No Singapore PM has stopped CPIB from investigation: Tharman

Singapore, Jul 15 (PTI) Singapore has never had a prime minister who prevented Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (CPIB) from doing its work, former senior minister and presidential hopeful Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Saturday.

His remarks came in the wake of an ongoing probe into corruption charges against his long-time colleague and Transport Minister S Iswaran.

“We’ve never had a Prime Minister (who) prevents the CPIB from doing its work. If ever the day comes, the president will be there…that’s the Singapore system,” The Straits Times newspaper quoted Tharman as saying.

He said integrity and incorruptibility are taken seriously in Singapore, and that CPIB is given full rein.

“It may not matter to some other countries, but Singapore is different and Singapore has to be different because we don’t have much else,” he said.

“We’ve got our people with our skills and talents, much more now than when we started, but ultimately it’s the Singapore system,” he said.

The former minister, who resigned earlier this month to run for the presidency, stressed it is this system that makes Singapore special.

“So, each time there’s a setback, treat the setback as an opportunity to strengthen the system, to display full transparency,” he said.

On his friend Iswaran, Tharman said he is confident that his long-time colleague will cope with the situation.

“It’s not the end of his life or the end of his future. Let the investigation take its course, and let us not make judgments at this point. The system works and it must work,” he said.

Iswaran, on bail and with his passport impounded, is assisting CPIB with an investigation into a case it had uncovered.

Though details have not been released due to the ongoing investigation, the case relates to probable corruption, the report said.