Clarification by Leader of the House
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This clarification concerns factual corrections made by Leader of the House Ms Indranee Rajah regarding her statements delivered during the 2 August 2023 Parliamentary sitting. Leader of the House Ms Indranee Rajah specified that the Parliament Secretariat has organised 19 overseas Parliamentary trips since 2020, confirming that former Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui participated in only one of those trips. Additionally, she corrected a chronological error regarding a historical tribute by Mr JB Jeyaretnam to former Speaker Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng, noting the speech occurred in 1985 rather than 1995. These written corrections were circulated with the Speaker's leave to ensure the official report accurately reflects parliamentary travel data and historical records. The Leader of the House provided these updates to maintain the integrity of the information presented during the earlier Ministerial Statement and Motion.
Transcript
(a) The following statement was made by the Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah) during clarification on the Ministerial Statement, “CPIB Investigation Involving Minister S Iswaran and the Resignations of Former Speaker and a PAP MP”, at the Sitting of 2 August 2023:
The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): I understand that the Parliament Secretariat had since 2020, organised 18 overseas Parliamentary trips, including the AIPA General Assembly one in August, the upcoming one in 2023; and 60 MPs have participated in these visits across the years since 2020. Of the 18 visits, Miss Cheng Li Hui only participated in one overseas trip and that is the AIPA General Assembly one held in Cambodia in 2022, but she did not attend more overseas trips than other MPs. With regard to her selection for that trip, I understand that the name was put up by the staffing officer and approved. [Please refer to "CPIB Investigation Involving Minister S Iswaran and the Resignations of Former Speaker and a PAP MP", Official Report, 2 August 2023, Vol 95, Issue 109, Ministerial Statements section.]
Written statement by Ms Indranee Rajah circulated with leave of the Speaker in accordance with Standing Order No 29(5):
I wish to make the following factual correction to my reply given during the Sitting of 2 August 2023. My statement should read as follows:
The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): I understand that the Parliament Secretariat had since 2020, organised 19 overseas Parliamentary trips, including the AIPA General Assembly one in August, the upcoming one in 2023; and 60 MPs have participated in these visits across the years since 2020. Of the 19 visits, Miss Cheng Li Hui only participated in one overseas trip and that is the AIPA General Assembly one held in Cambodia in 2022, but she did not attend more overseas trips than other MPs. With regard to her selection for that trip, I understand that the name was put up by the staffing officer and approved.
(b) The following statement was made by the Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah) during the Motion, “Impartial Speaker of Parliament”, at the Sitting of 2 August 2023:
The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): So, for example, in 1995, Mr JB Jeyaretnam said when he spoke on the reappointment of Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng as Speaker, and Dr Yeoh, as you know, was a PAP MP. Mr JB Jeyaretnam said this, “Mr Speaker, Sir, may I, as it were from the other side of the House, give you my very sincere and hearty congratulations on your election. We have heard from the Leader about your long reign in this House, but I, Mr Speaker, Sir, have only been under your rule for three years after I entered this House in December 1981. But may I say, Mr Speaker, Sir, that during that short time of three years, you have gained greatly my respect and admiration for the charm and tact with which you brought to bear to this high office that you have hold with such esteem and honour. It has not always been easy for you and sometimes it has been made trying, and my only hope is that I did not contribute in any way to your trials.” That was Mr JB Jeyaretnam. [Please refer to "Impartial Speaker of Parliament", Official Report, 2 August 2023, Vol 95, Issue 109, Motions section.]
Written statement by Ms Indranee Rajah circulated with leave of the Speaker in accordance with Standing Order No 29(5):
I wish to make the following factual correction to my reply given during the Sitting of 2 August 2023. My statement should read as follows:
The Leader of the House (Ms Indranee Rajah): So, for example, in 1985, Mr JB Jeyaretnam said when he spoke on the reappointment of Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng as Speaker, and Dr Yeoh, as you know, was a PAP MP. Mr JB Jeyaretnam said this, “Mr Speaker, Sir, may I, as it were from the other side of the House, give you my very sincere and hearty congratulations on your election. We have heard from the Leader about your long reign in this House, but I, Mr Speaker, Sir, have only been under your rule for three years after I entered this House in December 1981. But may I say, Mr Speaker, Sir, that during that short time of three years, you have gained greatly my respect and admiration for the charm and tact with which you brought to bear to this high office that you have hold with such esteem and honour. It has not always been easy for you and sometimes it has been made trying, and my only hope is that I did not contribute in any way to your trials.” That was Mr JB Jeyaretnam.