Hazel Poa responds to debate on Parliament’s handling of MPs under investigation

Suspension is not a determination of guilt; it is merely a measure that is commonly used to deal with situations where a person is under investigation. NCMP Hazel Poa said this in Parliament on Tuesday (Sep 19) in her response to the debate on two motions, filed by herself and Leader of the House Indranee Rajah, on the handling of MPs who are under investigation. Ms Poa had called for Transport Minister S Iswaran, who is under probe by the Corruption Practices Investigation Bureau, to be suspended from Parliament. She said the argument about presumption of innocence made by several Members of the House was “a red herring”. She pointed out that police officers have been suspended from duty and docked pay while under investigation. As Mr Iswaran had already been suspended from his duties by the Prime Minister, she said she was simply calling for his MP allowance to be suspended too. To Members who said MPs have the people’s mandate so suspension should not be lightly done, she questioned if they had an issue with the action taken by the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Ms Poa had also asked for leave to table an amendment bill to make it possible for Parliament to back-pay Mr Iswaran if necessary. She said that as such a measure is currently not provided for, Parliament cannot take timely disciplinary action and is “in fact being held to ransom”. Ms Poa said the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has explained why its approach will lead to better use of taxpayers’ money while ensuring Mr Iswaran is not penalised should he be found innocent. She said PSP trusts that “all who have been following this debate are well able to come to their own conclusions”.