Government to deal rigorously with cluster of 'high-profile issues', says PM Lee
When asked if the number of vacant seats in parliament would affect the timing of the next General Election, Mr Lee Hsien Loong said he has no plan to call an immediate election.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaking at a press conference on the resignations of Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and MP Cheng Li Hui on Jul 17, 2023. (Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information)
SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) will "put things right" and deal with the recent scandals surrounding its Members of Parliament rigorously and transparently, said Mr Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (Jul 17).
He was responding to a question from the media on public perception that there has been a "slip in PAP standards" due to some incidents involving PAP MPs over the past few months.
Mr Lee also said that he has no plans to call an early election.
At the press conference, which had been called to address the resignations of Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Tampines MP Cheng Li Hui, Mr Lee said that Mr Tan and Ms Cheng had been in an "inappropriate relationship". Mr Tan had also been embroiled in a controversy after he was caught making disparaging remarks about Workers' Party MP Jamus Lim on a parliament hot mic.

In addition, it emerged last week that Transport Minister S Iswaran was involved in a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigation.
Before that, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan had to explain in parliament the reasons for their rental of state properties in the exclusive Ridout Road area, and whether there had been any conflict of interest. In this instance, the CPIB and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean cleared both ministers of any impropriety.
"I think from time to time, these things happen. When they happen, we have to make sure we deal with them and deal with them rigorously as well as transparently, and everybody can see that we are doing that," said Mr Lee on Monday.
"No system can be completely infallible. You appoint people, sometimes things go wrong, you have to find out and you have to put it right."
Mr Lee said that in the Ridout Road case, the ministers went through a rigorous and full CPIB investigation, as well as a separate probe by Mr Teo, with the results and the reports presented fully in parliament.
In Mr Iswaran’s case, the matter arose because CPIB came across the issue while doing another investigation, and the anti-graft agency had informed Mr Lee. A few months later, CPIB came back to Mr Lee to report that it wanted to open a formal investigation, and he told them to proceed.
"That is what they have done, and it will go through to its full conclusion," said Mr Lee. "In the case of Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui, they did not live up to the standards which were expected. We tried to get them to mend their ways, it did not work, and they had to go."
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Mr Lee said that these are not examples of the PAP’s slipping standards but of how it deals with allegations against PAP MPs.
"That is how the system has to function. Sometimes things cluster up, but we make sure we put them right, and I hope I put them right and we will be able to set the right tone for a long time to come."
Mr Lee added that the party has to maintain its high standards not just for the next election, but beyond this term of government into the next generation.
He cited former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who had said in one of his last public speeches: "Remember, never let the system go corrupt. Never, never let that happen. Uphold standards, make sure that Singapore can work.”
Said Mr Lee: "That is the key thing, and I am quite determined to do that and I am quite sure the 4G leaders are determined to do that too."
Replying to a question on whether vacant seats in parliament would affect the timing of the next General Election, Mr Lee said he has no plan to call an immediate election.
Singapore's next General Election must be held by November 2025.
Including Mr Iswaran, who has been placed on leave of absence pending his CPIB investigation, four PAP parliamentary seats are now vacant: Mr Tan, Ms Cheng and Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who has retired from politics to contest Singapore's presidential election
"We are in the second half of the present government’s term, we just opened parliament recently. We have a full agenda for this term, we're working at it and that's what we will focus on," he said.
"In the GRCs where there is a member missing, the other members of the GRC will step up and will make sure that the constituents are well looked after, that’s one of the advantages of having a GRC."
Reporters also asked Mr Lee to comment on "other rumours" circulating on MPs in office. Earlier today, a video surfaced of Workers' Party (WP) MP Leon Perera and fellow party member Nicole Seah sharing an apparently intimate moment over a meal. WP has said it is looking into the matter.
"There are all sorts of rumours which speculate especially online. We can't police MPs’ private lives, but the if rumours seem to be credible, we will investigate them and if they're verified, then we will speak to the MPs concerned to correct the situation," Mr Lee said.
He added that if the behaviour is not "outrageous or scandalous" to begin with and the MP stops the behaviour and makes amends, the party "will not punish them severely and automatically kick them out".
"But in dealing with these situations, which are human situations, you also have to be cognizant of human frailties and conscious of the impact that our actions will have on innocent parties, on families, on spouses, on their children and deal with them as sensitively as you can," he said.
He added that this has to be balanced with upholding the party's "fundamental requirement to maintain our responsibilities and our trust with Singaporeans".
He added: "As for what the opposition parties should do if the rumours concern their members, you have to ask them."