No action taken against NCMP Leong Mun Wai after he withdrew allegations, apologised to Speaker

SINGAPORE: No action will be taken against Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai, after he withdrew allegations made on Facebook and apologised to Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin.

“Mr Leong withdrew various statements in his Facebook posts, clarified that he had not intended to cast aspersions on ministers and admitted that he was wrong to make the suggestions in his statement in parliament as he did,” said Leader of the House Indranee Rajah on Tuesday (Apr 18).

“In light of this, it does not appear that there is need to take further action on this matter.” 

The statement by Ms Indranee came after a heated debate between Mr Leong, who is the secretary-general of Progress Singapore Party, and Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam in parliament on Mar 22.

Mr Shanmugam had made a ministerial statement three days earlier, where he responded to Mr Leong’s question on why Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife Mrs Lee Suet Fern were named in a police investigation, while the people being investigated in the Keppel Marine & Offshore corruption case were not.

The NCMP took issue with Mr Shanmugam's reply and alleged in a Facebook post that the minister's citing of the Parti Liyani case was an attempt to "muddy the waters". He also wrote: "What SM Teo and Minister Shanmugam have done is run the risk of turning Parliament into a platform to colour public opinion on criminal proceedings."  

On Mar 22, Mr Shanmugam said Mr Leong has repeatedly breached parliamentary procedures. 

During a heated exchange that followed, Mr Leong replied to a clarification from Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin by saying: “Speaker, if the minister didn't ask me, I suggest you do not ask."

He apologised after Mr Tan rebuked him and asked him to retain the decorum of the debate.

Mr Leong later also deleted the allegations from his Facebook posts.

REMINDERS ON RULES 

On Tuesday, Ms Indranee said Mr Leong addressed Mr Tan in a manner that was disrespectful.

She said the Standing Orders of the Parliament set out processes for dealing with members who breach parliamentary privilege or disregard the authority of the chair. “These could have been invoked,” she said.

Ms Indranee reminded members not to make allegations that cannot be substantiated, to refrain from making statements outside of parliament that reflect on the character of the Speaker or other members that falsely or scandalously defames the proceedings or the character of parliament.

“None of these rules inhibit robust debate. Robust debate and a contest of ideas are expected,” she said.

“The rules are there to ensure the focus remains on making points of substance making false or unsubstantiated statements, or casting baseless aspersions only serve to erode trust and undermine our democracy.”

Mr Tan said he is committed to being inclusive in providing the space for debate for all 103 members in the chambers.

“But help me to help you to do so by keeping to our rules and procedures,” he said.

“I appreciate that individuals are passionate about their causes and their views. But I also hope that members show respect to the chair and importantly to your fellow members, and do not act as if your views are all that matter.

“Because if everyone decides to insist on their own way, this will become a chaotic space, like we see elsewhere,” he said.

Mr Tan added that there is a full agenda for the remainder of the 14th parliament, and he expects members to continue debating robustly.

“I believe that we can do so while at the same time observing these fairly simple and reasonable rules and importantly, to do so with decorum, courtesy and respect to each other here in this house.”