Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has been rocked by two unexpected resignations, including that of parliament speaker Tan Chuan-jin (陳川仁), further fueling one of the biggest political crises in the city-state’s history.
Once seen as a potential prime ministerial candidate by political observers, Tan, 54, stepped down from positions in government and the party, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said in a statement yesterday.
He is the second parliament speaker to resign under a cloud.
Photo: Reuters
His resignation is the latest in a series of scandals to send shock waves through Singapore, including a graft probe of a Cabinet minister and investigations into pricey rentals by two other members of Lee’s administration.
This comes at a precarious time for the PAP, which is navigating a leadership succession in its nearly six decades of power and battling voter unhappiness over rising living costs.
“I have accepted Mr Tan’s resignation from the People’s Action Party,” Lee said in a statement. “His resignation is necessary, to maintain the high standards of propriety and personal conduct which the PAP has upheld all these years.”
Political analysts are describing the developments as a shock and a crisis for the PAP, which has been laying the ground work for a new generation of politicians to take over, led by Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財). The PAP is heading for a national vote by 2025 and there is a presidential election in September.
“This would mean that Lawrence Wong will have his hands full as he mitigates this political minefield,” said Felix Tan, a political analyst at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “Just when we thought we had about enough political intrigue, we now have yet another slew of political kerfuffle that is seemingly going to engulf Singapore.”
In his resignation letter, Tan said he made a mistake in parliament for using “unparliamentary language,” and he apologized to an opposition lawmaker.
Tan earlier said he was muttering to himself, but his “private thoughts” were caught during a recording of the parliament hearing.
“For me personally, this recent episode has added to the hurt I have caused my family,” Tan wrote in the letter published by the Singaporean Prime Minister’s Office. “I have let them down. We have spoken about my personal conduct before.”
Lee also accepted the resignation of lawmaker Cheng Li Hui (??慧), who also stepped aside as a member of the People’s Action Party.
He said that her resignation was necessary to retain the party’s high standards of propriety and personal conduct. No further details were given on Cheng, who has been a lawmaker since 2015.
The resignations on Monday could shake voter confidence after last week’s arrest of Singaporean Minister for Transport Subramaniam Iswaran and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng (王明星) in a graft probe that has challenged the city-state’s reputation for clean governance.
“It seems here now that when it rains, it pours,” said Eugene Tan, a law professor at Singapore Management University. “This is a significant crisis, I would use the word crisis. This combination of developments would undermine public trust and confidence in the PAP.”
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