Yahoo – AFP, January 8, 2013
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Singapore
PM Lee Hsien Loong arrives
at the Istana Palace on November 17, 2012.
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SINGAPORE
(AFP) - A Muslim woman will replace the former Speaker of Singapore's
parliament, who was forced to step down in a sex scandal, it was announced
Tuesday.
Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he would nominate Halimah Yacob, currently
minister of state at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports,
for the post when parliament sits next Monday.
She will be
the country's first female Speaker.
Halimah,
58, will replace Michael Palmer, 44, who abruptly resigned last month after
publicly confessing he had an extramarital affair with a community worker in
the latest high-profile sex scandal to hit the city-state.
Halimah,
who must resign from the cabinet before she takes up her new post, has
extensive experience in the labour movement, social work and pre-school
education.
"In
cabinet, Halimah spoke up with a practical, compassionate voice, helping us to
shape effective policies with a human touch," Lee said in a statement.
Singapore's
small and diverse opposition parties have urged Lee to call a by-election in
the Punggol East ward vacated by Palmer, a married father of one who said he
quit "to avoid further embarrassment" to the ruling party and
parliament.
The
87-member parliament is dominated by the People's Action Party, which has governed
the island-republic continuously since 1959. There are currently only
six opposition members in parliament.
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Mdm Halimah Yacob
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