The aim of the scheme was to create a more "consensual style of government where alternative views are heard and constructive dissent accommodated". NMPs could play a constructive role in contributing to good governance that the Opposition and MPs of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) could not provide. While PAP MPs had been encouraged to air opposing views, they were after all Government MPs and were not allowed to vote against the Government unless the Whip was lifted. Moreover, there were very few Opposition MPs. According to Goh, the Opposition had not been constructive as their objective was to discredit the Government so that they could win office. In contrast, NMPs would not belong to any political party, and could therefore represent the views of people who did not identify themselves with the PAP or the Opposition. Thus, NMPs would be able to concentrate on the "substance of the debate rather than form and rhetoric", and provide dissenting and constructive views that would contribute to good government.