July 3 Parliament sitting: 4 ministerial statements on Ridout Road bungalow rentals; questions about Singapore Turf Club, Seatrium filed
SINGAPORE — The black and white bungalows on Ridout Road will take the spotlight at the next Parliament sitting on Monday (July 3), with several Members of Parliament (MPs) having filed questions and four ministers due to make speeches on the rentals.
Of 157 questions filed for written and oral responses, 29 are related to the state-owned colonial bungalows rented by Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Based on the parliamentary order paper released on Friday, four ministerial statements will be delivered on the topic as well.
Mr Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, is set to speak about the review of the two bungalows' rentals, while Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong will talk about the rental of state properties.
Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Shanmugam will also be delivering ministerial statements on the rental of their respective properties.
On Wednesday, findings from a review by Mr Teo and a probe by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) into the two ministers' rental of the Ridout Road bungalows were released.
Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan were cleared of all wrongdoing, with the CPIB probe finding no preferential treatment given to the duo and their spouses.
Among the MPs who have asked questions related to this is Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai, who asked what measures have been put in place to ensure the bid process was fair, transparent and competitive.
MP Gerald Giam from Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) asked if the bidding process of black-and-white bungalows managed by the Singapore Land Authority is audited by the Auditor-General’s Office yearly.
The Workers’ Party member also asked if there are plans to redevelop more land now occupied by colonial bungalows for “more productive uses like public housing, industry or commerce”.
QUESTIONS ON SINGAPORE TURF CLUB, SEATRIUM
Beyond Ridout Road, several MPs also filed questions related to the closure of the Singapore Turf Club and sought updates on an ongoing CPIB probe into offshore marine firm Seatrium.
Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Hany Soh asked for the estimated number of houses and types of leisure and recreation facilities that will be developed on the turf club site.
As for the ongoing probe into Seatrium, Dr Tan Wu Meng of Jurong GRC asked if the investigations pertain to the predecessor entities Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore and Marine — both of which were merged this year to form Seatrium — and how this corruption case has affected Singapore’s reputation.
Ten questions about the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation were also filed by MPs, such as how the Government would mitigate any negative impact of the legislation and when the proposed legislation may be implemented.
Five Bills are set to be debated during the sitting.
They include the proposed changes to the Women’s Charter — which will allow the issuing of emergency orders to stop perpetrators in cases of family violence, among other things — and the Online Criminal Harms Bill, which will allow the authorities to act against suspected online crimes such as scams before they happen.
The Maintenance of Parents (Amendment) Bill is up for debate as well. If passed, the changes will prevent abusive parents from seeking monetary compensation from their children.
There will be two adjournment motions: One calling for the abolition of GRCs by Non-Constituency MPs Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai from the Progress Singapore Party, and another calling for an evaluation of Singapore’s sporting ecosystem by Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim and Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Manap from the Workers’ Party.
