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No action to be taken against Leong Mun Wai for parliamentary breaches after he apologised, withdrew statements: Indranee Rajah

SINGAPORE — No action will be taken against opposition Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai for his breaches of parliamentary procedures and his disrespectful conduct towards speaker of the house Mr Tan Chuan Jin last month, said Ms Indranee Rajah, the Leader of House, on Tuesday (April 18).

Ms Indranee Rajah (left), Second Minister for Finance, said no action will be taken against opposition party member Leong Mun Wai (right).

Ms Indranee Rajah (left), Second Minister for Finance, said no action will be taken against opposition party member Leong Mun Wai (right).

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  • Ms Indranee Rajah said no action will be taken against Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai for his breaches of parliamentary privileges
  • This is because Mr Leong had removed the statements from his Facebook post which were the subject of the breaches
  • He had also apologised to Speaker of the House Tan Chuan-Jin for being disrespectful
  • Ms Rajah and Mr Tan reminded the House to maintain proper decorum during debates

SINGAPORE — No action will be taken against Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai for his breaches of parliamentary procedures and his disrespectful conduct towards Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin last month, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said on Tuesday (April 18).

This is because Mr Leong has already withdrawn from his Facebook posts the statements that were in breach of the procedures and he had also apologised for his remarks towards Mr Tan on the day of the incident, she said.  

Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance, stood up to speak at the opening of the Parliament sitting on Tuesday to make this announcement and remind members of the House of the parliamentary rules that aim to maintain decorum.

Her statement came after Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam rebuked Mr Leong on March 22 about Facebook posts he had written after a parliamentary debate, in which he had made allegations about the Keppel Offshore & Marine (O&M) bribery case. 

Mr Shanmugam noted that Mr Leong had had a pattern of such behaviour and said "next steps" would be considered over the Mr Leong's continued abuse of parliamentary privilege. The minister also cited three other incidents from 2021 and 2022 where Mr Leong had exhibited such behaviour. 

During that same heated exchange, Mr Tan had stepped in to seek clarification on whether Mr Leong was withdrawing an allegation that he had made about former executives of Keppel O&M.

To this, Mr Leong responded: "Speaker, if the minister didn't ask me, I suggest you do not ask."

This prompted Ms Indranee and Mr Tan to issue stern reminders to the House on the importance of proper decorum, and Mr Leong apologised to Mr Tan shortly after.

After that parliamentary session, Mr Leong also removed the offending statements from his Facebook post which had sparked the debate with Mr Shanmugam.

In her statement on Tuesday, Ms Indranee noted that Parliamentary standing orders, which outline disciplinary actions that can be taken against members who breach the rules, could have been invoked against Mr Leong, who was recently named secretary-general of the opposition Progress Singapore Party.

"However, Mr Leong apologised to (Speaker of the House) in the chamber very shortly thereafter. Also, subsequent to that sitting, Mr Leong withdrew the statements in his Facebook post, clarified that he had not intended to cast aspersions on ministers, and admitted that he was wrong to make the suggestions in his statement in Parliament as he did," she said.

"In light of this, it does not appear that there is a need to take further action on this matter."

After she spoke, Mr Tan said he agreed with what Ms Indranee had said and made his own remarks on the importance of maintaining respectful behaviour in the House.

"While I appreciate that individuals are passionate about their causes and their views, I also hope that members show respect to the Chair and, importantly, to your fellow members, and do not act as if your views are all that matter," he said.

"Because if everyone decides to insist on their own way, this will become a chaotic space, like we see elsewhere."

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