“Anyone standing for public office should be prepared to have his past actions examined, transparently and honestly,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement in response to comments by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)’s Paul Tambyah on Saturday (Apr 30).
PM Lee said this is so that “voters can make informed, responsible decisions as to who is fit and best qualified to represent them in Parliament”.
“Character goes to the heart of the fitness of a candidate, whether to be an MP, or indeed to hold any public office. Is he honest? Does he have integrity? Is he loyal? Is he committed to serve the people? What are his basic motivations? These come first, before we even talk about how able he is, what experience he brings, or what policies he proposes,” PM Lee said.
The Prime Minister said the importance of character applies to People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates, although he said it was “understandable why SDP, and particularly Dr Chee Soon Juan, should wish it to be otherwise”.
“Good character and integrity is the first requirement, and it should be so for opposition parties too.”
Earlier on Saturday, PM Lee had questioned Dr Chee’s character and aptitude to be an MP for Bukit Batok.
In response, Dr Tambyah said later in a live Facebook video statement: “A person is not defined by his or her actions or words”, adding that an attack on Dr Chee’s character was “uncalled for”, and that “we need to debate the issues, not engage in character assassination”.
PM Lee’s comments were issued in a statement from his PressLee Secretary.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
