The_King Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 SINGAPORE: Regardless of the outcome of a corruption probe involving Mr S Iswaran, the Transport Minister's political standing would be affected in a country where there is "zero tolerance for corruption", analysts said. On Wednesday morning (Jul 12), the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said the minister is assisting with an investigation into a case uncovered by the anti-graft agency. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the formal investigation began on Tuesday and that he instructed Mr Iswaran to go on a leave of absence until the investigation is complete. CPIB gave no details on what the probe was about. Political analysts CNA spoke to emphasised that Mr Iswaran, as with any other accused, should be deemed innocent unless proven guilty. "However, that it entails an investigation is bad for optics, a term referred to extensively in recent months," said Dr Tan Ern Ser, Associate Professor of Sociology at NUS. "I believe it will affect his standing for now in 'zero tolerance for corruption' Singapore," he added. Mr S Iswaran has been Transport Minister since 2021. He is concurrently Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The former public servant joined politics in 1997 and was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006. Law professor Eugene Tan said that regardless of the outcome of the investigation, it leaves Mr Iswaran’s political career "in grave doubt". "His political standing will be severely impacted. The ruling party will have to decide whether to field him in the next General Election, even if he is cleared by CPIB and AGC (Attorney-General's Chambers)," he said. LEAVE OF ABSENCE Dr Eugene Tan, who is an associate professor of law from the Singapore Management University, added that being put on a leave of absence suggests that there is "preliminary credible evidence that laws may have been broken". "To avoid investigations being compromised should Mr Iswaran continue to exercise his powers and duties, it is proper for PM Lee to put him on leave of absence to uphold the integrity of the ongoing investigations," he said. Dr Gillian Koh, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, pointed out a few differences between this CPIB investigation and the recently concluded one on Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for renting state property. One is that the CPIB had uncovered this case, unlike the Ridout Road matter, where the Prime Minister had asked the anti-corruption agency to establish if there was any wrongdoing. "If there had been anything to the latter, and CPIB felt there was a prima facie case after initial investigations, we can be confident that it would escalate to the status of the current case of Minister Iswaran," said Dr Koh. "In the event, CPIB found no wrongdoing in the Ridout one." Mr Iswaran has also been asked to step aside for now after Mr Lee was presented the prima facie case by the CPIB. The public must be assured that this probe is being handled scrupulously, Dr Koh said. So it is crucial that the investigation is carried out without any possible influence from those in a position to alter evidence or persuade witnesses. She added that "any hint of impropriety" is serious for a political office holder. On the political implications, Dr Koh said that Mr Iswaran helms West Coast GRC along with Minister for National Development Desmond Lee. Even before this "cloud hanging over his head", the ward was held for the governing People’s Action Party (PAP) with the "slimmest of margins" in the 2020 General Election. The slate of five PAP politicians had garnered 51.68 per cent of the votes against a team from the Progress Singapore Party. "It is a necessary burden to bear by being minister in Singapore where a high premium is placed on integrity. Partisan interests in addition to a commitment to this governance system will also have brought the minister under extremely tight scrutiny," said Dr Koh, adding that this is the "burden that is placed on all political leaders in Singapore". Source: CNA/hm(cy) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_King Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 china also same when pooh bear take power 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socrates469bc Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SsunbikiFanBoy Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 (edited) https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/senior-singapore-minister-iswaran-scandal SG corruption news also hit international news alr. Edited July 12, 2023 by SsunbikiFanBoy 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_King Posted July 13, 2023 Author Share Posted July 13, 2023 20 hours ago, SsunbikiFanBoy said: https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/senior-singapore-minister-iswaran-scandal SG corruption news also hit international news alr. hhhahahhaahhhahhaah every dog have it day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socrates469bc Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 speaking of which, is there a conflict of interest here also??????? song bo, kumgong pappy serfs????????? wahahahahahahahahhahahahaha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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