‘Chump change’ jokes and tough stance in corruption case against former Singaporean minister S. Iswaran garner praise

Netizens responded that the amount involved was miniscule compared to local corruption cases, with some describing the amount as “pennies” or “pennies.” Kachan Means “peanut” in Malay.

“I think it’s just another Tuesday in Malaysia,” one person claimed, while another wrote, “In Malaysia, if you open a corruption case, you get a promotion.”

Some netizens used emojis to express their disbelief at Iswaran’s decision to resign from his public service as a minister and lawmaker, from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), and to return the salaries and allowances he received after the investigation. Some people spoke out. I started it last year.

Iswaran, widely credited with bringing F1 racing to the city-state and a long-time PAP lawmaker, was arraigned on Thursday on multiple corruption and bribery charges, six months after he was first sued. He pleaded not guilty. public.

He faces a fine and up to seven years in prison on 27 charges. Two of the charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act involve receiving “remuneration” worth approximately S$166,282.03 in exchange for helping Mr Ong expand his business interests in connection with the Singapore Grand Prix and Singapore Tourism Board contracts. It is accused as.

Of the remaining charges, 24 are based on Article 165 of the Penal Code, which covers abuse of power by public servants. The law prohibits people from accepting gifts of any value from anyone they interact with in their official capacity, regardless of whether they received any favors in return. The total amount based on these charges will be S$218,058.95.

Social commentator and former editor Bertha Henson said the sums under these 24 charges were “a small beer for ministers” and said they were “not corruption charges per se, but more like someone breaking a code of conduct”. ”

The “gifts” Mr Iswaran received reportedly included tickets to the Singapore Grand Prix, an English Premier League football match and a musical show. Harry potter In the UK, the flight was on billionaire Mr Ong’s private plane.

Some netizens were quick to draw comparisons between Iswaran’s case, one of the worst for a political leader in Singapore in decades, and Malaysia’s multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.

One such meme that went viral online was of Najib Razak, former prime minister and one of the key figures in the 1MDB scandal, asking, “What did Iswaran take? Football tickets?”

“Compared to the usual range of allegations in Malaysia, these charges are almost petty,” said Meredith Weiss, a political science professor at the Rockefeller School of Public Policy at the University of Albany in New York.

“To their credit, I think the PAP handled this incident in a way that suggested thoughtfulness and proper investigation. Rumors are inevitable, but when it comes to this incident, Malaysia There was nothing like the circus that seems to be the norm, no overstaffed raids at 3 a.m., no hyper-sensationalist media coverage, no overt political point-scoring. ” she said.

“Everything seems more believable that Iswaran is their own and not the opposition’s.”

However, Mr Iswaran’s decision to plead not guilty raises questions about what lines of defense he will take, including whether he will seek to “present this kind of gifting as ‘normal'” within Singapore’s system. She said it had fueled speculation about.

But Birveer Singh, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, did not think the hearing would be as harmful as feared.

“There will be different views, but despite the negative headwinds, many people will remember that Iswaran was indicted,” he said.

Singapore Minister S. Iswaran resigns over bribery charges

“Singapore’s approach is characterized by being swift, thorough and rigorous. In other parts of Southeast Asia, official corruption and collusion between government and big business seem to be commonplace, and explicit Implicitly, if not, scandals are often dealt with using a long-term, gradual approach to resolution.” Mr. Oh Ei Sun, Chief Advisor, Malaysian Pacific Research Center.

Singapore is proud to be a corruption-free city and consistently ranks high in global anti-corruption indices. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Australia the fifth least corrupt country in 2022, behind the Nordic countries and New Zealand.

Anti-corruption efforts in Singapore do not appear to be politically motivated, such as eliminating political opponents.

“Anti-corruption efforts” [in Malaysia] “It’s rarely apolitical. Decisions have to be made about who to investigate or prosecute, when, in what order, and with what level of public attention,” Weiss said.

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While Singaporeans were amused by the amounts allegedly involved and praised for taking a tough stance, the long-controversial issue of high salaries for ministers was also debated. has resurfaced within.

“The PAP is pushing the idea of ​​paying high salaries to senior civil servants and politicians to reduce the temptation for corruption.Despite these mechanisms, the fact that senior politicians are implicated in corruption charges This is a very big surprise to many people,” said National University of Singapore (NUS) political scientist Chong Jia Ian.

Singapore’s ministers are among the highest paid in the world, with an annual salary of more than 1 million Singapore dollars (approximately 739,000 USD), and the government maintains a clean pay structure while retaining top talent for political guidance. He defends ministers as a means of attracting people. There are no hidden benefits of the office.

NUS’s Singh said Thursday’s revelations also raised questions about possible flaws in the system, as the alleged bribes had been handed out as early as 2015 and only came to light last year.

Mr Chong said the charges involving two people widely seen as key to bringing F1 racing to Singapore highlight the need for stronger mechanisms and laws on political lobbying.

“Such a law would not be perfect, but it would make it harder to try to influence politicians and politicians.” [instances of] “It’s much harder for politicians to seek profits,” he said.

Singh said the incident was announced at a time when the country is about to undergo its third change of prime minister next year, with general elections next on the agenda, and that the incident was a major blow to Iswaran’s group constituency. He added that he could cause problems for his former team. Member of Parliament.

“Everyone is closely monitoring the news and will see a long list of charges. So the opposition [contesting in his ward] “There may not be a need to campaign, the campaign is already being done by the media,” he said.

Iswaran’s West Coast GRC is comprised of five-member districts rather than single-member districts, but in the 2020 general election he narrowly defeated his rival with 51.7% of the vote, making him the best performer among the PAP groups that retained their constituencies. was bad.