Ridout Road properties to be addressed in parliament; 4 ministers to deliver statements on rentals

SINGAPORE: The rentals of black-and-white properties on Ridout Road by two ministers will be addressed at the next parliament sitting, which starts on Monday (Jul 3).

Four ministers will deliver ministerial statements on the matter, with Members of Parliament (MPs) raising more than 20 questions about the rentals.

Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will deliver a ministerial statement on the review of the rentals of 26 and 31 Ridout Road while Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong will speak on the rental of state properties.

Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will deliver statements on the rentals of 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road respectively.

On Jun 28, the results of investigations into the matter – including by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau – found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to the two ministers.

CPIB also said in its report that there was no disclosure of privileged information in the process of the rental transactions, and no evidence to suggest any abuse of position by the ministers for personal gain.

Interest in the matter arose after opposition politician and Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam questioned in early May if the ministers were "paying less than the fair market value".

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh asked how the government will assure the public that Law Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan were not in receipt of any privileged information pertaining to the lease of the properties at 26 and 31 Ridout Road respectively, and what the guide rents set by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) were when they were leased out to the two ministers.

NCMP Leong Mun Wai (PSP) asked why Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean was asked to review the ministers’ tenancies, rather than an individual from another branch of government.

Meanwhile, MP Dennis Tan (WP–Hougang) asked if there is any actual or perceived conflict of interest on the part of Mr Shanmugam and Mr Balakrishnan in their respective leasing of the Ridout Road properties.

In addition, MP Don Wee (PAP–Chua Chu Kang) asked whether the rental rate of similar properties is benchmarked against the private residential market and whether the SLA has a transparent process to list all these properties available for rental.

MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (PAP–Chua Chu Kang) also asked how SLA had marketed the two properties to be leased.

Also on the agenda are the closure of the Singapore Turf Club, the issue of wild boar attacks on residents in Bukit Panjang and the investigation into Seatrium.

Earlier this month, it was announced that horse racing in Singapore will come to an end, and the Singapore Turf Club site will be returned to the government in 2027 for redevelopment.

The club will hold its last race on Oct 5 next year and close its facility by March 2027.

MP Hany Soh (PAP–Marsiling-Yew Tee) asked if the Ministry of National Development is able to provide an estimated number of houses and the types of leisure and recreation facilities that will be developed on the site of the Singapore Turf Club.

She also asked whether the Tote Board has considered alternatives to preserve the sport and leisure traditions of horse racing instead of an outright closure.

On the topic of wild boar attacks in Bukit Panjang, MP Edward Chia (PAP–Holland Bukit Timah) asked about the reasons driving the number of such attacks in the area.

MP Liang Eng Hwa (PAP–Bukit Panjang) asked about measures on preventing wild boar attacks and ensuring the safety of residents, as well as questions on the number of wild boars at the nature reserves and measures to manage the population.

Several residents have been injured by wild boars in Bukit Panjang in recent weeks, including a woman who was hospitalised after being attacked at a bus stop along Bukit Panjang Road and a man who was bitten while walking his dog at Zhenghua Nature Park.

Some residents have expressed worry about the sightings, with the National Parks Board (NParks) agreeing to additional wild boar traps and fences to keep the animals out of residential areas to “significantly manage down” the wild boar population.

Several MPs also put forward questions regarding the investigations over marine engineering company Seatrium, which allegedly committed offences linked to a multi-million dollar bribery case involving former Keppel Offshore & Marine employees and Brazil oil giant Petrobras.

Earlier this month, Seatrium said the probe relates to events that occurred prior to 2015 and to the Sembcorp Marine group, as it was known at the time.

MP Louis Chua (WP–Sengkang) asked about the number of current and former employees being investigated and if the decision by Temasek Holdings to inject capital into then-Sembcorp Marine took into account the alleged corruption offences that occurred in Brazil.

MP Tan Wu Meng (PAP–Jurong) also asked for an update regarding the CPIB investigation and what measures are being taken to ensure that individuals will be brought to justice in the event of offences being made out, as well as the assessed impact on Singapore’s reputation.

Three government Bills will be introduced on Monday: The Public Utilities (Amendment) Bill, the Oaths, Declarations and Notarisations (Remote Methods) Bill and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No 2) Bill.

There are also two Notices of Motions on the agenda, including a call for the abolition of Group Representation Constituencies put forward by NCMPs Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai.

MPs Jamus Lim (WP–Sengkang) and Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap (WP–Aljunied) also put forward a motion on celebrating the accomplishments of athletes at the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games and ASEAN Para Games. 

They also called on the government to undertake a thorough evaluation of the areas of improvement in Singapore’s sporting ecosystem and commit to realising clear, achievable goals for sporting success over the coming decade.