Parliament (PARL) will be in session this coming Monday (Feb 6) and Tuesday (Feb 7), and accountability and transparency are on the agenda.
Some must-watches: Our PAP MPs have submitted questions about the SPH Media Trust and Keppel Offshore & Marine cases, and will affirm the Party’s commitment to affordable and accessible public housing.
SPH Media Trust case: Investigations and funding
SPH Media Trust daily circulation figures were inflated by about 10 to 12 per cent previously. This represented 85,000 to 95,000 phantom copies “accounted for” through the counting of lapsed contracts and double-counting subscriptions.
Six Party Members of Parliament will raise questions related to the investigations and the Government’s scheduled funding of SPH Media Trust.
For example, MP Shawn Huang (Jurong GRC) filed a question about the status of the internal investigation and the immediate corrective actions taken.
Questions relating to whether the funding amount will be adjusted were filed by MPs Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang GRC), Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (Chua Chu Kang GRC), Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC), and Edward Chia (Holland–Bukit Timah GRC).
Keppel O&M corruption case: Case facts and Government’s response
Five Party MPs will ask about the stern warnings issued to the six former Keppel employees who were implicated in a bribery case involving Brazilian oil giant Petrobras.
MP Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok SMC) filed a question about whether the CPIB’s investigations considered the statement of facts that these six employees presented to the United States Department of Justice.
He also asked about the findings from any parallel corruption investigations involving Keppel.
MP Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang SMC) asked about the Government’s response to concerns about the penalty for these ex-Keppel employees being too light, and if cross-boundary measures against corruption can be strengthened.
Public housing: Affirming the PAP Government’s commitment
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee filed a Ministerial Motion on housing earlier this week (Jan 31). Its brief is succinct:
AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC HOUSING: That this House affirms the importance of keeping public housing affordable and accessible while protecting the interests of current and future generations of Singaporeans, and endorses the commitment of the Government to these twin goals.
Succinct, but on a driving issue for the PAP.
“Keeping public housing affordable and accessible while protecting the interests of both current and future generations of Singaporeans is what the Government has been dedicated to all along,” posted Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann.
“We will once again make this commitment clear to Singaporeans and to Members of the House during the debate.”
Accountability and transparency in Parliament
Singapore is Asia’s least corrupt country and Parliament helps this ranking.
Parliament is where the PAP Government passes laws. It is also where our PAP parliamentarians scrutinise policies and suggestions that affect the nation.
It is a regular process of accountability and transparency, in line with the PAP’s core value of honesty: Singapore deserves this.
You can watch Parliament proceedings live at the Ministry of Communications and Information’s official YouTube channel here this coming Monday noon (Feb 6) and Tuesday (Feb 7).
Images credit: SPH, Keppel, JohnsonGoh/Pixabay