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Singapore was rocked by news this week that a cabinet minister and wealthy businessman had been arrested in one of the most serious graft cases in nearly four decades.
Resolve the issue of the Minister of Transport s. Eswaran And Ong Bing Seng He threatens to tarnish the image of a country that prides itself on integrity and clean government. Singapore has consistently been among the 10 least corrupt countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index since it began in 1995.
Singapore’s public servants are among the best paid in the world, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earning a total compensation of around S$2.2 million (US$1.7 million) annually. This is a strategy its political leaders say has kept corruption down.
The investigation is taking place as the People’s Action Party, which has ruled since the island’s independence in 1965, is navigating the succession plan. The PAP will need to ensure that any fallout from the investigation is contained before the general election, which must be called by November 2025.
Here’s what we know about the related issue Eswaran and Ong:
Here is a look at past controversies involving PAP politicians:
2023
July 11th
Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan Jin apologized to an opposition member for using “unparliamentary language”. Tan said he was muttering to himself but his “private thoughts” were caught during the recording of the Parliament session.
June
External Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for renting colonial homes near the high-end lifestyle hub. Lee ordered the review after the opposition asked whether ministers had paid rates below market rates.
2021
Balakrishnan apologized to an opposition member for his “private comments” in Parliament. “I disagree with him on this issue, but I shouldn’t have said what I said,” the foreign minister wrote in a Facebook post.
2020
Asian Parliamentary Elections candidate Evan Lim withdrew from the 2020 race ahead of nomination day following online allegations about his past behaviour. The Straits Times reported that Lim said the allegations were unfounded.
2016
MP David Ong has resigned due to a “personal indiscretion”, according to The Straits Times. Residents of the one-seat ward of Ong voted to remain with the PAP in the by-election.
2012
Michael Palmer has resigned as Speaker of Parliament after admitting to an extramarital affair. His exit triggered a by-election in the single-seat constituency. The four-way battle was won by the opposition Labor Party the following year.
1996
Lee Kuan Yew, the island’s first prime minister, and his son Lee Hsien Loong, then deputy prime minister, faced allegations of wrongdoing in connection with discounts on four luxury apartments developed by Ong’s Hotel Properties. Then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the investigation was necessary to protect the government’s reputation. They were acquitted in an investigation.
1986
Then the Minister of National Development, Teh Chang-wan, was investigated by the CPIB for accepting bribes. Teh denied receiving the money and died before formal charges could be brought against him.
1975
Then-Minister of State for the Environment Wie Tun Boon was sentenced to 18 months in prison for accepting a two-storey house and land.
Resolve the issue of the Minister of Transport s. Eswaran And Ong Bing Seng He threatens to tarnish the image of a country that prides itself on integrity and clean government. Singapore has consistently been among the 10 least corrupt countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index since it began in 1995.
Singapore’s public servants are among the best paid in the world, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earning a total compensation of around S$2.2 million (US$1.7 million) annually. This is a strategy its political leaders say has kept corruption down.
The investigation is taking place as the People’s Action Party, which has ruled since the island’s independence in 1965, is navigating the succession plan. The PAP will need to ensure that any fallout from the investigation is contained before the general election, which must be called by November 2025.
Here’s what we know about the related issue Eswaran and Ong:
Here is a look at past controversies involving PAP politicians:
2023
July 11th
Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan Jin apologized to an opposition member for using “unparliamentary language”. Tan said he was muttering to himself but his “private thoughts” were caught during the recording of the Parliament session.
June
External Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for renting colonial homes near the high-end lifestyle hub. Lee ordered the review after the opposition asked whether ministers had paid rates below market rates.
2021
Balakrishnan apologized to an opposition member for his “private comments” in Parliament. “I disagree with him on this issue, but I shouldn’t have said what I said,” the foreign minister wrote in a Facebook post.
2020
Asian Parliamentary Elections candidate Evan Lim withdrew from the 2020 race ahead of nomination day following online allegations about his past behaviour. The Straits Times reported that Lim said the allegations were unfounded.
2016
MP David Ong has resigned due to a “personal indiscretion”, according to The Straits Times. Residents of the one-seat ward of Ong voted to remain with the PAP in the by-election.
2012
Michael Palmer has resigned as Speaker of Parliament after admitting to an extramarital affair. His exit triggered a by-election in the single-seat constituency. The four-way battle was won by the opposition Labor Party the following year.
1996
Lee Kuan Yew, the island’s first prime minister, and his son Lee Hsien Loong, then deputy prime minister, faced allegations of wrongdoing in connection with discounts on four luxury apartments developed by Ong’s Hotel Properties. Then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the investigation was necessary to protect the government’s reputation. They were acquitted in an investigation.
1986
Then the Minister of National Development, Teh Chang-wan, was investigated by the CPIB for accepting bribes. Teh denied receiving the money and died before formal charges could be brought against him.
1975
Then-Minister of State for the Environment Wie Tun Boon was sentenced to 18 months in prison for accepting a two-storey house and land.
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