Leong Mun Wai clarifies his comment that he is “the last to be called” in Parliament sessions was made to be “tongue-in-cheek”

SINGAPORE: Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai has issued a clarification over a comment he made on a recent podcast that appears to have touched a nerve with the Speaker of Parliament.

The comment was made during his appearance in the “Yah Lah But” podcast that aired on 14 May. During the podcast, one of the hosts noted that Mr Leong was one of the first to raise his hand when the Speaker called for questions.

Mr Leong then quipped: “And one of the last to be called.”

Revealing that the Speaker of Parliament has taken issue with this comment that was made more than a month ago, Mr Leong wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday (25 June):

“The Speaker has since brought to my attention that my quip may be construed as casting aspersions on his impartiality in calling MPs.”

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member clarified that the comment was intended to be “tongue-in-cheek”.

He said it was a response “meant to be a light-hearted one made at the start of the interview to lighten the mood in the context of a podcast.”

Mr Leong added: “This was in no way meant to be a comment on Speaker’s impartiality. Speaker has, on various occasions, called me ahead of other members.”

Singaporeans responding to the issue online have extended support to Mr Leong, asserting that no one would have noticed the quip had he not had to call attention to it.

Others felt it was “sad” that Mr Leong had to issue such a disclaimer as they called for more freedom of expression without impunity in Singapore society.

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/TISG