GOVERNMENT’S CLARIFICATIONS
According to the government’s fact-checking website, Factually, the Jan 14 article published on East Asia Forum “communicates assertions which are false and misleading”.
The article alleged that Singapore’s ruling elite pursues “self-interest while in office as long as no laws were broken”.
It pointed to events such as Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s dispute with his siblings over the family home at 38 Oxley Road, former transport minister S Iswaran’s charges, as well as the bribery case involving six senior executives of Keppel Offshore & Marine.
It would “not be easy” for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to make changes while Mr Lee remains in the Cabinet as Senior Minister, the article alleged.
According to Factually, the East Asia Forum article falsely said that the Singapore government “misused the resources and time of the Cabinet, parliament, the police … to pursue Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s private agenda against his siblings and turn his family home, into a memorial to his father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and himself”.
The police investigations involving Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s sibling were because a disciplinary tribunal found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern lied under oath. Additionally, no decision has been made yet on 38 Oxley Road, noted Factually.
The article also falsely claimed that Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was prosecuted without basis, “in pursuit of motives other than proper enforcement of the law”, said Factually.
It noted that the conduct of Mr Singh before the Committee of Privileges was referred to the Public Prosecutor under the Parliament Act and the prosecution “decided to prefer two charges against Mr Singh”.
The article also falsely communicated that the prosecution declined to prosecute six senior executives of Keppel Offshore & Marine and alleged that “there is a complete absence of laws or conventions requiring political office holders to declare their financial interests, assets, or conflicts of interest”.
The author of the article – Michael Barr, an associate professor of international relations at Flinders University – suggested there was some impropriety in the reduction of the two charges S Iswaran, according to Factually.
Factually added that while “Barr is free to express his opinions from afar, he is not free to make sweeping false allegations”.
The fact-checking site said the government has zero tolerance for corruption.
“Singapore’s governance system is built on a foundation of integrity and public service, carefully established over generations and upheld by successive leaders.
“The Singapore government remains steadfast in its commitment to earning and preserving the people’s trust, including countering those who attempt to erode it by spreading falsehoods,” Factually said.
