SINGAPORE — Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin on Tuesday (July 11) apologised for using "unparliamentary language" in his reaction to a speech made by Workers' Party Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim.

In a video circulating on social media, Mr Tan can be heard muttering the words "f****** populist" after Associate Professor Lim's speech, before calling on MP Vikram Nair (Sembawang Group Representation Constituency) to respond.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Tan wrote that the video was from a parliamentary sitting in April, adding that he "had to listen to the recording as (he) did not recall the occasion".

"When I listen to speeches made, like everyone, I do form views on them. What was said were my private thoughts which I had muttered to myself and not to anyone," Mr Tan wrote.

Assoc Prof Lim, who is MP for Sengkang GRC, had been speaking about the need for an "official poverty line" to help the poor and disadvantaged living in Singapore, advocating for equal opportunities for education, healthcare and employment for all.

Mr Tan said that he has since apologised to Assoc Prof Lim for his remarks, which the latter has "kindly accepted".

Assoc Prof Lim later confirmed this in a comment on Mr Tan's post. "Speaker did indeed call, and I have accepted his apology," he wrote.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Singapore national runner Soh Rui Yong commented on the incident, saying that people have sent him video clips due to Mr Tan’s other role as the president of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).

Soh had previously been excluded from the 2023 Asian Games after he made disparaging and derisive remarks about others in the public domain. Details of those remarks were not made public by SNOC.

Soh said: “However I’m also of the view that none of us are perfect, we’ve all cursed or sworn at times. I did it spontaneously when describing something I did ('I f***** this up') on a lighthearted podcast where the hosts were using that type of language as well....

“It appears that TCJ (Tan Chuan-Jin) is doing it in Parliament to voice his disagreement with an opposition Member of Parliament, Jamus Lim," Soh said in his post.

While Soh agreed that Mr Tan’s conduct was unsatisfactory, he added that the public could afford to be gracious enough to forgive Mr Tan if he gives an earnest apology.

“I certainly hope the SNOC can move on as well, so we can all focus on doing constructive things rather than nitpicking on each other," Soh said.

This is not the first time where the private comments of MPs were heard in parliamentary sittings.

In September 2021, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan apologised to Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai for calling him "illiterate" and questioning his educational credentials.

Mr Leong was engaged in an exchange with several government ministers in a parliamentary debate when Dr Balakrishnan's comments were heard in the background.

Dr Balakrishnan said in a Facebook post: "I disagree with him on the issue, but I should not have said what I said. Mr Leong has accepted my apology."

TODAY has reached out to Assoc Prof Lim for comment.