Kenneth Jeyaretnam issued fourth POFMA order over comments on National Day Rally, Ridout Road rentals and money laundering

SINGAPORE: Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been handed a fourth correction order in just over a month, over comments he made about the National Day Rally package disbursements, manpower statistics and the Ridout Road rentals, among other issues.

Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong instructed that the correction direction be issued to Mr Jeyaretnam under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), the Ministry of Law said on Wednesday (Aug 30).

In his comments posted on Facebook, X (formally known as Twitter) and LinkedIn, dated Aug 21, Mr Jeyaretnam said that the government does not expect to fully disburse to the intended beneficiaries the money set aside for funds to support the Majulah Package, Pioneer Generation Package, and Merdeka Generation Package disbursements. 

A statement on the government's fact-checking website Factually said that this was untrue. 

It said that the government has set aside the money for the funds to meet the important long-term spending commitment towards the different packages so that it will be funded without burdening future generations.

"The Government projects and has always remained committed to the full disbursement of the moneys in the funds towards the Packages."

“The moneys set aside therefore entail real spending to support the packages,” it added.  

MANPOWER STATISTICS

In addition, Mr Jeyaretnam's article also suggested that if a person is a full-time student that person will be considered employed in Singapore’s manpower statistics.

This is false, said the Factually statement.

It added that a full-time student will be considered employed only if the person is working while studying.

Mr Jeyaretnam also suggested that the recent Labour Force Participation Rate for Singapore citizens was below 50 per cent.

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s Comprehensive Labour Force survey, the Labour Force Participation rate for Singapore citizens was above 50 per cent for the past five years.

The participation rate was 68.3 per cent in 2022 and 69 per cent the year before.  

The statement also clarified that the Ministry of Manpower does not break down resident labour statistics into Singapore citizens and permanent residents, as Singapore citizens make up a large majority of the resident labour force.

Under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), Mr Jeyaretnam will be required to carry a correction notice on his Facebook, X and LinkedIn accounts, which state that the article and posts contain false statements of fact, and include a link to the government's clarification.

RIDOUT ROAD

Mr Jeyaretnam’s article also alleged that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) had charged Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan rentals at below market value for the Ridout Road properties because of their positions.

He was previously issued a correction direction for similar comments over the Ridout Road properties – which has since been clarified.

The Ministry of Law issued a press release then stating that the rentals were at fair market value and not below market valuation as established in the review conducted by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

It added that there was no evidence that the ministers were given favourable rental rates due to their positions.

On Wednesday, the statement published on Factually reiterated that the rentals were based on market value.

It added that the underlying principle used for determining the value of land for sale to the public and land for rental is the same, which is to transact at fair market value.

Mr Jeyaretnam also issued comments suggesting that SLA allowed Mr Shanmugam to annex additional land to the property he rented and that Mr Teo said that the additional cleared land was “virtually valueless”.

The Factually statement said that both comments were untrue and that Mr Teo had explained that the guide rent was assessed by professional valuers.

MONEY LAUNDERING AND FOREIGN TAX EVASION

Lastly, Mr Jeyaretnam made the false statement that the government does not take action against money laundering and foreign tax evasion, thus allowing huge inflows of “dirty money” into Singapore.

The article clarified that the government has in place policies and a comprehensive regulatory framework to counter money laundering, which are tightly supervised and enforced.

It also stated that the government acts when an offence is disclosed and there is sufficient basis to act upon.

For instance, financial institutions and other designated entities are required to implement anti-money laundering measures such as customer due diligence checks. Suspicious transaction reports are also analysed by the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office, to detect money laundering and other serious crimes.

On Aug 22, Mr Jeyaretnam was issued a correction order over online posts claiming foreign parties were behind a billion-dollar money laundering case involving 10 foreign nationals. 

Mr Jeyaretnam had claimed that their arrests were a result of China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and China’s pressure on Singapore. He also claimed a corruption probe into Transport Minister S Iswaran and property tycoon Mr Ong Beng Seng was a result of foreign pressure.

The Law Ministry said all this was untrue.

A check by CNA on Wednesday afternoon showed that Mr Jeyaretnam has yet to put up the correction notices on his LinkedIn and Facebook posts.