Seah Kian Peng to be nominated as Singapore’s new parliament speaker amid political scandals

Seah will be nominated at the next sitting of parliament in August following the resignation of his predecessor Tan Chuan-Jin over an extramarital affair

The city state, which has cultivated a reputation for clean governance, had been consumed by recent scandals involving ruling party lawmakers

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Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: AP

Published: 2:45pm, 21 Jul 2023

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong intends to nominate Seah Kian Peng to be the next speaker of parliament after his predecessor resigned over an extramarital affair.

The prime minister will nominate Seah, a former deputy speaker of parliament, at the next sitting of parliament in August, according to a statement from his office.

The tiny island nation that has cultivated a reputation for clean governance has been consumed by recent scandals involving ruling party lawmakers.

Once seen as a potential prime ministerial candidate by political observers, Tan Chuan-Jin stepped down from positions in government and the party this week, becoming the second parliament speaker to resign for having an inappropriate relationship in just over a decade.

Days later, Singapore’s main opposition party announced that one of its lawmakers resigned following another affair with a colleague.

Meanwhile, Singapore on Thursday issued a correction order to a blog over the timeline of events surrounding the arrest of a transport minister involved in a corruption probe, denying that key politicians concealed information.

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