by visiting American soldiers to celebrate the 4th of July, the gathering of the MYA’s while similarly enthusiastic was far more serious and focussed on working towards creating their purposeful outcomes.

What’s Happening?

Currently, both sides of the Assembly have just ideas and general proposals but with the introduction to the proper bill formats they will be focussing all their efforts into translating their vision into concretised bills that can be pursued as pieces of active legislation.

What’s Up Next Week?

This week gives the MYA’s their first taste of interaction with the people who matter in crafting their ideas and aiding in the development of their bills. Come Saturday, 11th July, they will have a sit-down session with Government officials with legislative and legal experience to in order to better understand the required vernacular for their bills.  The time to be taken seriously has finally come and the MYA’s have been given this opportunity – Will they seize it with the panache that is expected of them?

We’ll bring you all the updates next Monday!

290607: Cabinet in Place and Work has begun!

It’s Monday and we’re back with all things NYA related!

What Happened?

During the Meeting on the 27th of June, the Future Empowerment Party (FEP)’s Government setup 6 specific committees to allow for large scale research and consideration to be put into addressing each theme. The FEP has informed the Chief Minister’s Office that each committee will propose a bill on each of the 6 themes. If one thing is certain for the Assembly Sessions on the 1st and 2nd of August, it is that there will be no shortage of material for our MYA’s to debate on, the only question is – should they focus on a few select pieces rather than a massive influx of proposals?

What’s Happening?

Over the week, the Government and the opposition, the Singapore Green Front (SGF) setups will be preparing draft proposals and potential bills to pass through Assembly. It will be a progressive phase with constant interaction with the Chief Minister’s Office, therefore allowing for constant critique and constructive discussion prior to the dates in August. The MYA’s are also setting up their Facebook Groups and Blogs to showcase their thoughts on bills, party manifesto’s as well as to gather feedback from the Public. This is where YOU come in! The NYA Team will provide all the relevant links as soon as they are available so that you can start commenting and contributing in their bid to achieve sustainable development.

What’s Up Next Week?

The Chairman will be meeting with representatives from the FEP and the SGF to discuss their progress and more importantly to hammer out deals regarding their bills and proposals. The two sides have had minimal to no contact with each other and we will see if that will drastically change over the weeks leading up to the Assembly Sessions. It will be interesting to see how the Opposition responds – Will it take a similar approach to the Government by addressing all the themes or focus specifically on the one or two themes that they had previously indicated interest in?

Remember to check in with us Next Monday to find out!

260609: What’s Happening With the National Youth Assembly!

After signing up and voting for your candidates or canvassing votes (for the MYA’s) you’re probably wondering about what’s been happening, but fear not as updates are now coming your way on a WEEKLY basis.

What Happened?

Over the past month, nominees became Members of Youth Assembly following plenty of interviews and after the fast paced two day pre-event preparation session, have finally secured their places either in the Government or Opposition. Politicking sessions were gruelling, with our MYA’s determined to stay true to their stand whilst fighting for future political positions.

Amidst these sessions, we were treated to fascinating ideas from Mr.Jack Sim, Founder of the World Toilet Organisation, environmentally friendly persuasions from the Vegetarian Society and introduced to the soon to be popular culture of WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). If you are interested in sustainable development and travel this is right up your alley!

After two days of talks, discussions, negotiations and settlements we had the Future Empowerment Party, led by Eugene Chua, form a goverment by the slightest of margins but they will face a stern test in parliament from a very well placed and sizeable opposition.

What’s Happening?

A week into their newfound responsibilities and Ministerial Positions, the MYA’s have been split into 6 teams to research and formulate proposals on the 6 Key themes surround Sustainable Development. They’ve geared up to analyse how each Ministry can be specifically involved in each of the areas that they hope to address during their Parliament Sessions.

What’s Up Next Week?

It has been heard that MYAs aim to bring in the taboo concept of Nuclear Energy into parliament but how are the opposition and more importantly the public going to react to such an extreme topic? Moreover, the MYA’s will all meet again for the first time after the pre-event orientation and we’ll bring you all the news as it comes in.

AND – Photos from the two day Orientation will be up on our Facebook Groups by Sunday, 28th of June so drop by to take a look!

Monday might be the start of another long week, but look forward to constant updates from the NYA Team to find out what your chosen candidates are looking to do to improve sustainability in Singapore!