PURCHASE OF PRIVATE PROPERTIES BY MINISTERS

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Prime Minister (a) whether he will name all the Ministers who have purchased private properties in Singapore in the years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 in the first, pre-launch and soft launch offers; and (b) whether he will identify those properties, the prices at which they were purchased and the percentages of discount given, if any.

The Prime Minister (Mr Goh Chok Tong): Mr Speaker, Sir, Ministers and other office-holders are governed by a set of rules of prudence stated in the Code of Conduct for Ministers. They are required to declare in writing to the Prime Minister, at the beginning of each term of office, the assets they own. I also require them to declare their financial borrowings.

The declaration is confidential, known only to the Prime Minister and the President. If there is an allegation later of a sudden and unexplained increase in wealth of an office-holder, his declaration will be turned over to the CPIB for investigation.

The Government has never publicly revealed the assets owned by Ministers. To do so would be to intrude into their privacy unnecessarily. Other than satisfying the curiosity of the Opposition and some of the public, it does not help to maintain good and clean Government. All those countries which have Ministers and MPs declaring their assets have not improved their cleanness of the government. Our system of strict surveillance and transparency has done and is doing so -- we have a clean, open system. Capable and honest Singaporeans running for public office will not want to have the Opposition and the public go into their private financial arrangements.

To provide the details which Mr Chiam has asked for enables a Member of Parliament to pry into the investments of Ministers.

If Mr Chiam believes that there has been wrongdoing on the part of Ministers in their purchase of private residential properties, he should let me or the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) or the CPIB have the evidence. They will pursue the matter.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, other than the Senior Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, have other Ministers declared to him purchases of properties at a discount?

The Prime Minister: Since Mr Chiam asked me the question, I circulated the question to all Ministers. They have given me their details of whether they have bought or not bought properties in pre-launch or soft-launch offers in the years which Mr Chiam asked for. Other than Senior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, no other Minister has bought any private residential property under those terms. One Minister has bought a property but it was at a public launch.