Singapore’s lawmakers on Tuesday (Sep 19) rejected a motion by the opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP) to suspend Transport Minister S Iswaran from parliament, voting instead to consider the matter when corruption investigations against him conclude.
During a two-hour debate, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) would consider a clawback of Mr Iswaran’s MP allowance if justified, such as if he is given criminal charges.
The PSP motion had called for Mr Iswaran to be suspended as an MP for the remainder of the current session of parliament. He was arrested in July and is under investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
But Ms Indranee filed a counter-motion for parliament to consider the matter when the outcome of ongoing investigations against Mr Iswaran is known.
All eight opposition MPs from the Workers’ Party (WP) voted for the PAP’s motion, and against the PSP.
After his arrest, Mr Iswaran was instructed to take a leave of absence. He has been interdicted from duty with a reduced pay of S$8,500 (US$6,200) a month. He continues to draw the full annual MP allowance of S$192,500.
Mr Iswaran’s ministerial duties are being covered by Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat. His responsibilities as an MP are being covered by the other MPs in West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC). Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said it would be “difficult” for Mr Iswaran to carry out his MP duties during the corruption probe.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong previously said that an MP’s allowance was not at the Prime Minister’s discretion, and that to remove it, parliament must move a motion to interdict the individual as an MP.
