Singapore PAP MPs’ resignation over ‘inappropriate relationship’ embarrassing for ruling party: PM Lee Hsien Loong
- Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui had continued having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ even after being told to stop
- The incident, which comes after the arrest of Transport Minister S Iswaran amid a graft probe, is a ‘body blow’ to a country dependent on stable leadership, an analyst says
Lee, the PAP’s secretary general, said in letters to both MPs that their resignations were necessary “to maintain the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years”.
In a press conference, Lee said he had learned about the relationship after the city state’s 2020 general election, and later sought to counsel both to end the affair. Still, there were recent indications that the relationship continued after both were spoken to, Lee said.
Lee did not provide details on the relationship, but when asked if there had been any conflict of interest or abuse of power, Lee said it was “completely inappropriate” for a speaker of parliament to have a relationship with an MP.
Tan was again spoken to in February this year, and he offered to resign, Lee said. The prime minister said he accepted Tan’s resignation at the time, but hoped to have a clean handover of MP duties in Kembangan-Chai Chee and Marine Parade.
The group representative constituency of Marine Parade was one of the most hotly contested wards in the 2020 polls.
We tried to get them to mend their ways, it didn’t work. They had to go
In a recent meeting, Tan offered to resign immediately and Lee accepted. “Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui did not live up to the standards which were expected. We tried to get them to mend their ways, it didn’t work. They had to go,” Lee said.
In his letter to Lee, Tan did not directly mention the affair. Instead, the 54-year-old referenced his personal conduct which “added to the hurt” he had caused his family.
“We have spoken about my personal conduct before. There are areas where I have fallen short. I need to take responsibility for them,” Tan said in the letter, which was released to the media.
He also apologised for a recently circulating video that showed him muttering “f***ing populist” in parliament under his breath, in response to an opposition lawmaker’s speech in April advocating a minimum wage.
“My mistake raised broader questions over my neutrality and impartiality as speaker,” said Tan, who was a minister in Lee’s cabinet before he was appointed speaker in 2017.
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A source who worked with Tan in community work said they received a text message blast from the father-of-two when his resignation was announced by Prime Minister Lee on Monday afternoon. “I’ve failed God. Failed my family. My nation. All of you as well,” the message read.
Another person who collaborated with Tan in the charity sector described the former general as unwavering in community organising. “If anything, I’m sad that he won’t be able to do what he does best any longer,” the person said.
Cheng, in her letter to Prime Minister Lee, said she was “very sorry to be resigning in these circumstances, and would like to apologise to the party, as well as to my residents and volunteers”.
The latest development comes after last week’s arrest of the Transport Minister S Iswaran, a PAP stalwart, by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) – the highest-profile corruption investigation involving the ruling party in nearly four decades.
While the latest political intrigue is mild compared to the roller-coaster politics of Singapore’s Southeast Asian neighbours, observers said it had to be seen as a deep crisis given that the PAP had staked its reputation on upholding stringent standards of probity and incorruptibility.
For a country so dependent on stable and solid leadership provided by the PAP, these developments are … a body blow to Singapore
Veteran political observer Bilveer Singh said the current state of affairs amounted to “one of the worst times for the PAP in politics in the last 50 years”.
“There’s pressure on the prime minister. He, and the party, needs to come clean for the confidence – both domestically and internationally,” he said.
Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University said the latest development made the narrative that the ruling party had fallen short of its high standards “much harder to beat back”.
“For a country so dependent on stable and solid leadership provided by the PAP, these developments are a huge setback, a body blow to Singapore,” he said.
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The opposition Workers’ Party, which has nine out of 91 elected MPs, was on Monday dealing with a crisis of its own.
The party said it was “looking into the matter” after a video clip emerged on social media showing MP Leon Perera, 53, holding and stroking the hand of Nicole Seah, 36, the popular head of the party youth wing.
Both politicians are married with children. The party characterised the video as “an inappropriate exchange between two senior party members”.
