Leader of the House Indranee Rajah reminds MPs to be truthful in parliament

SINGAPORE: Leader of the House Indranee Rajah on Tuesday (Feb 18) reminded Members of Parliament (MPs) of their obligations to be truthful in parliamentary proceedings.

This took place at the first sitting of parliament after Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh's conviction the day before for lying to parliament.

At the start of the sitting, Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng updated the House on Singh's conviction and the S$7,000 (US$5,200) fine on each of two charges of lying to the Committee of Privileges (COP) during its inquiry into a false anecdote that former Workers' Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan told in parliament.

Singh's fellow WP MP Faisal Manap was issued a police advisory over his refusal to answer questions before the COP, but he was not charged.

It was the COP that proposed that Singh and Mr Manap, both Aljunied Group Representation Constituency MPs, be referred to the public prosecutor for further investigation.

Mr Seah clarified that Singh retained his seat in parliament as the sentence for each of his offences did not meet the threshold for disqualification as an MP – a jail term of at least one year, or a fine of at least S$10,000.

After his update, Ms Indranee tabled a paper entitled "Statements made by members to parliament and its committees". Hard copies were distributed to members present in the chamber.

"It is a grave contempt of parliament for a member to deliberately make a false or misleading statement to parliament or its committees," read the paper, which was undersigned by Ms Indranee.

The paper reiterated Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, which states that no one shall, "whether or not he has been sworn or has made an affirmation, wilfully make a false answer to any question material to the subject of inquiry put during examination before Parliament or a committee".

This was the charge on which Singh was convicted.

"Deliberately making false statements or giving false evidence undermines the integrity of our parliamentary processes," continued the paper.

"All members are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity and observe the rules of parliamentary conduct so that the public can continue to have full confidence and trust in our parliament and its representatives."

Mr Seah also updated the House on the resignations of two Nominated MPs, Mr Raj Joshua Thomas and Dr Syed Harun Taha Alhabsyi.

In their resignation letters, both men had indicated their wish to serve the public in other ways, prompting speculation they could contest in the upcoming General Election.