By Li Xueying

BUT first, the numbers.

Since the term began on Nov 2, 2006, Parliament has been in session 72 times.

She is followed by Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade GRC) and Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC), who attended 71, and Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) with 70.

The MP who attended the fewest sessions was Mr Lee Yi Shyan (East Coast GRC), who as Minister of State for Trade and Industry was often overseas on official business.

Meanwhile, Marine Parade GRC MP Fatimah Lateef has been the most prolific, in terms of the number of speeches made.

She has delivered a whopping 101 speeches, followed by Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) with 95, and Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC), 78.

These statistics do not fully represent a politician's performance in Parliament, of course. Turning up does not mean full attention is given to the debates; neither can his or her impact be measured from the number of speeches made.

But presence and speaking up in Parliament are clearly a basic criterion many Singaporeans would set for their MPs.

Three years ago, Mr Henry Lim Li Shun wrote to The Straits Times, questioning the number of empty seats seen at parliamentary sittings. This year, another Straits Times reader, Miss Rhea Tan, raised the issue again, asking: "How can an MP represent us if he is not present sufficiently in Parliament?"

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This article was first published in The Straits Times.

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