election. NMPs were made a permanent feature of Parliament with effect from 1 July 2010. Prior to this change, Parliament had to decide within six months after every election whether to appoint NMPs. The rationale for the changes was given by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on 27 May 2009. According to him, the main motivation behind having NMPs as a permanent part of the system of government in Singapore was the fact that the scheme had been a great success and had improved the quality of debate in the House: "The scheme has worked well. 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. This NMP scheme should be a permanent part of our political system." Appointment, term of office, and powers The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution sets out the process for the appointment of NMPs. A Special Select Committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament and consisting of seven other MPs nominates not more than nine persons to be appointed as NMPs by the president. The Committee may nominate persons who have rendered distinguished public service or who have brought honour to Singapore, and also invites the general public and groups in the community to submit the names of persons who may be considered for nomination by the Committee. These community groups are in the fields of arts and letters, culture, the sciences, business, industry, the professions, social or community service, and the labour movement. In 2009, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong proposed in Parliament that the Committee should also invite nominations from the people sector such as candidates from the environmental movement, young activists, new citizens, and community and grassroots leaders. He felt that "[t]his will give civil society a voice in Parliament and encourage civil society to grow and to mature further". In addition, nominees may be persons who have rendered distinguished public service or who have brought honour to Singapore, and the Committee must have regard to the need for NMPs to reflect as wide a range of independent and non-partisan views as possible. However, a person appointed as an NMP is not required to resign from any political party that he or she is a member of. When this issue was considered by