People’s Association’s lapses under police probe, trigger heated exchange in Parliament

SINGAPORE — Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Png Eng Huat pressed the Government to take to task those deemed accountable for lapses found at the People’s Association (PA), triggering a fiery half-hour exchange in Parliament between him and Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing.

Mr Png, from the Workers’ Party (WP) and MP for Hougang, was referring on Tuesday (Nov 20) to the lapses at PA relating to the procurement and management of welfare assistance schemes, which were uncovered by the Auditor-General's Office (AGO). 

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While Mr Png called for the statutory board to be held to “greater accountability” as its lapses had become “more brazen”, Mr Chan — who is the PA’s deputy chairman — suggested that the WP MP was trying to link the lapses at PA and other public agencies with the ongoing civil lawsuits against three WP MPs running Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC).

Mr Chan also revealed that the police are looking into the PA’s lapses, which involved reimbursement claims of S$142,200 made by a former PA employee for overseas purchases for Chingay 2017, an annual Chinese New Year event. While an independent panel investigating the lapses found no “conclusive evidence” that there was wrongdoing, “there were concerns over the authenticity of some transactions”, he noted.

The lapses were flagged in July by the AGO in its report for 2017/2018.

Pointing out the differences between the PA’s lapses and the lawsuits against the WP MPs, Mr Chan noted that it was not the Government which sued the WP MPs — Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Low Thia Khiang — and other town councillors.

Instead, it was an independent panel — appointed under the Town Councils Act — that took them to court over alleged wrong payments made to AHTC’s managing agent and third-party service providers.

Mr Chan said that when the AGO audited the then Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council’s (AHPETC) accounts in 2015, it concluded that there was “no assurance that AHPETC’s accounts are accurate and reliable, or that public funds are properly spent, accounted for, and managed”.

AHPETC’s own auditors also gave a disclaimer of opinion for its accounts from financial years (FY) 2012 to 2017, Mr Chan said.

“However, the Government’s accounts are in order. The AGO has consistently given the Government an unmodified audit opinion on its financial statements,” the minister told the House.

However, Mr Png pointed out that the PA had “adverse reports” in its audits for six consecutive years from 2007. He quizzed Mr Chan on why the Government had not ordered an audit on PA, when it did so for the WP-run town council.

In response, Mr Chan reiterated the difference between a qualified account and an account that was unqualified — the latter meaning the account was in good order and could be trusted.

Prior to FY2013, auditors said that the PA’s accounts for its grassroots organisations should be consolidated.

As there was no consolidation, it appeared that PA’s accounts “did not fully comply with the standards,” said Mr Chan, adding the “technical issue” has since been addressed.

All 1,800 grassroots accounts have been consolidated into PA’s financial statements, and it has received an “unqualified audit opinion since 2013”, Mr Chan added.

But Mr Png countered: “I can tell you when auditors issue (an) adverse opinion, it obviously means something. It means they couldn’t see… they couldn’t verify the accounts of the grassroots.

“(An) adverse report means something. If it is a technical issue, I am sure the auditor can do something about it.”

Mr Chan replied that the auditors for PA’s accounts did not categorise them as qualified accounts. “Unqualified accounts means that structurally, the accounts can be trusted, in good order, but there are still observations… (that) need to be acted upon, and need to be improved,” he said.

He noted that some of PA’s lapses were uncovered by its own internal processes, and rectified even before the AGO stepped in.

“Where there is wrongdoing, we own up to it, and we (make) it right,” Mr Chan said.

“I think the public can make their own assessment as to the difference between how we handle our audits very seriously, and how others handle theirs.”

WHAT THEY SAY

READ MORE

• On the AGO’s findings on PA’s lapses in FY2017/2018: Auditor-General flags lapses in contract management, IT controls and financial processes

• On the ongoing AHTC lawsuit: AHTC lawsuit pins most of the blame on Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim