NOMINATED MPs will be a permanent part of the political system.

'This (the voting) was a safeguard which was introduced when the scheme was new, because we couldn't be certain how the scheme would work,' he said.

'But after 20 years, this is no longer an issue,' he added, noting that the scheme has worked well.

On Tuesday, NMP Loo Choon Yong had urged the Government to make the NMP scheme permanent, saying it had been fine-tuned over the years and contributed greatly to policymaking and the quality of debate in the House.

Agreeing, Mr Lee said: 'The NMPs represent non-partisan alternative views in Parliament, and the NMPs have made effective contributions and raised the quality of debate in Parliament.

'Sometimes, if I may say so, they may have outshone even the opposition MPs.'

The NMP scheme was introduced in 1990 to provide for alternative views and constructive dissent in the House.

Initially, the Constitution allowed for six NMPs. Two were appointed in the first round.

The scheme was expanded in 1997 to allow for up to nine NMPs.

Besides the number, Mr Lee also proposed fine-tuning the scheme to broaden the representation of various interest groups.

A new group will be invited to submit nominations - the people sector.

Mr Lee said the Government had 'paid a lot of attention to and would like to cultivate' the sector, whose members could be from the environmental movement, or be young activists, new citizens, or community and grassroots leaders.

'This will give civil society a voice in Parliament and encourage civil society to grow and mature further,' he added.

Currently, six groups are invited to nominate candidates by a special Select Committee of Parliament that picks the NMPs.

The six are: business and industry; the professions; the labour movement; social and community organisations; the media, arts and sports; and tertiary education institutions.

The public too are invited to send in nominations.

The latest changes were welcomed by Dr Loo, who will soon step down after serving two terms as an NMP.

He said: 'It will make for a much more diverse Parliament.'

Orthopaedic surgeon Kanwaljit Soin, who served as an NMP from 1992 to 1996, felt that all NMPs should, in a way, belong to the people sector.

'An NMP should not be limited by his or her functional constituency,' she said.

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