2023-08-03 09:46:40
Marina Bay Skyline
Formula 1 races are to be held in Singapore until at least 2028.
(Foto: mauritius images / Zoonar GmbH / Alamy / Alamy Stock Photos)
Bangkok No chewing gum on park benches, no graffiti on building walls – and no corruption in the authorities either: the Southeast Asian financial center Singapore maintains a reputation as a law-abiding model state. But a series of scandals in the governing party is shattering the Sauber image.
This Wednesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commented on the allegations for the first time in parliament. He stressed that his People’s Actions Party (PAP) has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption: “The PAP has suffered a setback, but we will show Singaporeans that we will uphold the standards and do the right thing in order to build trust.” is preserved.” All incidents should be completely cleared up.
It is primarily about a bribery probe into Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran, who was temporarily arrested last month.
The scandal hits the ruling party at a critical time. The 71-year-old Lee, son of state founder Lee Kuan Yew, has ruled Singapore for almost 20 years and actually wants to hand over official duties to his previous deputy Lawrence Wong for the 2025 election.
If PAP’s recent problems escalate into a serious crisis, observers believe it is possible that Lee will delay his retirement plans again. He had already done that during the corona pandemic. At the time he said he wanted to see the country “in good shape” before handing over responsibility.
Government did not provide information about the arrest
The government has not yet commented on the concrete suspicion on which the investigations by the anti-corruption agency CPIB are based. The only thing that is certain is that, in addition to Iswaran, the real estate billionaire Ong Beng Seng is also the focus of the investigation. Both were released on bail after their arrest in July. Ong operates hotels of the Four Seasons brand in the Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore, among others.
Ong is also jointly responsible for Singapore’s place in the Formula 1 racing calendar: Last year, his company Singapore GP and the country’s tourism authority secured a continuation of the Singapore race until 2028. Transport Minister Iswaran was also involved at the time.
The government and investigators have not yet commented on whether there is a connection between the Formula 1 deals and the ongoing investigation. Ong’s hotel group only said that the company boss had been questioned by investigators about his interactions with Iswaran.
The opposition accused the government of informing the public too late. One criticism is that the authorities kept Minister Iswaran’s temporary arrest secret for days. Lee said he will “not hesitate or hesitate” when it comes to “keeping our system robust and clean.” “When the investigation is completed, the Anti-Corruption Bureau will present the findings to the Attorney General’s Office, who will then decide what to do with them,” he said in parliament.
Singapore’s ministers are among the highest paid in the world
Iswaran was suspended by Lee in July after the CPIB opened a formal investigation. The head of government announced in parliament that he had temporarily reduced the minister’s salary to the equivalent of around 5,800 euros a month. Typically, cabinet members in the country get significantly more. Including variable salary components, they earn around 60,000 euros a month – making them among the best-paid civil servants in the world. The Singapore government regularly gives the reason for the high salaries that they reduce the incentives for corruption.
In fact, high-profile bribery cases are rare in the country. In the Transparency International ranking, Singapore ranks fifth among the least corrupt countries in the world. The last time corruption was investigated against a minister was in 1986.
But in recent months, questions about the business connections of politicians from the ruling party have been mounting. The opposition sensed a scandal about possible concessions for the country’s interior and foreign ministers on leases for luxury properties. However, an investigation by the CPIB found no evidence of wrongdoing.
At the beginning of the year there was also criticism of a member of parliament from the ruling party who, in addition to her mandate, had accepted a job at the mobility start-up Grab as the person responsible for government affairs. After a conflict of interest debate, the company then gave her another position.
The disclosure of an extramarital affair between the previous speaker of the parliament and a member of parliament who also belongs to the PAP is also sensitive for Lee’s PAP. The party likes to portray itself as an advocate of traditional family values. Lee had to admit that he had known about the affair for more than two years. However, the politicians only resigned last month. Lee now said: “I should have pushed the topic earlier.”
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