Questions About The Tan Chuan-Jin & Cheng Li Hui Scandal That Remain Unanswered
UPDATE (3.20pm): CNA reported that Mr Tan has stepped down from his role as SNOC President. The council appointed Senior Vice President Jessie Phua as Acting President.
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Several shocking political scandals came to light yesterday (17 July), including one involving Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui.
Even though PM Lee Hsien Loong called for a press conference to address concerns, some questions remain unanswered.
Among them is why the timelines differ between the recent scandal and that involving former PAP MP Michael Palmer.
1. Why did Tan Chuan-Jin continue to serve while Michael Palmer resigned immediately?
The latest affair resembles another case that happened more than 10 years ago, involving then-Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer.
Michael Palmer Was Last MP To Resign Due To Affair, PAP Lost Punggol East SMC In By-Election
Although both cases involve the Speaker of Parliament, the ways the Government dealt with them appear vastly different.
In the case of Mr Palmer, the then-Speaker came clean about his actions the same day incriminating evidence of his affair reached The New Paper.
He simultaneously tendered his resignation, which PM Lee and then Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean accepted. The latter announced the development to the press just four days later.
In contrast, PM Lee said in his Q&A that he became aware of Mr Tan Chuan-Jin and Ms Cheng Li Hui’s relationship sometime after the 2020 General Election (GE).
They were “spoken to, [and] counselled” but both held on to their political positions for three more years.
Source: Tan Chuan-Jin on Facebook via Lianhe Zaobao
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reporters, who picked up on the disparity, asked PM Lee about it.
He replied, but his response seemingly lacked details:
As for comparison with Michael Palmer, I think it depends on the situation of the case, as I said you’ve got to look at the circumstances, spouses and the families’ conditions, at how you can manage this as sensitively as you can and yet do your duty and it depends on the person’s response as well as the specifics, so I don’t think it’s possible to make direct comparisons.
From his answer, one can infer that their “circumstances, spouses and (the) families’ conditions” differed, but PM Lee didn’t explain how. Neither did he elaborate on why these factors may have influenced the way the PAP dealt with the scandals.
Such factors aside, one may also argue that Mr Tan’s case is more serious since it involves another MP.
2. Would Cheng Li Hui have been allowed to continue serving if affair stopped?
Another question has to do with Ms Cheng’s actions after news of her persistent relationship came to light, supposedly in Feb 2023.
During his press conference on Monday (17 July) afternoon, PM Lee said that he accepted Mr Tan’s resignation at that time but instructed him to “sort out the succession arrangements” in his GRC first.
However, he did not mention whether Ms Cheng had offered to resign during the same period. Likewise, PM Lee mentioned nothing of succession plans at Tampines GRC.
Source: YouTube
Since he said that the incident would’ve “come to light probably sooner rather than later”, it’s unclear if Ms Cheng would’ve remained an MP with such a dark cloud hanging above her, even if the affair had stopped before Feb 2023.
3. Will Tan Chuan-Jin cede his SNOC presidency?
While Mr Tan has resigned as Speaker and PAP member, it’s unclear if he will continue to serve as President of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).
At the time of writing, Mr Tan is still listed as President on SNOC’s website.
He was freshly re-elected as SNOC President in Sep 2022 and is serving his third four-year term which ends in 2026.
Looking at SNOC’s history, it’s pretty hard to predict what’s going to happen.
While the past few Presidents stepped into the role as politicians from the ruling PAP, some of them held on to the position even after they left politics.
One such example was Dr Yeo Ning Hong who continued serving as SNOC President till 1998 despite retiring from politics in 1996.
Hope PM Lee’s Ministerial Statement will address unanswered questions
Given the parties involved in the scandal, it’s natural for Singaporeans to demand more information on the case.
Perhaps more information would be available during PM Lee’s Ministerial Statement in Parliament on 1 Aug.
Do you have any burning questions about the scandal that have not been answered? Share them in the comments below.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Tan Chuan-Jin on Facebook via Lianhe Zaobao and Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook.
