PM Lee To Deliver Ministerial Statement On Iswaran Probe & MP Resignations In Parliament

PM Lee To Give Ministerial Statement On CPIB Investigation Involving Iswaran & MP Resignations On 2 Aug

Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong will deliver a ministerial statement in parliament tomorrow (2 Aug).

He will address the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) probe involving Transport Minister S Iswaran.

Additionally, he’ll touch on the resignations of former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui.

PM Lee is also expected to field several questions from various MPs in relation to the corruption probe.

PM Lee to deliver ministerial statement in Parliament

Parliament released a Revised Order Paper for Wednesday’s (2 Aug) parliamentary session earlier today (1 Aug).

On page 10, it states that PM Lee will deliver a ministerial statement addressing the “CPIB investigation involving Minister S Iswaran and the Resignations of former Speaker and a PAP MP”.

On 12 July, the CPIB revealed that Mr Iswaran is currently assisting them in investigations. Two days later, it was reported that he had actually been arrested on 11 July.

Not long after, the People’s Action Party (PAP) was rocked by another scandal when Mr Tan and Ms Cheng announced their resignations.

PM Lee later held a press conference saying that the pair had been in an “inappropriate relationship”.

The two continued their affair despite being asked to stop in February.

MPs file questions on CPIB investigation

The Order Paper also contains questions that a number of MPs have filed in relation to the CPIB probe.

For instance, Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng will ask PM Lee for the timeline of the CPIB’s uncovering of the matter relating to the case that Ms Iswaran is assisting them with.

He will also ask why formal investigations commenced on 11 July when PM Lee had been briefed by the CPIB Director on 5 July and agreed to open one on 6 July.

As for Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Don Wee, he will question why Mr Iswaran was placed on a leave of absence during the CPIB investigation while Ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan were able to resume their duties.

The latter two were also called in to assist with CPIB investigations regarding their rental of state properties at Ridout Road.

Other MPs who have filed questions include:

• Joan Pereira — to ask whether Mr Iswaran’s arrest should have been immediately made public as a matter of transparency
• Louis Chua — to ask whether CPIB is obligated to seek the PM’s concurrence to open formal investigations on potential offences
• Leong Mun Wai — to ask how many individuals have been arrested in relation to the CPIB investigation into Mr Iswaran
• Yip Hon Weng — to ask about the avenues available in Ministries for whistleblowing on possible corruption cases
• Dennis Tan — to ask why the CPIB did not disclose their current investigation of Mr Iswaran before 12 July

The next Parliament sitting will commence at 11am on Wednesday (2 Aug).

A livestream of the proceedings can be viewed on MCI Singapore’s YouTube channel.

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Featured image adapted from Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore on YouTube.