SINGAPORE — Leaked audio clips of conversations involving Mr Chan Chun Sing have emerged on the final day of campaigning for the General Election, as the People’s Action Party second assistant secretary-general slammed the circulation of the recordings and its timing. 

“It has come to my attention that truncated audio clips of one of my conversations, taken out of context, are being circulated with ill-intent,” Mr Chan wrote on Facebook on Wednesday (July 8).

“The timing of the release today is surely not coincidental.”

He explained that the circulating audio clips are from a conversation which occurred in early 2019, in the wake of Malaysia imposing a restricted flying zone north of the Seletar Airport.

In his Facebook post, Mr Chan said that while there were various parts to the conversation, he is aware of three parts that are being circulated and proceeded to contextualise each clip.

“I trust Singaporeans will understand what was shared in context,” he wrote.

In one of the clips, Mr Chan is heard talking about general elections in Singapore and how the PAP has won in the past when they were held after a crisis.

On this, Mr Chan wrote that he was warning "our people" to never be complacent, thinking that a crisis will help PAP secure the votes at an election.

“It may be true that historically during crises, there may be a flight to quality and stability. But we must never take it for granted,” he added.

“In fact, we must work hard to serve our people, take care of them and not depend on a crisis to secure the votes.”

Another clip had purportedly contained comments by Mr Chan pertaining to Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia and the 2019 dispute over the airspace above Pasir Gudang due to the flight path taken by airplanes landing at Seletar Airport.

In his Facebook post, Mr Chan explained that he was talking about the “implications of Malaysia restricting airspace access north of Seletar Airport”.

“There were grave implications to the safety of our flights in and out of Seletar. There were also grave implications to our lifelines when the approaches to our airports or seaports were restricted,” he wrote.

A third leaked clip had touched on the “deeper forces” behind the bilateral issues faced by both countries.

Referring to this, Mr Chan said the issues behind Malaysia-Singapore relations were not personality-dependent despite what many thought.

“If it was so, the issue would blow away when personalities changed. But we should not be under any illusion that it was such. And we must be prepared to deal with such bilateral issues beyond specific personalities.”

He added: “The points in the conversation are poignant reminders of our vulnerabilities as a small country, and the need for our people to keep serving with the right motivations and to put Singapore and Singaporeans at the forefront of everything we do.”

Mr Chan ended the post by reminding Singaporeans what he said in one of the clips — “winning an election has nothing to do with the nine-day campaigning. It has to do with the hard work over the previous many years,” he wrote.

The leaked clips were posted online by The Online Citizen Asia website.

This is not the first time Mr Chan has had audio clips of his leaked. In February, an audio clip from a closed-door meeting of his with the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) was also leaked.

In the clip, among other things, Mr Chan made remarks about panic buying in Singapore after the Government raised its Dorscon level to Orange in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak here.