This morning (12 July), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Transport Minister S Iswaran will take a leave of absence amid corruption investigations.
Later during a doorstop interview, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said it would be “difficult” for Mr Iswaran to serve as an MP in West Coast GRC during this time.
As such, other West Coast GRC MPs will cover his duties. Meanwhile, Senior Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat is Acting Transport Minister in Mr Iswaran’s absence.
Mr Wong also reiterated for the public to refrain from speculation and let investigations take their course.
He noted that Mr Iswaran was flagged during Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) findings, and there was no public complaint.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports Mr Wong as stating the leave of absence that PM Lee asked Mr Iswaran to take would make it “difficult for him also to undertake many of his MP duties”.
As a result, other West Coast GRC MPs will cover his duties, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said in a Facebook post.
Source: Desmond Lee on Facebook
The other West Coast GRCs besides Mr Lee and Mr Iswaran are:
Mr Wong addressed the difference between this current case and the Ridout Road investigations into bungalows rented by ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan.
For Ridout, MPs in Parliament and the public raised questions.
The findings were then published publicly, coupled with a full accounting of the matter in Parliament.
However, in Mr Iswaran’s case, there was no public complaint, Mr Wong said.
Instead, CPIB has driven the case from the beginning and flagged him during investigations.
It had been looking into an unrelated investigation on a separate matter, and both PM Lee and Mr Wong were kept updated on the investigations.
Then, on 5 July, CPIB updated PM Lee on its investigations and requested to interview Mr Iswaran.
PM Lee agreed, and CPIB opened formal investigations yesterday (11 July).
“I know many are concerned and have questions about the CPIB investigation case,” Mr Wong said today.
Source: Lawrence Wong on Facebook
At the same time, he wants to emphasise that this is “concrete proof of how we do things in Singapore and how our system works”.
We have always upheld a clean and incorrupt system of government. Our track record over the decades is clear to all.
Mr Wong said this forms the foundation of the trust placed in the PAP government, and PM Lee and himself are “fully committed to preserving this trust”.
“We maintain a tough, zero-tolerance stance against corruption,” Mr Wong added. “We will continue to uphold stringent standards of honesty and probity that Singaporeans expect of their political leaders.”
“We will be upfront and transparent, we will not sweep anything under the carpet, even if they are potentially embarrassing or damaging to the PAP.”
He said it is how the PAP government has worked and will continue to work — with transparency and integrity.
He ended by seeking everyone’s patience and understanding, and to let CPIB do its work.
It’ll provide its findings “in due course”, Mr Wong said.
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Featured image courtesy of Lawrence Wong on Facebook.
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