PAP took 'decisive action' once it knew about ex-MP David Ong's case: Chan Chun Sing
Mr Chan Chun Sing. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The People’s Action Party (PAP) took “decisive action” from the time it knew about ex-Bukit Batok Member of Parliament (MP) David Ong’s situation, party whip Chan Chun Sing told reporters on Sunday (March 13) evening.
Mr Ong, 54, resigned suddenly on Saturday afternoon, citing “personal indiscretions”. He has not responded to queries from TODAY, although multiple reports have linked him to an extramarital relationship with Ms Wendy Lim, a fellow PAP member and Bukit Batok grassroots volunteer.
Asked when the party first learnt about Mr Ong’s situation, Mr Chan would only say “a very short time” ago.
Two days before his shock resignation, Mr Ong was still posting on Facebook photos taken of a house visit he paid to some Bukit Batok residents.
Mr Chan, who is also the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, called for restraint, to protect the children involved in the case. Mr Ong is married with three children, and TODAY understands that Ms Lim is also married with children.
Mr Chan’s comments were the latest in a flurry of events unfolding over the weekend following Mr Ong’s shock move, including Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s apology to Bukit Batok residents and assurance that their needs will continue to be met.
Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, citing unnamed sources, was first to identify Ms Lim on Saturday night as the woman involved. The 41-year-old senior executive in logistics firm Pacific Integrated Logistics also serves as deputy honorary treasurer in the Singapore Logistics Association. When TODAY visited her home on Sunday, a woman who answered the door claimed she was not Ms Lim and did not know her.
On Sunday, when asked about the possible timing of the by-election, Mr Chan said the focus is now on the needs of Bukit Batok residents. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will also consider national priorities in calling for the by-election, said Mr Chan, who gave no hints as to whom the PAP might field.
This is the second time in barely three years that a PAP MP has stepped down over an extramarital affair — and the third in four years involving MPs. In February 2012, the Workers’ Party expelled its then MP Yaw Shin Leong following such allegations.
On whether the PAP would be stricter with candidate selection going forward, Mr Chan said “all humans may fail at any point in time” but acknowledged that the system must aim to minimise such incidents.
Current and former MPs had high regard for Mr Ong’s work since he was elected in 2011. Said former MP Inderjit Singh: “Mr Ong is one of PAP’s ‘grassroots MPs’ who has a good feel of issues Singaporeans faced, and represented them well in Parliament.”
MP (Jurong GRC) Ang Wei Neng said Mr Ong visited residents regularly, and recalled how Mr Ong “spoke passionately” on caring for the elderly in a motion he had raised in 2014.
Still, Mr Singh said leaving the party owing to such matters has “always been an unwritten rule” of the PAP, which “cannot and should not” tolerate any member who lacks integrity.
“I remember when we celebrated Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s last birthday in Parliament, he reminded us of this ... The establishment can only maintain its integrity and reputation by taking swift action against those who can affect the party image,” said Mr Singh.
The PAP has always wanted its members to “hold the mantle to its higher standards”, said MP (Sembawang GRC) Lim Wee Kiak, who served as Mr Ong’s deputy in the Government Parliamentary Committee fo Culture, Community and Youth.
Agreeing, political watcher and Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said this norm reflects the appropriate conduct expected of PAP MPs. Citing how former Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer also resigned in December 2012 after admitting to an extramarital affair, Associate Professor Tan said: “With social media these days, a quiet exit is rare.”
On how the PAP dealt with the matter, he said the avoidance of a “megaphone discussion” was understandable, “given the embarrassment” and to avoid taking away focus from the Budget, the first in its new term.
Assistant Professor Woo Jun Jie from the Nanyang Tehcnological University’s Public Policy and Global Affairs programme felt the party handled the matter “relatively efficiently”.
“There wasn’t a real need to release specific details of the alleged affair ... It should be enough that the public is aware that there was a personal transgression that makes Mr Ong less than suitable for the moral and administrative roles of an MP,” he added.
Residents were taken aback by Mr Ong’s resignation. “Now that he suddenly resigned, I think the whole community is feeling like lost sheep,” said freelance photographer Yeo Kai Wen, 27, a lifelong Bukit Batok resident. “What’s going to happen to renovations (that have been) proposed if the Opposition were to take over?”
Retiree Toh You, 70, hailed Mr Ong as a diligent foot soldier, but said the incident has soiled the PAP’s reputation. “I may consider giving the Opposition a chance in the by-election,” he said.
Senior Minister of State (Home Affairs and National Development) Desmond Lee, who has been tasked with taking care of residents’ needs in the interim, said he has been in close touch with community leaders, grassroots agencies and volunteers in the ward.
“There should be no impact on upgrading,” said Mr Lee, who is also an MP for Jurong GRC. He is now in Vienna for a United Nations Commission on drugs and will take over the weekly Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) from March 21. Mr Ang will be handling the MPS today. He will also replace Mr Ong as Jurong-Clementi Town Council’s chairman, and said the handover work is under way, with a “seamless transition” expected.
