Parliamentary motion on Workers’ Party MPs issue
Table of Contents
Motion to call for Workers’ Party MPs to recuse themselves from financial matters
1. Introduction
On 5 November 2019. the Parliament voted in favour for a motion that the Workers’ Party (WP) MPs Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Low Thia Khiang to keep themselves out of all financial matters at the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC).
2. The motion
This motion was supported by 52 MPs, all WP MPs voted unanimously against it and two NMPs Anthea Ong and Associate Professor Walter Theseira abstained from voting. NMP Ong cited the Town Council Act, which provides the Minister an alternative to rectify deficiencies. NMP Ong also expressed concerns that, under the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016, a court proceeding only concludes when all “issues relating to assessment of damages and costs of the proceeding” are heard and finally decided (see CNA’s video here). As for Associate Professor Theseira, he expressed concerns about the political nature of the motion.
3. Suang comments in The Straits Times
Commenting on the AHTC case, Suang Wijaya told The Straits Times:
The WP MPs are under no legal obligation to recuse themselves. Recusal is generally justified if someone has a personal interest in a matter, such as when a decision is being made on whether to award a contract to a company and the person happens to be a shareholder of that company.” “
It is premature to comment on potential criminal or further civil liability [of the WP MPs] as court proceedings are ongoing.
Recent News Mentions
‘Emotionally devastating’: Lawyers on the mental toll of defending those facing the death penalty
February 26, 2024
In Singapore, the death penalty can be imposed for offences including murder, drug trafficking, use of firearms and kidnapping. Eugene Thuraisingam has regularly taken on capital cases since 2012. With the firm now having grown in size, it regularly handles several murder and drug trafficking matters at any one time. It is difficult to imagine […]
Is it an offence to not report crime?
February 19, 2024
In an article by TODAY, lawyers and experts alike shared their insights on the legal obligations of reporting crime. Discourse on this matter comes after three recent cases in court where individuals had been charged for their failure to report violent abuse they had been witness to. So are we legally obligated to report crime, […]
Lazada employees question non-compete clause, clawback of shares after layoffs
January 13, 2024
In January 2024, Lazada conducted a retrenchment exercise in which it laid off a large number of its employees. Many of these employees had remuneration packages which included restricted stock units (RSUs), which is an award of shares that comes with conditions such as a vesting period before they are transferred to the employee. These […]
A closer look at criminal activities on Telegram
October 12, 2023
In a recent ChannelNewsAsia article titled “Why do criminals use Telegram?“, our Ng Yuan Siang shared his perspectives on the reasons criminals are increasingly turning to the messaging app Telegram for illegal activities, the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and the potential for Telegram to be held accountable. According to Yuan Siang, the rise […]
July 18, 2023
What are the factors that the court or police considers when granting bail? Is travel still allowed when a person is under investigation?
