Two Singaporean lawmakers resign after admitting to ‘inappropriate relationship’

Two Singaporean lawmakers from the ruling party, including the speaker of the parliament, stepped down after admitting to an “inappropriate relationship” with each other.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement on Monday that two lawmakers from the People’s Action Party are exiting, fuelling one of the biggest political crises in the city-state’s history.

One of them is speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, 54, who was once seen as a potential prime minister candidate. Notably, he is the second parliament speaker to exit for having an inappropriate relationship in just over a decade.

PM accepts resignations

“I have accepted Tan’s resignation from the People’s Action Party,” Lee said in a statement on Monday.

“His resignation is necessary, to maintain the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years.”

Another lawmaker who resigned with immediate effect as a member of parliament is Cheng Li Hui.

Lee later told local media that Tan had an inappropriate relationship with Cheng Li Hui.

“It is painful to do this to our friends and comrades-in-arms, and it can also be politically embarrassing and costly. But the PAP has to maintain party discipline and standard of conduct,” Lee was quoted as saying.

Ruling party in crisis

The development comes at a time when a cabinet minister and billionaire Ong Beng Seng are under the scanner of the city-state’s anti-corruption agency in a high-profile corruption case.

Experts are describing the developments as a major crisis for the PAP, which has been in power since 1959, before the city-state’s independence in 1965.

PAP has been looking to reinvent itself by promoting a new breed of political leaders led by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. It is heading for a national vote by 2025 and a presidential election is expected to take place by September.

Tan, in his resignation letter, did not say anything about the “inappropriate relationship” with another lawmaker. Rather, the letter mentioned “unparliamentary language” as the reason he quit. He also apologised to an opposition lawmaker.

Earlier, Tan said that he was muttering to himself, but his “private thoughts” were caught during a recording of the parliament hearing.

“For me personally, this recent episode has added to the hurt I have caused my family,” Tan wrote in the letter published by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“I have let them down. We have spoken about my personal conduct before.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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