Singapore’s going through one of its biggest political upheavals in history.
If you look at Singapore politics, and generally, to our international audience,
it’s always been said to be boring.
It started off with the allegations on the Ridout Road saga.
The Ridout Road saga started when an opposition politician questioned how two of Singapore’s ministers
could afford renting government-owned colonial-era bungalows along Ridout Road, in a posh neighborhood.
An investigation by Singapore’s anti-graft agency found no evidence of
corruption or criminal wrongdoing.
The Ridout saga, it became a case of social division in Singapore.
The dust had barely settled when Singapore’s transport minister and a hotel tycoon,
known for bringing the Formula One races to the city-state,
were arrested by the same anti-graft agency as part of a corruption probe.
While the investigation is still ongoing,
snd then, before we can get any form of respite, we have sexual misconduct by our ministers
from both the PAP and the Workers’ Party.
Not just by the ruling party, but also the opposing party.
And so, there’s a conflation of all these things coming together.
Both the ruling People’s Action Party and the opposition Workers’ Party have sacked lawmakers
in the past for engaging in extramarital affairs.
This time, senior members from both parties, including the house speaker,
resigned over their "inappropriate relationships."
All of this has been happening in a couple of months. Why are these political scandals so intriguing?
We are almost the perfect exemplar for all countries to be.
And when something like that happened, it's like, oh, we’re not that perfect after all.
We have built up that reputation. People expect us to keep up with that.
Felix Tan is a political analyst who has co-authored a book on Singapore’s political landscape.
If we look at Singapore’s politics and how it has managed such incidents in the past,
it’s swift, there is always proper procedure, proper processes.
Singapore’s squeaky-clean reputation isn’t just limited to its green, urban spaces.
It’s famed for its low corruption rate, strict rule of law, and stable politics -
factors that are important for multinational corporations and investors.
But that wasn’t always the case. Corruption and political uncertainty were rampant in the past.
Let’s not forget, corruption is kind of endemic in this part of the region.
Now, how it all started, yes true, 50 years ago, pre-Independence Day, and of course leading up to independence,
we were a cesspool, perhaps, of corruption.
Lee Kuan Yew, who was widely recognized as the founding father of Singapore, formed the People’s Action Party in 1954.
He was committed to stamping out corruption in the city-state.
The party even adopted a white-on-white uniform to represent the purity and incorruptibility of its members.
But it was then, it was at that point of time in history. We have since built up law enforcement agencies.
One of these law enforcement agencies is the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau,
which has a mandate of weeding out any form of corruption in the public service and private sector.
The independent agency reports directly to the Prime Minister.
They have done a superb job in ensuring that such incidents do not happen.
It’s not as if it doesn’t exist in Singapore, it still does.
But the thing is that, we are certain that our law enforcement agencies will be able to mitigate these situations.
In 2022, Singapore was ranked the fifth least corrupt country out of 180 countries.
So, how has Singapore clamped down on corruption where many others have failed?
Singapore on a political level, the system has worked well.
And no one in Singapore is above the law in this sense.
But also, let’s not forget that besides all these big profile cases, there were smaller issues.
There were senior civil servants, there were individuals from within organizations, even in the police force,
that have been caught for corrupt practices, for bribery, for cheating, for stealing.
We saw the implementation of high salaries for ministers.
The rationale behind paying our ministers well, is to attract the best of the best, the cream of the crop, to join politics.
Parliamentarians in Singapore receive an annual allowance
of around S$200,000, or around US$150,000,
making them among the highest-paid lawmakers in the world.
Other political officeholders, such as a junior Minister,
draws a salary based on the median income of the top 1,000 Singapore citizen income earners,
with a 40% discount to reflect the "ethos of political service.”
In fact, Singapore’s Prime Minister is the world’s highest-paid politician, earning S$2.2 million annually.
That’s quadruple what the U.S. president earns
and more than 7 times’ that of the U.K.’s Prime Minister.
And I think that calls into question, whether is it still relevant? Does it prevent corruption?
That's a question that I think we all need to ask: is a high paying salary enough?
By international standards, these events are not the most scandalous.
Some might argue that politicians in other countries, they have done these things,
and they have gotten away with it. So, what makes Singapore so unique?
Singaporean society is by and large, very conservative.
The moral standing of these individuals are very important for Singapore.
After all, they are representatives of Singapore society.
Political scandals in Singapore, it’s not new. There have been high-profile cases.
Very much so. There was one in the early 90s, of Teh Cheang Wan,
who was caught, or at least arrested for corruption.
He, unfortunately, committed suicide before he was charged.
This is politics. Exactly, politics. Have we not watched House of Cards?
Singapore’s reputation is inextricably linked to its clean, pristine image.
And this reputation has brought in a lot of investments and business.
What do you think would happen right now to the public trust and investor trust?
I think by and large, it will still remain, and it will still remain very strong.
There is no need to worry that the Singapore system will collapse. The system itself is fine.
Does it need a revamp? Or is it just a small blip in the grand scheme of things?
Whether we need a revamp, a few tweaks here and there.
Firstly, it’s transparency. Secondly, it’s accountability.
This is a blip in our political landscape. But it’s not a tragedy. Things will still go on as per normal.
I would use the word, or the phrase, everything everywhere all at once.
But will we survive through?
I am positively sure we will survive through all of this.