Singapore’s ‘squeaky clean’ image toasted as 3 Scandals (Sex & Bribery) involving high profile Lawmakers exposed within days

‘Squeaky Clean’ Singapore’s image takes a beating as scandals rock the government

Singapore, known for its political stability, has been rocked by a string of rare political scandals.

Last week, a senior minister was arrested in a graft probe, the first in four decades to be implicated in such an investigation.

And on Monday, two lawmakers – one of them once tipped as a potential prime minister – resigned after it was revealed they were in an extramarital affair.

Tan Chuan-jin and Cheng Li Hui resigned over their “inappropriate relationship”

On Monday, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-jin, 54, and fellow lawmaker Cheng Li Hui, 47, resigned from the party and the legislature over their “inappropriate relationship”. Mr Tan is married, while Ms Cheng is single.

More questions on transparency arose last week, when Singapore’s anti-graft watchdog arrested Transport Minister S Iswaran and billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng. The two men played key roles in bringing the Grand Prix to Singapore in 2008.

Singaporeans were told last Wednesday that Mr Iswaran had been asked to take leave from his ministerial duties amid a probe.

Yes sir, I am the boss of the all the scandals in Singapore…

Just when we thought times are tough enough for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, here come another Sex Scandal!

Two Senior Members of Singapore’s Workers’ Party (WP) have resigned as MPs and from the party after a video showing them holding hands went viral.

Inappropriate behaviour: Leon Perera and Nicole Seah admitted that they had an affair, which started after the general election of 2020.

Workers’ Party MP Leon Perera and senior leader Nicole Seah have resigned from the party after initially lying about an extramarital affair, in the latest incident to rock the country’s political scene.

Making the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday, WP chief Pritam Singh said that sometime around late 2020 and early 2021, he was informed by Perera’s driver through WhatsApp that Perera and Seah were meeting very often at restaurants and hotels, and had been seen hugging each other and holding hands.

Both Perera and Seah initially denied the allegations.

When the video of the two emerged on July 17, that was the first time the party members saw it, said Pritam.

He immediately contacted Perera and arranged to meet him in the afternoon. He also arranged to meet Seah separately.

Both of them admitted they had an affair, which started after the general election of 2020. But it had stopped some time ago, said Pritam.

Singapore’s government officials are among the world’s highest paid, as the country seeks to discourage corruption and attract the best talent. Ministers are paid about 1.1 million Singapore dollars ($822,000) a year, according to the Public Service Division’s website.

High standards of propriety and personal conduct, together with staying clean and incorrupt, are the fundamental reasons Singaporeans trust and respect the PAP.
Lee Hsien Loong. Singapore Prime Minister

Singapore political scandals raise question of whether PAP has fallen short of its own high standards, says Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University. pic.twitter.com/QX2SJBOjFs

— CNBC International (@CNBCi) July 19, 2023