S Iswaran, an Indian-origin member of parliament and part of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore has been asked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to go on leave as the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) conducts an investigation into a case uncovered by the agency.
“On 5 July 2023, Director CPIB briefed me on a case CPIB had uncovered and sought my concurrence to open a formal investigation. This would involve interviewing Minister S Iswaran, among others,” said the prime minister.
“I gave Director CPIB my concurrence on 6 July 2023, following which the formal investigation began on 11 July 2023. Minister Iswaran is currently assisting CPIB with the investigations, which are ongoing,” he added.
In Iswaran’s absence, senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat will be the Acting Minister for Transport, the prime minister’s office announced.
“CPIB acknowledges the interest by members of the public in this case because a minister is being interviewed by CPIB. As investigations are ongoing, CPIB is unable to provide further details,” said the agency.
“CPIB will investigate this case thoroughly with strong resolve to establish the facts and the truth, and to uphold the rule of law,” it added.
The agency, however, issued a warning that Singapore has a “strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption”.
Singapore’s no-corruption image
Notably, the island country pays its top officials among the world’s highest public salaries and prides itself on low corruption. According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, the Southeast Asian country is ranked the fifth-least corrupt country in the world. Hence, allegations of corruption are taken extremely seriously.
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Iswaran was selected as an MP, way back in 1997 and appointed to the cabinet in 2006. As the transport minister, his key focus area was to rebuild Singapore as an air hub in the aftermath of the pandemic and present the country as a maritime centre. Prior to being asked to sit out, Iswaran also served as Singapore’s minister-in-charge of trade relations.
“The optics certainly don’t look good for the PAP government, which has always prided itself on incorruptibility,” Eugene Tan, a law professor at Singapore Management University, said.
However, a review of the case, led by one of the senior members of Lee’s cabinet found no basis in the corruption allegations.
