SINGAPORE: Leader of the House Indranee Rajah on Tuesday ( Feb 18 ) reminded Members of Parliament ( MPs ) of their obligations to be truthful in parliamentary proceedings.
This took place at the first sitting of congress after Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh’s judgment the evening before , for lying to parliament.
Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng gave an update on Singh’s conviction and the S$ 5,200 fine for lying to the Committee of Privileges ( COP) during its investigation into a false anecdote that former Workers ‘ Party ( WP ) MP Raeesah Khan told in parliament at the start of the session.
Felipe Manap, Singh’s brother WP MP, was given a policeman ad because he declined to answer questions before the COP, but he was not charged.
The COP made the recommendation that Singh and Mr. Manap, both Aljunied Group Representation Constituency MPs, be referred to the public attorney for more research.
As an MP, Mr. Seah made it clear that Singh was still eligible for a seat in parliament because each of his crimes did not qualify for a prison expression of at least one time or a fine of at least S$ 10,000.
Following his release, Ms. Indranee presented a paper titled” Claims made by people to parliament and its committees.” Members of the room received hard copies.
The paper, which Ms. Indranee signed, read,” A member making a deliberate speech to parliament or its boards is a tombstone hatred of legislature,” read.
The paper reiterated Section 31 ( q ) of the Parliament ( Privileges, Immunities and Powers ) Act, which states that no one shall, “whether or not he has been sworn or has made an affirmation, wilfully make a false answer to any question material to the subject of inquiry put during examination before Parliament or a committee”.
This was the cost on which Singh was convicted.
The paper continued,” Intentionally making false statements or providing false information undermines our parliamentary techniques.”
To ensure that the government can continue to have complete confidence and trust in our legislature and its staff, all users are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity and adhere to the laws of political do.