SINGAPORE: Former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng appealed to people to have “some sense of reality” in the context of civil servants receiving gifts.
On Thursday (Oct 3), ex-Transport Minister S Iswaran was handed a 12-month jail sentence for having obtained gifts worth around S$403,300 (US$313,200) over a seven-year period.
These gifts had been given to the former minister by two businessmen, including Malaysian hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who had been instrumental in bringing Formula One to Singapore.
On Sept 24, Iswaran pleaded guilty to accepting the gifts, which included a private jet ride, F1 tickets, a bicycle, other costly items, and obstruction of justice.
While his sentencing is part of the government’s duty “to stay clean and free from corruption,” as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a statement, it has perhaps caused a chilling effect on civil servants when it comes to receiving gifts.
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But Mr Cheng appears to feel that civil servants should not be overly cautious and that people cannot take a too strict or “puritanical” attitude towards Section 165 of the Penal Code, which makes it an offence for public servants to receive valuable gifts from those with whom they have business or official connections.
Mr Cheng wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 3) that he had recently been given VIP tickets to an event, which he offered to a friend who is a civil servant.
His friend, however, declined the tickets because he could not pay for them as Mr Cheng had received them for free. Mr Cheng opined that this was “ridiculous” and added that those who take an overly strict approach to Section 165 “need a reality check”.
He explained that there are outward-facing government agencies in Singapore, such as the Economic Development Board and the Singapore Tourism Board.
While writing that “nobody should be taking outright gifts”, he argued that it is part of the job of civil servants to be hosted by foreigners.
And if every invitation they receive must be approved in advance, with some that have no option to self-pay getting declined, this would complicate things unnecessarily.
Mr Cheng added that this would cause people to stop inviting Singaporean officials as this would be “too much trouble from a puritan country”.
The ex-NMP wrote that corruption should not be tolerated but added that where there is quid pro quo, Section 165 does not fit the normal legal definition of corruption.
He asserted that the crux of the matter is a code of conduct in Singapore, which many multinational corporations also have, and that superiors have discretion to discipline.
Mr Cheng ended his post by writing, “That doesn’t mean it’s criminal and a jailable offence. Have some sense of reality, please!” /TISG
Read also: S Iswaran sentenced to a year in jail, five months more time sought by the prosecution