SINGAPORE - Non-Constituency MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa have filed a motion for the next parliamentary sitting in August to ask that the House reaffirms its commitment to the need for the Speaker of Parliament to be independent and impartial.
The motion will also address the need for Parliament to be a fair arena for all, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) NCMPs said.
The development comes a day after Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said she would address Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin’s comment, caught on a hot mic after an April speech by Workers’ Party (WP) MP Jamus Lim, “as this matter concerns parliamentary conduct”.
In a statement on social media on Friday, the PSP said that although the Speaker had apologised to Associate Professor Lim and Ms Indranee will address the matter in Parliament at the next sitting, the party believes it is still a “serious matter”.
“(It) deserves a full parliamentary debate as it touches on parliamentary privileges, professional ethics, and the impartiality and independence of the office of the Speaker,” said the statement.
Earlier this week, a video started circulating – in it, Mr Tan is heard muttering “****ing populist” on the microphone during the first day of debate on the President’s Address on April 17.
This was after Prof Lim, an MP for Sengkang GRC, finished a speech on doing more to help lower-income groups here.
On Tuesday morning, Mr Tan said in a Facebook post that he had to listen to the recording as he “did not recall the occasion”. He said he had apologised to Prof Lim for using “unparliamentary language”.
PSP said in its Friday statement that ensuring that Parliament is fair to all starts with the Speaker. “However, some parliamentary procedures and processes also need to be changed to facilitate more constructive and productive debates.”
Three hours after the PSP’s statement, the WP said it was disappointed at Mr Tan’s “audible outburst”.
On Friday evening, the WP said it is paramount that everyone has confidence that the Speaker will preside over parliamentary debates in an impartial manner.
The statement comes after Prof Lim had commented on Mr Tan’s post on Tuesday, saying that the Speaker did call him and that he has accepted the apology.
“The Speaker is a referee for political debate at the highest level, maintaining order and providing guidance on parliamentary procedures,” said the WP.
“It is appropriate for public concerns over this issue to be addressed in Parliament.”
