‘Deeply offensive’: Singapore rebuts Economist column questioning CPIB’s independence
In the case of the Ridout Road leases, Mr Lim stated that it was Mr Lee who requested the CPIB to analyze the matter.
“The Bureau conducted a thorough examination and found no evidence of wrongdoing or corruption,” he stated, including that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) concurred with the discovering.
He additionally stated that Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh accepted the CPIB’s discovering and said in Parliament that “he did not believe anybody was making an allegation that the ministers were corrupt”.
“When the CPIB completes its investigation of Mr Iswaran, its findings will be submitted to the AGC which will decide on what to do with them,” Mr Lim stated. “Such is the CPIB’s fearsome fame for thoroughness, few Singaporeans doubt its capability to see any case of corruption to its logical conclusion.
“This is why The Economist’s charge that simply because the CPIB reports to the Prime Minister calls into question its independence, would strike many Singaporeans as deeply offensive and uninformed.”
Mr Lim then requested the way it might be doable that Singapore has constantly ranked excessive in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, “if indeed CPIB is so lacking in independence as The Economist makes out”.
He identified that Singapore ranked fifth within the newest Corruption Perceptions Index, revealed in 2022. The rating places Singapore behind Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Norway, and forward of each different Asian nation.
Mr Lim additionally requested whether or not the Economist would counsel the pinnacle of Scotland Yard just isn’t impartial as a result of he’s appointed on the recommendation of the UK Home Secretary, in session with the Mayor of London.
“The Prime Minister – as well as his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong – are as determined as their predecessors were to investigate any case of corruption, no matter whom it involves, thoroughly and transparently,” Mr Lim stated.
“Singaporeans and foreign investors alike can be certain of this.”
In an interview with the BBC’s Newsday programme on Wednesday, Mr Wong additionally pressured once more that the CPIB is an impartial company that has authorized powers to conduct thorough investigations.
