Teo Chee Hean rips into performance of Workers’ Party

SINGAPORE — The gloves are well and truly off, with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday firing the opening salvo ahead of an impending General Election.

In a media interview, Mr Teo, who is also the first assistant secretary-general of the People’s Action Party (PAP), slammed the Workers’ Party (WP) for its handling of the financial lapses at its Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC), and criticised WP chief Low Thia Khiang for shedding “crocodile tears” over the stepping down of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

Mr Teo also took a jibe at WP chairman Sylvia Lim who on Wednesday posted on Instagram a picture of herself eating at Fengshan Hawker Centre with the caption, “The taste of Fengshan — heavenly!”, and the hashtag #reasonstowin. Yesterday, Ms Lim posted a blank picture with the caption, “how to avoid speculation”, along with the hashtag #electionseason.

Mr Teo said: “What’s going to happen? You’re going to swallow up Fengshan for what purpose? To serve the residents of Fengshan? Or is Fengshan delicious because you want to add it into the pot to help the town council with the deficit?”

He was also critical of WP’s muted performance in Parliament, after the opposition party gained an unprecedented number of seats following its victory in the 2011 GE in Aljunied GRC. The WP Members of Parliament were silent on many issues, he pointed out.

WP’s win in the GRC not only resulted in the Government losing two ministers — Mr George Yeo and Mrs Lim Hwee Hua — it also meant that potential MPs such as Mr Ong Ye Kung, who is standing in the coming GE in Sembawang GRC this time, were also set back in their political career.

Referring to Mr Ong, who has been touted to be of ministerial calibre, Mr Teo said: “We lost someone who could have played a more significant role in the last five years. We hope he comes in this time and will be elected. But he has five years less experience that he otherwise would have had.”

Responding to suggestions from reporters that Mr Ong has been moved to a PAP stronghold to give him a higher chance of being elected, Mr Teo said Mr Ong, who is the director of group strategy at Keppel Corporation, is being fielded in a constituency that “best fits” him.

For the PAP team deployed to contest Aljunied GRC this time — the line-up has yet to be revealed — its immediate focus for the residents of Aljunied GRC would be to “sort out the mess in the town council issue ... before the hole gets bigger”, said Mr Teo.

Mr Teo noted that before the 2011 GE, the Hougang Single-Member Constituency (SMC), a WP stronghold, had been already been running a deficit in its town council funds. On the other hand, Aljunied GRC and Punggol East SMC, which were under the PAP, had healthy surpluses.

“Now the whole town council is in deficit. How did the large surplus turn into deficit? Where did the money go? There needs to be a certain transparency and accounting and a very fundamental setting right of the town council,” said Mr Teo.

On whether PAP could lose votes for attacking the WP during the election, Mr Teo said: “It’s not something that we like to bring up, but I think it’s something which is important to bring up.”

He added that if the same thing were to occur in a government agency, the PAP would not shy away from dealing with the issue.

Last month, a report from the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) flagged lapses in several public agencies in its latest annual audit of the public sector. The AGO highlighted as areas of concern related-party transactions, the administration of grants, tendering and management of revenue contracts and management of contract variations.

Mr Teo said: “I’d like to emphasise that there’s a very basic difference between lapses in specific processes that take place in any organisation — you have one procurement that did not follow all the rules and processes, or you have another person who did not do all the things that he was supposed to do or another process — but I do not recall an agency which has received the kind of verdict that (AHPETC) received from their own external auditor as well as the Auditor-General.”

In February, the AGO concluded in its audit on AHPETC that unless the weaknesses in the accounting practices are addressed, there can be no assurance that the town council’s financial statements are accurate and reliable, and that public funds are properly spent, accounted for and managed.

Mr Teo said: “It’s not one specific transaction where you didn’t follow the rules … but a blanket assessment that the financial accounts cannot be relied upon at all. That’s quite serious.”

Mr Teo stressed that an elected MP has to play a dual role of running the town council well and contributing to national issues.

“Some people come alive during an election. Some people campaign very well because it’s easier to get people riled up and unhappy. Even I know how to do that,” he said.

He added: “During the time of an election, you can have a party that comes up and makes all kinds of speeches and claims, and it works people up, inflames emotions and therefore influences the way people vote. But when you get elected into Parliament, these fierce issues that they talk about during the election —they’re silent.”

Addressing the voters, Mr Teo said: “Make sure that you vote for the candidate (and) the party whom you really want to place your future in the hands of, and be sure they’re the ones whom you really want to manage your money in your town.”

On Wednesday, Mr Low told reporters at his Meet-the-People session that he was disappointed and could not understand why Mr Lui had chosen to leave politics at this point in time. Mr Teo said: “It’s very in character for Mr Low to squeeze the most political mileage out of anything. The reasons that Tuck Yew decided to step down are known to everyone. Frankly, I think it’s crocodile tears.”