It is the opening of Singapore's 13th Parliament, with a total of 89 Members of Parliament (MPs) and 2 Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs) sworn in on Friday afternoon (Jan 15).

Halimah Yaacob was elected and sworn in for a second term as Speaker of Parliament this afternoon.

PAP MP Cedric Foo proposed her nomination, with PAP MPs Zainal Sapari, Tin Pei Ling and Vikram Nair supporting her election.

We capture the highlights of her speech:

With great privileges, come great responsibilities, she said:

"I urge you to familiarise yourselves with the Standing Orders of the House. I am bound by the Standing Orders which are designed to ensure that we can maintain order, but, at the same time, allow Members to participate freely. You are also covered by Parliamentary Privileges, which give you a fair amount of wriggle room to make your speeches. However, at all times, remember that with those privileges are attached great responsibilities, which require us to use them wisely."

Cheong Hei MPs, watch out, for the length of a speech is no indication of its impact

"I urge you to keep your speeches succinct, as the length of a speech is no indication of its impact. Make speeches that are honest, sincere and heartfelt. There is no need to play to the gallery."

Halimah the speaker cum speech-writer:

"It is much easier to be convincing if you care about your topic, so you should figure out what’s important to your message and speak from your heart. Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said in this Parliament, “You must have convictions. If you don’t have convictions, you are going in for personal glory or honour or publicity or popularity, forget it”

Top photo from Halimah Yacob Facebook.

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