Parliament defers action on MP status of S. Iswaran, awaiting conclusion of ongoing investigations
On September 19, Parliament decided to postpone any decision regarding the status of Member of Parliament S. Iswaran, who is under investigation for corruption, until the conclusion of the ongoing probe. This decision came after a proposal from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) to suspend Iswaran, which was rejected by Leader of the House, Indranee Rajah. She argued that taking action at this point would be premature and could prejudice the investigation’s outcome.
Iswaran, who had stepped back from his role as Transport Minister and his MP duties for West Coast GRC following the initiation of the investigations, remains under formal inquiry. The PSP’s proposal included suspending his MP allowance, but Rajah emphasized the principle of fairness, suggesting that any decision should only be made once the investigation is completed. She also pointed out that similar cases, such as the investigation into Workers’ Party MPs Pritam Singh and Faisal Manap, had not led to suspensions before legal proceedings were concluded.
Ultimately, Parliament voted in favor of Rajah’s motion to defer action until the investigation is complete, stressing the importance of adhering to the rule of law and maintaining the presumption of innocence.
