[Bigiron]

Chee Soon Juan Asks For Independent Commission To Look Into Alleged Corruption Cases

In his Facebook post, Dr Chee mused, "Singapore's political leadership is obviously not in a good place. Worse, the direction it is taking us is just as troubling."

👉 https://tsl.to/csjindependentinquiry

@mustsharenews

[forum456]

Dr Chee was voted as the best orator of past election rallies.

Dr Chee should be in parliament to partner Leong Mun Wai to help PAP to improve their service to the people of Singapore.

Dr Chee can help Mr Leong to improve his speaking skills.

[talky]

Dr Chee was voted as the best orator of past election rallies.

Dr Chee should be in parliament to partner Leong Mun Wai to help PAP to improve their service to the people of Singapore.

Dr Chee can help Mr Leong to improve his speaking skills.

yes just below lky n lky grandson who is the professor in us

[sgh]

But they tekan him before let him go inside sit. Now come out not scared to go in again?

[Ola]

Waiting for that toes licker from Malaysia

to show his jealousy again

[lioncityftw]

What he said is hilarious but actually quite true, LOL.

All these incidents is like 一连串 non-stop happening within a short span of time. Something is amiss with PAP.

[p1acebo]

Tan Chuan Jin should be removed as Speaker. His deputy is not so clean either

[lioncityftw]

https://theindependent.sg/opinion-with-s...h2hcbWjUUY


Photo: FB / Chee Soon Juan / PAP Ministers

"No matter how big and powerful any political party is - its first duty is to its citizens. That includes respecting and being seen to respect all the institutions of the land. It cannot be a case of coming down hard on individuals while leaving systemic behaviours unchecked." — Ghui, OPINION

This week has certainly been one that has been rocked with scandal in the local political scene. It started with Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin being publicly outed for using the four-letter word to describe opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim.

While it is understandable that Mr Tan, a human and not a robot, is bound to have some personal feelings and opinions, the bone of contention is that he muttered them in Parliament.

In a democracy with different political parties in Parliament, there is bound to be disagreement and, at times, heated discourse. However, there has to be a standard of decorum for all involved. To top it off, Mr Tan is the Speaker! He is meant to set and maintain the tenor of civility in Parliament, and above all, he is meant to be non-partisan! His muttering on a hot mike clearly sends the signal loud and clear that he has strong opinions on the Worker’s Party (WP) policies.

While Mr Tan has apologised to Assoc Professor Lim and Assoc Professor Lim has accepted the apology, the question remains – should Mr Tan stay in his position as Speaker now that his neutrality is so publicly compromised? Can Singaporeans trust him to be fair to all MPs regardless of political party now that his views have been publicly made known?

Is it just a momentarily slip of the tongue, or does it belie his deeper loyalties? If all this is in doubt, then Mr Tan ought to go. He does not just owe Assoc Professor Lim an apology, he has a wider duty to the rest of Singapore, which he may not have discharged properly. Further, he may have already lost the trust of Singaporeans. Has he? It would seem like netizens think so!

To top it off, his Deputy Speaker of Parliament is also not scandal-free. On 6 December 2022 (barely seven months ago), news broke that Christopher de Souza, People’s Action Party (PAP) MP for Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representative Constituency (GRC), was found guilty of professional misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal.

Given that Speakers of Parliament are meant to have the highest integrity, given that they are tasked with maintaining the professionalism and civility of Parliament, how does it look that both Speaker and Deputy have been rocked by scandal?

Is it then a surprise that Parliament ministers do not feel they have to respect opposition MPs? Lest we forget, just shy of two years ago, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng were overheard mocking the Progress Singapore Party’s Leong Mun Wai in Parliament.

Are all these incidences one-offs? Or, do they demonstrate a pattern of behaviour of those in the PAP, who buoyed by their supermajority in Parliament, feel a sense of invincibility?

While in that case, Dr Balakrishnan apologised to Mr Leong, and Mr Leong accepted his apology; it still stands that beyond Mr Leong, Dr Balakrishnan owes a responsibility to all Singaporeans for his disdainful attitude. Parliament is meant to be a respected institution, not a convention for “mean girls”.

Of course, Dr Balakrishnan is no stranger to controversy, recently mired in “Ridoutgate” with fellow Minister K. Shanmugam, While both Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Shanmugam were swiftly cleared of wrongdoing by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), many Singaporeans remain incensed at the difference in lifestyles between the ruling classes and the average citizen.

Hot on the heels of this controversy, we now have Minister for Transport S Iswaran being investigated by the CPIB for alleged corruption alongside Singapore-based Malaysian billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng. Mr Ong is reportedly travelling out of Singapore after posting a bail of $100,000. This raises eyebrows. Should he be allowed to travel? What if he doesn’t come back to face justice? $100,000 is surely peanuts for a billionaire.

Funny that the man who was essentially telling Singapore to expect higher prices is now investigated for graft. In May 2023, Mr Iswaran was waxing lyrical in Parliament about rising Certificate of Entitlement Prices.

Of course, it is commendable that the CPIB is acting swiftly in these cases and taking action. However, some Singaporeans whisper in hushed tones whether this is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, given that the authorities have been scant on details, the rumour mill has been churning.

Back to Leong Mun Wai – Mr Leong has always developed a dogged reputation in Parliament for his endless questions on uncomfortable issues, and more than once, he has been chastised in Parliament. But in hindsight, do we need more Mr Leongs? And, is Mr Leong being silenced by a supermajority of the PAP?

Not too long ago, Mr Leong was essentially stopped by Mr de Souza for trying to prolong a debate on Ridoutgate. And since Mr Tan’s (Chuan Jin) conduct has been questioned and Mr de Souza himself is not scandal-free, should they both remain in their posts?

Are these just scandals that will blow over and be more of the same?

Remember Ivan Lim? The candidate that was fielded and then unfielded for Jurong GRC? The PAP cleared Mr Lim of wrongdoing, and netizens have wondered if he will be fielded again. Mr Lim has been spotted on outreach events since then.

Of course, I am not suggesting that individuals be cancelled. But the big question here is whether there is a pattern of behaviour that needs to be addressed. No matter how big and powerful any political party is – its first duty is to its citizens. That includes respecting and being seen to respect all the institutions of the land. It cannot be a case of coming down hard on individuals while leaving systemic behaviours unchecked.

With so many scandals in the past few weeks, the people are watching.
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[p1acebo]

They must be really arrogant and deaf if they were to field Ivan Lim again

[klat]

Tan Chuan Jin should be removed as Speaker.  His deputy is not so clean either

Remove both speakers and elect an Oppo instead or NCMP

[p1acebo]

Remove both speakers and elect an Oppo instead or NCMP

NCMP would be good

[Wy:Nox]

Would there be cases in the past where PM Lee consent was not given and so CPIB had to sweep it away?

[Manthink]

I am no fan of CSJ, but I do give credit when credit is due....

The ex-NUS asst prof knows exactly how to explain the current situation in far better coherent manner - sharing exactly the Public unease on our Gov ...and he has done a far better job in articulating the obvious...vs those long speeches that we hear recently in Parliament.

What he said is hilarious but actually quite true, LOL.

All these incidents is like 一连串 non-stop happening within a short span of time. Something is amiss with PAP.

[Gstalk]

Chee Soon Juan Asks For Independent Commission To Look Into Alleged Corruption Cases

In his Facebook post, Dr Chee mused, "Singapore's political leadership is obviously not in a good place. Worse, the direction it is taking us is just as troubling."

Agree. If not, it would be like ownself check ownself.

[moonrab]

Back stabbing CST speaking again.