SINGAPORE, July 4 — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that when he first learnt that two of his Cabinet ministers had rented Ridout Road black-and-white bungalows, he had “every confidence” that the transactions would have been handled properly.
Nevertheless, he had ordered a probe into the matter by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) over any possible illegality and a separate complementary review by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean into the Singapore Land Authority’s (SLA) processes and practices.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday (July 3), Mr Lee said it was important to carry out the probes and present their finding to the House as a basis for informed discussion to demonstrate that the Government has not compromised on its “stringent standards” of honesty and incorruptibility.
Mr Lee also had a parliamentary exchange with Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on whether Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam’s action in asking a senior civil servant for a list of public properties to rent instead of approaching SLA directly was appropriate.
PM Lee later responded to a question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai on questions over a perceived conflict of interest.
Mr Lee’s statements came after Members of Parliament (MPs) from both sides of the aisle spoke for about five hours on the rental of state properties at Ridout Road by Mr Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Last week, the findings by the CPIB and Mr Teo were released publicly, clearing both ministers of any wrongdoing in relation to the rental of the properties.
“As PM, my duty is not just to be satisfied that legally there was no wrongdoing, but whether, quite apart from the law, there was any other kind of misconduct or impropriety,” Mr Lee said.
“Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan have done nothing wrong and they retain my full confidence.
“But this accounting in Parliament is not just to resolve the issue of the rentals on black-and-white properties in Ridout Road, important as that is. It’s also a demonstration of how the PAP is determined to uphold the standards which it has set itself from the beginning in 1959.”
PAP is the ruling People’s Action Party.
Mr Teo, Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong, as well as Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan on Monday each gave ministerial statements on the matter, with MPs filing questions and clarifications.
PM: Ministers’ accommodation a matter of ‘personal choice’
In his speech, Mr Lee said that ministers in Singapore are paid a “realistic, competitive, clean wage” with no perks or official house.
“Therefore, where ministers decide to live, whether they want to rent, whether they want to buy, these are personal choices,” said Mr Lee.
“And thus I see nothing wrong with ministers renting properties from SLA or for that matter from a private landlord, provided it’s properly done and all procedures are followed.”
Mr Lee said that when he first learnt about the Ridout Road rentals, he did not believe there would have been any wrongdoing involved.
“I had every confidence that my ministers, and the SLA officials who dealt with them, would have done the right things and handled the rentals properly,” he said.
Nonetheless, as the issue continued garnering public interest after SLA issued a statement on May 12, Mr Lee agreed to a request by the two ministers for an independent probe by asking the CPIB to look into the matter, “notwithstanding my confidence in them (the ministers) and in the system”.
Even though the CPIB’s probe extended to broader issues such as whether the ministers were accorded preferential treatment or given privileged information, Mr Lee wanted those issues to be examined “more thoroughly” and thus tasked Mr Teo to conduct a review as well.
Mr Lee tasked Mr Teo “to show that I have every intention to maintain the Government’s and the PAP’s longstanding, high and stringent standards of integrity and propriety”.
“I wanted to put my most experienced, most qualified, for this purpose, most capable person on the job,” said Mr Lee, referring to SM Teo.
Earlier in the day, some MPs had queried if Mr Teo was the right person to head the probe as Mr Shanmugam had told Mr Teo that he had recused himself from the decision making process over his Ridout Road rental and that Mr Teo was the “backstop” on the matter should any matters arise.
However, Mr Lee noted that no such issue arose and “nothing was ever raised” with Mr Teo.
Mr Lee also noted that some parties, including MPs, have suggested that Mr Teo was not “sufficiently independent” by virtue of him being a minister.
“I take a different view,” said Mr Lee, adding that it was the Prime Minister’s responsibility to set the standards of ethics and propriety.
“Ultimately, the Prime Minister is still accountable and he has to justify his position here — to Parliament — and answer to Singaporeans at the ballot box. That is how our system works, that is how it has been kept clean. That is my general approach and the attitude I have taken in this case,” he said.
Mr Lee said it was important that MPs were given full opportunity to ask questions and clarify doubts on the matter in Parliament.
He added that “in this case, we have investigated it, the ministers have been cleared”.
“In other cases which come up, we will investigate it and whichever way the facts fall out, it will be taken to the logical conclusion,” he added.
“This is the foundation not just for the people’s trust in the PAP Government, but for the integrity and good functioning of our political system.”
Shanmugam’s explanation ‘cogent’
Mr Singh, the Workers’ Party chief, raised the issue of Mr Shanmugam asking the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) for a list of public properties to rent instead of approaching SLA directly — an issue also raised by a few MPs earlier.
“It is quite incongruous in the eyes of many, for a minister to be asking a civil servant details which pertain to information for his personal use,” said Mr Singh, adding that he thought it was “the crux” of the issue.
“And when people intersect it with the Ministerial Code of Conduct and your letters of prudence, does the Prime Minister not agree that this is an issue that has been flagged out and that there is a better way to address a problem of a similar nature when it pops up?”
In response, Mr Lee noted that this matter was not public knowledge until it was brought up.
Prior to it, “outrageous allegations” were made about ministers enjoying improper benefits, among other things.
“Now that the report has come out and all those grave suspicions have been dispelled, you focus on this question and you ask, should he (Mr Shanmugam) have asked the deputy secretary?
“My view is he could have done it a different way. He could have done it this way. He has given the House the reasons why he did it this way. I think those are cogent reasons, which I accept.”
Mr Leong, Progress Singapore Party’s chief, then asked Mr Lee about the possible perception of conflict of interest arising from the saga and what the Prime Minister would do about it.
Prefacing his question by saying that “we are not against ministers living well, living in GCBs (good class bungalows)”, he then asked Mr Lee if he would commit to applying the Code of Conduct of the Government “more stringently”.
In response, Mr Lee said: “I thank Mr Leong for clarifying that he’s not against ministers living in GCBs. He just wants to play it up.”
Mr Lee added that while Mr Leong said he had nothing against ministers’ choice of living location, the NCMP still raised the “alleged perception of conflict of interest and unfairness” despite explanations given to the House over the previous five hours.
“And therefore, when he says, a PAP Code of Conduct, do I intend for it to be stringently applied, what he really means is, should I or should I not allow ministers to rent GCBs, or to rent black-and-white (bungalows)? My answer is: I do not object to ministers renting black and whites,” he said.
Mr Lee said that ministers live within their salary and their means — with some coming into office with means already as they had successful careers before — and that they comply with the law.
More importantly, said Mr Lee, the ministers continue to serve Singaporeans and contribute to the team with honesty and capability.
“There’s a phrase in the minister’s swearing-in text, in all things to be a true and faithful minister. That’s what we expect of all PAP ministers.” — TODAY
