Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong on MPs’ affair: ‘I should have forced issue sooner’
- Lee said he considered ‘many factors’ in his handling of the affair between ex-speaker Tan Chuan-jin and MP Cheng Li Hui, including the impact on families and children
- He said the ruling PAP had ‘taken a hit’ from both the affair and a graft probe involving Transport Minister S. Iswaran, and it would work to ‘uphold standards’ and ‘maintain trust’
Lee, who has been the subject of rare criticism over a perceived foot-dragging in dealing with an extramarital affair between two MPs, also conceded he should have acted sooner.
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Speaking to lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday, Lee acknowledged questions over why he had taken more than two years to act in the matter involving Tan and Cheng.
He repeated an accounting of how he handled the matter when he first announced the duo’s resignations on July 17, this time revealing that he heard about the affair for the first time in November 2020.
He previously said he could not recall when he was first alerted to the matter, but that it was after the 2020 general election.
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He counselled the two MPs to end their relationship at that point, but they had persisted. He again spoke to them in February this year, at which point he accepted the offer of resignation by Tan, a one-time high-flyer in the party.
“I have been asked – why did I take so long, more than two years, to act? It’s a fair question,” Lee said. “In retrospect, and certainly now knowing how things eventually turned out, I agree. I should have forced the issue sooner.
“These sorts of relationships happen from time to time. They have happened in the past, and no doubt will happen again in the future. In such cases, what we do depends on many factors: the circumstances, how inappropriate or scandalous the behaviour was, the family situations,” Lee said. “We also have to be conscious of the impact on innocent parties – particularly the spouses and children.”
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“All their families are suffering. I hope that MPs and the public can empathise with and have compassion for the families, and give them the privacy and space they need to heal,” Lee said.
Some local commentators have suggested the leeway Prime Minister Lee gave Tan and Cheng over their indiscretions was a stark departure from a decades-old party ethos that leaders ought to be not just incorruptible, but of unimpeachable character and integrity.
On the investigation involving Transport Minister Iswaran, Lee did not provide new details, citing ongoing investigations. The minister was arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and released on bail. Lee said the minister’s monthly salary has been reduced to S$8,500 while he remains on a leave of absence.
“With the investigation into Minister Iswaran, and the resignations of the Speaker and an MP, the PAP has taken a hit, but we will show Singaporeans that we will uphold standards and do the right thing, so that trust is maintained and the Singapore system continues to work well,” Lee said.
