Tan Jee Say asks if the Singapore Government will follow the lead of Malaysian leaders to publicly declare assets

Leader of the political party Singaporeans First Tan Jee Say has asked if the People’s Action Party (PAP) representatives – Members of Parliament and Ministers, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong – will declare their assets publicly. He was referring to an article in Malay Mail which reported that “all Pakatan Harapan lawmakers, including Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will publicly declare their assets.”

The article quoted Malaysian Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali as saying that public declaration of assets is a new practice which the new Malaysian Government intends to adopt to ensure total transparency within its government.

“What happened previously was that the ministers will declare their assets but only to the former PM. But now, our current PM will even declare his and his family’s assets. It will then be made public after the whole exercise is over,” the Economic Affairs Minister said.

Azmin said that they will have to declare their assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) first, and after that make them publicly available.

When asked by reporters after the event if he had completed the exercise, Azmin said: “I am currently in the final stage of declaration.”

The PAP Rules of Prudence lays down the following guideline for declaration of assets of its MPs:

“For your own protection, every MP should disclose to me (Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong), in confidence, your business and professional interests, your present employment and monthly pay, all retainers and fees that you are receiving, and whether your job requires you to get in touch with officers of Government Ministries or statutory boards on behalf of employers or clients. Office holders need not do so because you will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Code of Conduct for ministers.”