Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) announced on Nov. 30 that it has voted not to compel Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim to recuse themselves from financial matters.

Low and Lim, who are Members of Parliament from the Workers' Party (WP), were absent from the recent quarterly meeting.

According to fellow WP MP and AHTC Chairman Faisal Manap, the vote was secret and the final tally was 17 to 1.

Parliamentary motion filed by DPM Heng

Previously on Nov. 5, during a session of Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat filed a motion calling on Low and Lim to recuse themselves from all financial matters in AHTC.

This was done after the High Court found in Oct. 2019 that they were liable for damages to AHTC and had been in breach of their fiduciary duties.

After hours of speeches and debate, the motion was passed by 52 to nine votes, with two abstentions.

All nine members of the WP in Parliament, both MPs and Non-Constituency MPs, voted against the motion.

During his speech on the matter, WP chief Pritam Singh mentioned that the town council would decide on whether any recusal would be necessary.

The motion, although passed by Parliament, was not legally binding.

On Nov. 11, the WP members and town councillors filed an appeal against the High Court's ruling.

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Top image by Sulaiman Daud.