SINGAPORE: The fallout from the extramarital affair of former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin continues as he steps down from even more positions, including the presidency of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).
Mr Tan had been found to have been in an “inappropriate relationship” with fellow People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui, which continued even after they were asked to stop, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (Jul 17).
Both Tan and Cheng resigned on Monday.
“I have discussed the matter with my wife and agreed I must step away from politics and devote myself to my family,” Mr Tan wrote in his resignation letter to Prime Minister.
The SNOC said in a statement on Tuesday (July 18) that it accepted Mr Tan’s resignation and thanked him for his many years of service.
Mrs Jessie Phua, the council’s most senior vice president, is set to serve as acting President in Mr Tan’s stead in the interim. She is to be appointed in SNOC’s next executive committee meeting.
The former speaker was serving his third term to spearhead the SNOC, the country’s National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee when the news of his affair and resignation broke out.
He was first elected as president of the council in 2014, and his latest term was to have lasted until 2026.
Mr Tan is also no longer a Patron of The Centre for Fathering, a non-profit organisation “founded in 2000 to promote active and involved Fathering and address issues caused by fatherlessness in Singapore.”
The former Speaker became the organization’s Patron in 2018.
He has also resigned from his role as one of the advisors to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), a position he took in 2017.
CNA quoted a spokesman from the NCSS as thanking Mr Tan for his leadership and service, “particularly his passion in promoting volunteerism in the social service sector”.
Mr Tan, who is married with two children, has served as House Speaker since 2017. As such, he oversaw the House and enforced the rules of the Standing Orders. He also chaired the Committee of Privileges, which looks into complaints alleging breaches of parliamentary privilege.
He also served as MP for the Kembangan–Chai Chee ward of Marine Parade GRC since 2011, the year he entered politics.
From 2014 to 2015, he was Minister for Manpower, and from 2015 to 2017, he was Minister of Social and Family Development. /TISG
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