Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

PM Lee dismisses conflict of interest claims in appointment of AG

SINGAPORE — There is “no problem of conflict at all” in Mr Lucien Wong’s appointment as the Attorney-General (AG) even though he was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s personal lawyer who had advised him on issues related to 38 Oxley Road, said Mr Lee in Parliament on Tuesday (July 4).

Swearing-in and Appointment Ceremony of Lucien Wong (centre) as Attorney-General and Member of Presidential Council for Minority Rights and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon (right) as a witness for the ceremony at Istana. TODAY file photo

Swearing-in and Appointment Ceremony of Lucien Wong (centre) as Attorney-General and Member of Presidential Council for Minority Rights and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon (right) as a witness for the ceremony at Istana. TODAY file photo

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — There is “no problem of conflict at all” in Mr Lucien Wong’s appointment as the Attorney-General (AG) even though he was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s personal lawyer who had advised him on issues related to 38 Oxley Road, said Mr Lee in Parliament on Tuesday (July 4).

Now that he is the AG, Mr Wong is not advising the Government on matters surrounding the family home of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Another officer in the Attorney-General’s Chambers takes charge of this, stressed PM Lee.

It is “perfectly normal” for lawyers to encounter potential conflicts of interest when they change jobs, but the rules to deal with these are clear, he said.

Mr Lee was responding to questions raised by Workers’ Party Members of Parliament on the propriety of Mr Wong’s appointment, as well as that of Mr Hri Kumar Nair, a former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament, as Deputy AG.

“The way to deal with this is also quite standard — for the lawyers to recuse themselves when matters come up which they had previously dealt with in a previous capacity … All professional lawyers know how to handle such matters,” PM Lee told the House.

He added that when Mr Wong’s name came up as a candidate to succeed Mr VK Rajah as AG, he had “endorsed (Mr Wong) with confidence”.

“I was even more confident because I had direct personal experience working with (Mr Wong) on (the case of 38 Oxley Road). I had also consulted him informally on government matters before, when we were working on the Points of Agreement dispute with Malaysia.”

He added: “I told the Cabinet Lucien was my lawyer ... that the Opposition may make an issue of it, but I do not consider this an impediment.”

President Tony Tan, who was also informed about the matter, then approved Mr Wong’s appointment, which was welcomed by the Law Society .

Likewise, Mr Nair’s appointment as Deputy AG was based on the premise that he has “a good legal mind”, said PM Lee.

Mr Wong was sworn in as AG in January, while Mr Nair took over as Deputy AG in March.

Mr Lee said: “It is very difficult to find people of the right calibre and range of experience ... It is important that we get the best that are there to become the AG. The role is becoming more complex and we need the most capable people to defend our interests.” 

 

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.