DPM Teo’s statement was fair, says Lee Bee Wah

SINGAPORE — A day after she was chided by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean over her comment that civil servants will “get back at her” for her feedback against them, Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Lee Bee Wah said on Monday (Feb 5) that Mr Teo’s statement was “fair”, and reiterated that MPs or civil servants are “all here to serve our country”.

“I think our common point is that regardless of being an MP or civil servant, if you want to serve, don’t be afraid. But do what is right,” she told TODAY. “We cannot expect everyone to always agree but we can push the boundaries while respecting each other’s views at the same time. Ultimately our end goal must be about residents and Singapore,” she added.

Last week, Dr Lee said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia that her friends had told her certain civil servants may “get back” at her after she steps down due to her criticism of their policies.

During the interview, Dr Lee added that in her first term as MP, some ministers had complained to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong about her. “I think PM understands I’m just doing my work. I’m not there for a promotion. Whether you like me or not, is secondary,” she said.

The interview was published on Sunday. Hours later, Mr Teo, who is the Minister in charge of the Civil Service, said in a statement that it would be improper for either MPs or public officers to “get back at” each other because of disagreements over work. Mr Teo said: “If anyone knows of either public officers or MPs using their position or authority to act in this improper way, he or she should raise the matter with me with the facts, and I will have it investigated.” Adding that MPs and public officers will not always see issues from the same perspective, he reiterated that the different views “may well have valid justifications – the needs of residents, resource or site constraints, or national priorities and policy”.

Both Mr Teo and Dr Lee were present in the House during Monday’s Parliament session, sitting across each other. When asked, Dr Lee said they did not discuss the matter in person on Monday.

Nevertheless, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan called Dr Lee his “favourite MP”, when he was replying to questions from her and Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh on the discontinuation of the off-peak monthly travel pass.

The pass was introduced in July 2015 to encourage regular commuters to shift from peak to off-peak travel. It was scrapped because it was not popular among commuters, and shifted fewer than 200 of the pass users to off-peak travel, said Mr Khaw.

Currently, senior citizens and persons with disabilities enjoy concessionary fares that are 25 per cent off adult card fares at all times, while regular commuters among this group can also buy the monthly concession pass at half the price of the regular adult monthly pass. Dr Lee asked if a study had been done about the impact on those who had previously used the off-peak monthly travel pass.

In response, Mr Khaw said: “The handful who probably get adversely affected, how best (do we) do it? Well, my favourite MP (will have) good solutions.”

He added: “Local MPs can always come up with (solutions) when we know a particular resident who has been inconvenienced because of this… As a local MP, we do chip in if we discover such cases, and I’m quite sure, Lee Bee Wah would know how to do it.”

This was not the first time Mr Khaw used such a term for Dr Lee in Parliament. In the Committee of Supply debate last March, Mr Khaw was speaking about the impending completion of the North-South Line signalling system upgrade when he said: "(This) will bring a lot of benefits to many residents, including the residents of my favourite MP Ms Lee Bee Wah." ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ALFRED CHUA

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the article stated that Dr Lee said in the Channel NewsAsia interview certain civil servants may “get back” at her after she steps down. This is incorrect. Dr Lee said her friends had told her this. We are sorry for the error.