Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has responded to the questions that were being asked about the Ridout Road properties that were rented by ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan at No 26 Ridout Road and No 31 Ridout Road, saying that he has asked Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean to review the matter.
This comes after the secretary-general of the Reform Party’s Kenneth Jeyaretnam published articles asking the Singapore Land Authority about the auction processes that the two ministers had gone through to rent the properties, asking if they had paid less than the fair market value.
Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, also filed parliamentary questions on the incident and asked the SLA to release all the relevant and material facts.
Following the public questions, K Shanmugam said that he has nothing to hide and hit back, saying that the allegations against him were outrageous, according to Channel NewsAsia.
Vivian Balakrishnan has also responded to the incident, saying that he is glad that the Prime Minister has agreed to have a review and to publish all the relevant facts and findings.
PM Lee’s statement
Statement by PM Lee Hsien Loong on rental of state properties by two Ministers on 23 May 2023.
On 12 May 2023, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) issued a statement on two residential properties under SLA’s management, which were rented, separately by Minister K Shanmugam and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Members of Parliament have filed Parliamentary questions on the matter, which will be answered in the next sitting of Parliament in July. Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan have also spoken to me to request for a review that is independent of the ministries and agencies they supervise.
Last week, I asked for reports from the relevant agencies setting out the facts. I have also asked Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean to review the matter, and establish whether proper processes have been followed, and if there has been any wrongdoing. This must be done to ensure that this government maintains the highest standards of integrity.
I have asked SM Teo to carry out the review expeditiously and to make the findings public in time for the Parliamentary sitting.
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PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
23 MAY 2023