Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang has once again dismissed allegations in the lawsuit filed by an independent panel on behalf of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) over alleged improper payments.

In a live nine-minute media interview conducted on the sidelines of a Meet-The-People session on Wednesday night, July 26, Low was flanked by WP chairman Sylvia Lim and assistant secretary-general Pritam Singh.

The trio appeared jovial and relaxed, as they took on reporters' questions and reiterated their stance that they deny all allegations and their conscience is clear.

[related_story]

Low also said his MPs are “prepared to be judged” by the residents and Singaporeans.

These comments by WP's leadership came after the panel alleged that three AHTC town councillors -- Low, Lim and Pritam -- have breached their fiduciary duties over the invalid payments of up to S$33,717,535 to AHTC’s former managing agent and service provider.

The lawsuit stated that Low and Lim had misled AHTC and failed to justify a waiver of tender and the appointment of AHTC’s former managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS).

Low said to reporters in the interview that was streamed lived on The Straits Times Facebook:

"Well, we are always open. We leave it to the residents and the voters of Singapore to make their judgement. As I said here once again, our conscience is clear, we acted in good faith."

Lawsuit welcomed to allow WP to explain in detail

Lim said that while lawsuits are “never pleasant”, WP welcomed the opportunity to tell the public why the town councillors made “certain decisions at the point in time”:

"We welcome this opportunity to actually go into detail to explain to the court and the public why we made certain decisions in that point in time."

This also allowed a better airing of issues in the court of public opinion.

When questioned by a reporter to give his take on the case, Pritam said:

"And the residents of Aljunied will also have the opportunity to look at our defence quite closely because we will be making it known to the public and I'm sure the media will do its job and put that defence out there for people to get a full perspective."

However, Lim stopped short of speaking on the case too much, as the town councillors would not elaborate on the lawsuit, as advised by their lawyers.

Lim added that they are "focused on presenting our defence in court" at the moment.

When asked by reporters about what would happen in the event they were to lose the lawsuit, Lim said:

“I supposed we will have to look at the amount and see whether we have the means to pay. If we don’t, we may have to consider other options, perhaps raising funds.”

Low expressed confidence that support from the Aljunied-Hougang residents and Singaporeans for WP would not be eroded as a result of this case:

"I don't think Singaporeans have lost faith in us. We acted in good faith. I believe Singaporeans will trust us. 2015 elections, it was a testimony to us. It was worse than this, during the election, or before the election, MND or HDB was coming out with adverse statements during the election, and the PAP brought the issue to the ground, distribute pamphlet door-to-door, but we are prepared to be judged by the people."

"As what I said, my conscience is clear and we have acted in good faith, and in the best interests of residents. The residents can see for themselves. And I've been in politics for 20 years, more than 20 years, and I think people know me. So be it."

Here are totally unrelated but equally interesting articles:

The Kiasi guide to surviving a mass attack of any kind

4 real life versions of comic book superpowers you used to read about in your childhood