SINGAPORE, July 3 — A new standard declaration requirement will be introduced for selected groups of public officers who have access to, or are involved in, the leasing and valuation matters of various commercial and residential state properties, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean in Parliament on Monday (July 3).
Mr Teo, who said this during his ministerial statement on the rental of state properties at Ridout Road by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, said the Public Service Division will work with relevant ministries and statutory boards including the Housing Development Board, National Environment Agency and Singapore Land Authority on this.
Officers who have access to privileged information and can influence the outcome of decisions related to such properties will have to make this declaration before they can rent government properties managed by their agencies.
The declaration will cover properties such as black and white bungalows, factory or office spaces, business parks, shops in neighbourhood centres, hawker and market stalls.
The officer will also have to declare that he has taken adequate steps to prevent any conflict of interest from arising, such as by recusing himself from overseeing or processing the transaction, said Mr Teo Chee Hean who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security.
He added that in addition to the declaration, the Prime Minister will also review the declarations required for property transactions for Ministers and Members of Parliament from the ruling People’s Action Party.
Mr Teo had been tasked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earlier in May to review and establish if proper processes had been followed by agencies and ministries in the rental of the two state properties by the two Ministers, and if there had been any wrongdoing.
In a report submitted to Mr Lee on June 28, Mr Teo found that both Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan conducted themselves properly in rental transactions and took appropriate steps to avoid any conflict of interest.
Mr Teo said that Mr Shanmugam had also recognised the potential conflict of interest from the property transaction and had declared it to him to prevent any actual conflict from arising.
“I wish also to state that as no matters were raised to me regarding any aspect of the rental transaction, I am not an involved party in the rental process,” said Mr Teo, who is Mr Shanmugam’s Cabinet colleague.
On the guide rent
In his speech, Mr Teo also touched on other aspects of the review.
Responding to questions by several MPs including Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency) and Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied Group Representation Constituency) on whether the Cabinet Ministers benefitted from privileged information or from favourable rental rates, Mr Teo said that they did not.
The review established that the rental rates paid by both Ministers were at fair market value, he said.
He said that in 2018, the rental per unit gross floor area for the Black and White Bungalow at No 26 Ridout Road was S$30.94 per sqm per month.
“This was comparable to that for the other Ridout Road properties, which ranged from S$26.00 per sqm per month to S$33.33 per sqm per month,” he said.
In 2019, the rental per unit floor area for No 31 Ridout Road at S$23.05 per sqm per month was slightly lower than the range of S$25.00 to S$33.33 per sqm per month for other Ridout properties but this was due to the condition of the property, said Mr Teo.
However, the rental of S$23.05 per sqm per month was comparable to other properties of “average” condition at that time, he said.
When the tenancies of the two properties were up for renewal after the initial three years, a revaluation was done to peg the rentals to the prevailing market rate.
The property at No 26 Ridout Road was renewed in June 2021 for 3 years with the rent maintained at S$26,500 per month.
The property at No 31 Ridout Road was renewed in October 2022 for 3 years with the rent increased to S$20,000 per month, from S$19,000 per month, he said.
However, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), which conducted a separate investigation on potential corruption, discovered that there was a lack of precision in the Singapore Land Authority’s (SLA) use of the term “Guide Rent” for No 26 Ridout Road.
“As a result of this lack of precision, the earlier SLA statement dated 12 May 2023 that the offer by the tenant ($26,500) was above the Guide Rent was incorrect,” said Mr Teo.
Instead, the rental Mr Shanmugam paid was equal to the correct Guide Rent on the property, he said.
In his speech, Mr Teo also went through the investigations conducted by CPIB.
With respect to the issue of the guide rent, Mr Teo said that although CPIB found that the term Guide Rent was not used precisely, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) was “always clear” that the minimum rental to be achieved was S$26,500 and ensured that Mr Shanmugam paid not less than this amount.
“CPIB has also confirmed that this lack of precision in the process of deriving the Guide Rent did not result from any ill intent on the part of any SLA officers involved,” said Mr Teo.
Incorruptibility ‘an absolute value’ in system
In his speech, Mr Teo also stressed the seriousness with which the Government took on the matter of the property transactions
“That the Prime Minister did not hesitate to call CPIB in to investigate two senior ministers is a signal how seriously we take such matters of incorruptibility and its absolute value in our system.
“Incorruptibility is an absolute value in our system,” said Mr Teo.
Mr Teo pointed out that CPIB reports directly to the Prime Minister and not to the Minister of Home Affairs, who is currently Mr Shanmugam, or Mr Teo himself as the Coordinating Minister for National Security.
Mr Teo also noted that the director of CPIB can also go directly to the President if the Prime Minister stops him from investigating a possible crime.
“There is no more thorough, persistent, and I dare say, even fearsome investigative body in Singapore,” he said. — TODAY
