MP to work different job, one day each month

SINGAPORE: One newly-elected member of parliament is hoping to prove his commitment to representing Singaporeans by working a different job for one day each month for the rest of his term.
Louis Ng, also the head of an animal welfare group, was elected to Parliament during the September general election.
"I always think that we get a lot of feedback about these issues but nothing beats going down on the ground first-hand to really experience it," he said.
Ng's first job this month is as a healthcare worker at a local hospital.
"I will do every thing a healthcare worker does in his or her normal shift and do an actual shift at the hospital," he promised in a Facebook post.
Other occupations he hopes to try include taxi driver, police officer and town council estate cleaner.
He decided on one day per month, he said, because he had to balance the project with his other constituency and animal welfare work, but intends to return to some of the jobs again over the course of his five-year term in Parliament.
"This is not a one-off affair. This is something that I will continue to do."
Ng is also asking for suggestions of jobs he could do.
So far, ideas on his Facebook page include preschool teacher, human resource manager and construction worker.
"If taking on the role of a low-wage worker can lead to him becoming a better advocate for their rights, why not?" Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics executive director Jolovan Wham said.
"But the true test is in whether we have higher-quality debates in parliament and that his advocacy results in substantial changes." — dpa