Ridout Road bungalows case an example for public officers to act with integrity, says SM Teo Chee Hean

The Ridout Road bungalow case will be used by the Public Service as an "additional example" to reinforce the importance for public officers to act with integrity, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean in Parliament on Monday (July 3).

Teo was giving a ministerial statement regarding the two state properties at Ridout Road rented by Minister K Shanmugam and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan respectively. 

The Senior Minister was responding to a Parliamentary Question posed by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Hazel Poa about the current rules and processes for Cabinet Ministers to declare conflicts of interest. 

He said that the principles laid out in the Code of Conduct for Ministers "adequately cover" any potential conflict of interest that could have arisen from the Ridout Road case. 

According to the Code of Conduct for Ministers, a Minister must not direct or request a civil servant to do anything or perform any function that may conflict with the Civil Service’s core values of incorruptibility, impartiality, integrity, and honesty. 

The Code of Conduct for Ministers has been in place since 1954 and was last updated in 2005.

Ministers and other Political Office Holders are notified of this Code at the start of each term of office and whenever a new Political Office Holder is appointed.

"All public officers must take an annual Code of Conduct quiz and make the necessary declarations such as being free of financial embarrassment, investments in non-owner-occupied properties, and investments in private firms," added Teo in his statement. 

"They are also required to make ad hoc declarations of purchases of private residential properties, commercial properties, and land." 

Teo noted both ministers and the public sector intermediaries involved had "conducted themselves properly" in the two rental transactions at Ridout Road.  

"They were aware of their duty to declare and avoid any conflict of interest and took appropriate steps to prevent any potential or actual conflict of interest from arising. It is more important to observe the spirit rather than the letter of the Codes," he told the House. 

Just last week, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) released a report of their findings from the independent investigation into the rental of the two state properties. 

The review was led by Senior Minister Teo.

Reiterating that the Review found no conflict of interest in the rental of the two properties, Teo said that although Shanmugam's position as the Minister for Law oversees the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the latter had "removed himself from the chain of command and decision-making process entirely". 

"Minister Shanmugam had recognised the potential conflict of interest, duly declared it to me, and took effective steps to eliminate this potential conflict. This prevented any actual conflict from arising," Teo said. 

He further clarified that "no matters" were raised to him regarding any aspect of the rental transaction, and that he was not involved in the rental process. 

There was no conflict of interest for Minister Balakrishnan as his official responsibilities do not include SLA.

Both ministers' spouses were involved in the rental transactions.

Declaration requirement for officers who wish to rent govt properties

In his Ministerial Statement, Teo said that the Public Service Division will introduce a "standard declaration requirement" for selected groups of officers who wish to rent government properties under their agencies. 

In addition, the Public Service Division will work with relevant Ministries and statutory boards such as the Housing Development Board (HDB), JTC Corporation, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and SLA on this requirement.

"Officers in these organisations who have access to privileged information and/or can influence the outcomes of decisions will have to make a declaration before they can rent government properties managed by their agencies," said the Senior Minister. 

Subsequently, the officer will also have to declare that he has taken adequate steps to prevent any conflict of interest from arising — by recusing himself from overseeing or processing the transaction. 

These properties will include commercial and residential state properties; such as black and white bungalows, terraces, factory/office spaces, business parks, shops in neighbourhood centres, hawker and market stalls.

In addition, Teo added that the Prime Minister will review the declarations required for property transactions Ministers and PAP Members of Parliament.

READ ALSO: Ridout Road bungalows' rental: Report reveals PM Lee directed CPIB to investigate

claudiatan@asiaone.com