SINGAPORE — Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has called on the Workers' Party (WP) to take action against its Members of Parliament Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim, by requesting them to recuse themselves from Aljunied-Hougang Town Council's (AHTC) financial affairs and to remove Ms Lim as vice-chairman of the town council, pending a court appeal. 

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 5), he also criticised the opposition party for its silence and “business as usual” attitude in the more than three weeks since the court found that its leaders — including Mr Low and Ms Lim — had breached their fiduciary duties in the management of AHTC.

On Oct 11, High Court Judge Kannan Ramesh found Mr Low, Ms Lim and WP secretary-general Pritam Singh liable for damages suffered by AHTC, which is said to have made millions in improper payments under their watch.

In particular, Ms Lim and Mr Low were found to have breached their fiduciary duty while Mr Singh breached his duty of skill and care in the hiring of the town council’s managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS), resulting in AHTC paying at least S$33.7 million to FMSS from July 2011 to July 2015.

Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, was tabling a parliamentary motion on the matter. 

In his hour-long speech, he noted that in the weeks since the court judgment was published, the WP has not said anything, nor apologised for the shortcomings that the court had established.

“They have not accounted for their dishonesties and untruths, nor have they have said whether they intend to put right the many wrongs that the court has uncovered, and if so how,” he said.

QUESTIONS FOR THE WP

Calling on the WP to take action, he began by posing a series of questions for AHTC chairman and WP Member of Parliament (MP) Faisal Manap, including:

• “At the minimum, will he apologise to the residents of Aljunied and Hougang, for letting them down?”

• “Is he going to require the MPs so severely judged and found wanting by the Court, to recuse themselves from the town council’s affairs, pending the disposal of any appeal they may file?”

• “Will he allow (Ms Lim) to continue to be in a position where she can co-sign cheques on behalf of AHTC?

Mr Heng noted that “very serious adverse findings” were made against Mr Low and Ms Lim — findings that "go to the heart of the integrity of these MPs, and the deceptive manner in which they conducted the town council’s affairs”.

“How can they remain in charge of the Town Council’s affairs, as if it is business as usual? At the very least, should not the chairman and other town councillors require them to recuse themselves from handling the town council’s financial matters, as called for in this motion?” he added.

Mr Heng noted that if AHTC were a company, Ms Lim and Mr Low would, at the very least, have been interdicted — prohibited or restrained from acting — pending their court appeal on the case.

He said that hypothetically, Ms Lim and Mr Low would “most likely” have been “forced to leave the company a long time ago”, such as when the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) and KPMG released findings in 2015 and 2016 respectively about lapses in AHTC’s management and finances, “instead of being allowed to carry on, in the same roles and enjoying the same degree of financial oversight over public funds”.

He added: “If they were members of a professional body, their acts of dishonesty would have brought them before a disciplinary tribunal." 

If similar findings were to be made against town councillors of the People’s Action Party (PAP), Mr Heng said the individuals would have “at the very least” been asked to go on leave, pending any effort to clear their names through an appeal.

“Is it even conceivable that a PAP MP whom the Court has described in these terms, can remain in the Town Council, and continue handling public funds, as if nothing has happened?” he said.

“What sort of questions would the Workers’ Party be asking the PAP? What sort of demands would they be making of the Government? The opposition must hold themselves to the same standards that they rightly impose on the Government.”

Mr Heng also called on Mr Singh and Ms Lim to uphold their party standards and discipline.

“Will they apologise on behalf of the Workers’ Party? Will they direct Mr Faisal Manap to do the right thing to protect AHTC’s governance?” he asked.

He also suggested that Mr Singh and Ms Lim temporarily stand aside and allow other members on WP’s Central Executive Committee to take charge of AHTC’s governance, pending the appeal.

This would also be  “a standard practice in the corporate world”, he reiterated.

Mr Heng also turned to WP’s other MPs, including Aljunied GRC MP Chen Show Mao, Hougang MP Png Eng Huat and non-constituency MPs Daniel Goh, Leon Perera and Dennis Tan, to ask whether they would do anything about the court judgement.

“Will they at long last be conducting their own investigation? Or will they continue to duck, dodge and deny?” he asked.

‘BITTER PILL HAS TO BE TAKEN’

Mr Heng pointed out that if nothing is done in the interim pending the appeal, "we will be forced to conclude that the Workers’ Party, by its inaction, in fact endorses the dishonest conduct and the breach of the fiduciary duties that has already occurred, and is complicit in the wrongdoing". 

“If the Workers’ Party wants the privilege of representing Singaporeans in Parliament, they cannot be silent on this.”

Mr Heng said the WP has previously shown it is capable of putting their house in order, such as last year when KPMG found that AHTC has resolved all the lapses flagged in past audits since 2013.

“I am sure that the town councillors will agree that they are the better for the audit, and that their controls and processes are now much safer. Sometimes, a bitter pill has to be taken so a sick system can be returned to health,” he added.

Towards the end of his speech, Mr Heng stressed that trust between the electorate and elected officials is vital in democratic societies.

“When trust breaks down, the people will feel that their leaders are disconnected and only seem to be looking after themselves and their friends. We see this happening in many countries. We must never let this happen in Singapore.”

Referring to the WP's silence following the release of the court findings, Mr Heng said: “Maybe they hope that Singaporeans will forget, or forgive them. Playing the victim or the underdog may be par for the course in politics, but there are important matters at stake – public funds, residents’ monies, the estates that Singaporeans come home to. 

“We cannot sweep things under the carpet.”