CPIB probe: PM Lee reveals Iswaran's salary reduced to $8,500

Besides being instructed to go on a leave of absence, S Iswaran’s salary has also been reduced "until further notice", Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in Parliament on Wednesday (Aug 2).

Addressing Parliament on the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau's (CPIB) probe involving Iswaran, the prime minister revealed that the transport minister is now on a "reduced pay" of $8,500 a month.

According to the Public Service Division on their website, the benchmark level of a minister's monthly salary currently stands at $55,000. This works out to $1.1 million annually. 

This means that Iswaran's monthly remuneration has been reduced by at least 85 per cent.

On the decision to reduce this monthly remuneration, PM Lee said that there is no rule or precedent on how to effect an interdiction (a technical term for suspension) on a political office holder since such incidents involving ministers "are rare".

“Hence I used the current civil service practice as a reference point," PM Lee added. "The specific details follow generally how the civil service would handle a case involving a senior officer in a similar situation.

"But this was my decision as PM, because the political contexts for a minister and a civil servant being investigated and interdicted are different."

PM Lee said that CPIB alerted him on May 29 that they came across "some information" concerning Iswaran that merited further investigation. 

CPIB pursued this lead further on their own volition, according to the prime minister. 

On July 5, the director of CPIB briefed PM Lee on the findings he had, and sought concurrence to open a formal investigation. 

"I gave my concurrence the next day, July 6", said PM Lee. 

In a statement on July 12, PM Lee said that he had instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigations are completed. 

Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat will be Acting Minister for Transport, he added. 

Then on July 14, CPIB said that Iswaran, together with hotelier Ong Beng Seng, was arrested and subsequently released on bail.

While there are no details on the nature of the investigation, Ong is often credited as the man who brought Formula One (F1) to Singapore in 2007. Iswaran has been actively involved in the government's engagements with F1.

On the CPIB investigations, PM Lee said they are still ongoing.

He added that he is unable to provide more details on the case, to not "prejudice the investigations in any way".

PM Lee said: "When the investigation is completed, CPIB will submit its findings to the Attorney General's Chambers, which will decide what to do with them.

"Whichever way the facts come out, the case will be taken to its logical conclusion. That has always been our way."

There were corruption cases involving political office holders in the past, noted PM Lee.

He brought up Tan Kia Gan, Wee Toon Boon, Teh Cheang Wan and then-Member of Parliament Phey Yew Kok - who went on a run for over 30 years before turning himself in - as examples.

All these cases were handled by then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew "thoroughly, transparently, and applying the full force of the law", according to PM Lee.

"That is still how the PAP government deals with such cases," he said. "It has not changed under my charge; and it won't under my successor either".

What is the timeline for disclosure?

PM Lee's ministerial statement on Wednesday addressed 18 questions filed by Members of Parliament (MP) that centred on CPIB's ongoing investigations involving Iswaran. 

Among them, MP Tan Wu Meng (PAP-Jurong) asked if Iswaran is assisting with investigations pertaining to his actions or decisions taken in the course of his official duties or to matters which he has had purview over in his official capacity.

MP Don Wee (PAP-Chua Chu Kang) asked why was Iswaran placed on leave of absence during CPIB's investigations, but ministers K Shanmugam and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan were allowed to continue their duties while assisting the bureau regarding their rental of state properties at Ridout Road.

MP Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar) asked if Iswaran's arrest was a matter that should have been immediately announced to the public "as a matter of transparency".

Workers' Party MP Gerald Giam asked whether the government adheres to a timeline for disclosing information about political office holders if it is "likely to materially affect public confidence in the government". 

Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai asked how many individuals have been arrested by CPIB in relation to the investigation into Iswaran, why was the latter's arrest on July 11 not disclosed until July 14.

ALSO READ: CPIB probe involving Iswaran a blow to PAP and Govt; important how it is managed, say political observers

chingshijie@asiaone.com