Debated in Parliament on 3 Jul 2023.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Prime Minister whether the two Ministers' tenancies at Ridout Road from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) have been handled without any corrupt behaviours.
Mr Pritam Singh asked the Prime Minister (a) how will the Government assure the public that the Minister for Law and the Minister for Foreign Affairs were not in receipt of any privileged information pertaining to the lease of 26 and 31 Ridout Road respectively; and (b) whether there are any rules, conventions or policies to ensure that Cabinet Ministers do not take advantage of privileged information received in the course of their official or non-official duties in regard to the lease of Government properties.
Mr Pritam Singh asked the Prime Minister what are the Government's reasons for not calling a press conference in May 2023 to address the public allegations in regard to the lease of 26 and 31 Ridout Road to the Minister for Law and the Minister for Foreign Affairs respectively.
Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Prime Minister (a) who is the senior Cabinet member that Minister K Shanmugam had notified regarding his bid for the state property at 26 Ridout Road; and (b) what actions has the senior Cabinet member taken after the notification.
Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Prime Minister why is the Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security tasked to review Minister K Shanmugam's tenancy of 26 Ridout Road and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's tenancy of 31 Ridout Road, rather than an individual from another branch of government, such as a Supreme Court Judge.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Prime Minister (a) whether there is any actual or perceived conflict of interest on the part of the Minister for Law and the Minister for Foreign Affairs in their respective leasing of 26 and 31 Ridout Road; and (b) if there is any perceived or actual conflict, what actions will be taken to ensure compliance with section 3.7 of the Code of Conduct for Ministers, which requires relinquishing or disposing of the financial interest where there is a conflict between private interest and public duty, or with any other provision of the said Code.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Prime Minister (a) what steps were taken to address any conflict of interest which may conceivably arise under section 3.2 of the Code of Conduct for Ministers (Code) when applications were made to rent 26 and 31 Ridout Road bungalows respectively by the Ministers from the SLA; (b) what are the reporting requirements under the Code and whether these were complied with; and (c) whether the rental applications are made in names other than the Ministers.
Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law (a) what were the steps taken to market, tenant and renew the tenancies of 26 and 31 Ridout Road; and (b) whether the Minister for Law was involved in his official capacity in any decisions relating to the rentals of 26 and 31 Ridout Road.
Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law in respect of tender of rental properties managed by SLA, what measures have been put in place to ensure that (i) any bidder participating in the tender is not provided with any advantage over other bidders and (ii) the bid process is fair, transparent and competitive.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Law with regard to the two state properties at Ridout Road that are currently tenanted to two Ministers (a) what were the circumstances under which the properties came to be rented out to them; and (b) how had SLA marketed the two properties to be leased.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Minister for Law in respect of the two state proprieties at Ridout Road that are currently rented out to two Ministers (a) what are SLA's standard tenancy operating procedures; (b) whether SLA has followed these procedures; and (c) what are the rental rates for the properties.
Mr Don Wee asked the Minister for Law besides the two state properties at Ridout Road that are currently tenanted to two Ministers (a) how many of such similar properties are there in Singapore currently; (b) whether the rental rate is benchmarked against the private residential market; and (c) whether SLA has a transparent process to list all these properties available for rental.
Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Law what was the guide rent set by SLA for the lease of 26 and 31 Ridout Road when they were leased out to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Law respectively.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Law (a) why are rental rates for state properties not publicly available beyond six months of the tender; (b) what are the rental rates in respect of the two state properties at Ridout Road that are currently rented out to two Ministers; and (c) how do these rental rates compare with the rent paid by other tenants of comparable black-and-white bungalows.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Law with regard to the 26 and 31 Ridout Road properties that are currently rented out to two Ministers (a) how do the terms of the lease agreement of these properties compare to the terms of lease agreements of other black and white bungalows managed by SLA; (b) whether there are any non-standard clauses in the lease agreements of these two properties; and (c) whether the lease agreements of these two properties will be made public.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Law (a) what are the reasons why the rental bid of 26 Ridout Road is made by an agent; (b) whether SLA knew that the Minister for Law was the principal behind the bid; and (c) if so, how and when did the SLA come to know of this.
Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Law (a) whether the Government has incurred any costs, such as renovation, construction or maintenance costs, relating to the tenancy of the state properties at 26 and 31 Ridout Road, before or after the properties are rented out to the Ministers; and (b) if so, how long have the renovation and construction works taken and how much has been incurred.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Law whether the Government has plans to redevelop more of the land that are currently occupied by black and white colonial bungalows for more productive uses like public housing, industry or commerce.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Law (a) whether the bidding process of black and white bungalows managed by SLA is audited by the Auditor-General's Office annually; (b) if not, in which year was the latest audit conducted; (c) what sampling methodology was used for the latest audit conducted; and (d) whether bids by Government officials, Members of Parliament and related parties are always included as part of this sample.
Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Law (a) how is the bidding process publicised by SLA for its black and white bungalows; and (b) in view of the long periods when some SLA bungalows have been vacant, what has SLA done to address those vacancies.
Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Law (a) how long was the bidding open for 26 Ridout Road after Minister Shanmugam's bid was received as compared with the normal procedure for such bids; and (b) whether there is any prescribed process for declaring any related party transactions or conflicts of interests when bidding and how was that process observed for 26 Ridout Road.
Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Law (a) how are maintenance and upgrading costs for black and white bungalows owned by SLA divided between tenant and SLA; and (b) what are the annual costs of maintenance and upgrading borne by SLA at 26 and 31 Ridout Road respectively from 2013 to 2022, inclusive of both years.
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Law (a) what are the parameters and guidelines used to decide whether to grant conservation status or when deciding not to develop the large pieces of undeveloped land on plots containing residential black and white houses owned and managed by SLA; (b) how much consideration is given to factors such as the severe land space constraints in Singapore; and (c) what is the total area of undeveloped land tagged to such properties.
Mr Deputy Speaker, as Minister Edwin Tong and I have given notice and will be making Statements later at today's Sitting, may I have your permission to answer Oral Question Nos 1 to 23 in our Ministerial Statements later today?
Yes, please.
Thank you.
PAPERCUTS