SINGAPORE: Calling the CPIB probe of S Iswaran a “bombshell”, Dr Chee Soon Juan said that “the equally vexing question in everyone’s mind is why did the Bureau need to seek the “concurrence” of the PM before it commenced a formal probe?”
“Questions that naturally arise are: Would investigations proceed if the PM did not give his consent? Have there been previous cases when concurrence was sought but not given? Can’t the Attorney-General launch an investigation if he sees wrongdoing regardless of the PM’s views?” the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) raised. Dr Chee also said that the recent issue pertaining to Ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan renting bungalows along Ridout Road also brought up questions that remain unanswered.
Referencing Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin’s hot mic moment in Parliament, where he was caught uttering an expletive, Dr Chee said: “when the Speaker of Parliament displays such contempt for views he disagrees with, consideration should be given to his replacement”.
However, he added that Mr Tan’s deputy, Christopher de Souza, was recently found guilty by the Law Society of assisting his client in suppressing evidence in a case he was conducting. Mr de Souza remains Deputy Speaker pending his appeal of the matter.
“Then, there was the instance when Leader of the House Indranee Rajah she, in a fit of pique, raised a file she was holding and brought it down tempestuously during a Parliamentary session. This was in response to the conduct of an MP she considered worthy of rebuke. It was a most unedifying sight to behold.
“Mr Speaker,” she then thundered, “as Leader of the House, I would just like to remind members to conduct themselves in a parliamentary manner. And the tone in which we address one another is important. I would therefore ask Mr Leong to be mindful of that.”