During the debate on the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Bill in Parliament on Aug. 3, 2023, Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai became emotional as he felt he was being "labelled".

On multiple occasions, he used his hand to bang a rostrum in front of him.

He lost his cool when he was said to advocate "low rent control" after making a speech to express support for the bill.

Leong brought up past examples of how he was being labelled by government as "xenophobic" and of "trying to raid the reserves" when he spoke about lowering housing prices.

This prompted the Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng to remind parliamentarians to uphold the rules of the House.

The bill

The bill, which Parliament passed, aimed to set out guidelines for fairer lease negotiations between landlords and tenants of retail premises.

Landlords and tenants will have to comply with a code of conduct that prevents current practices, such as changing rental formulas throughout a lease or including clauses with unspecified costs.

It also sets out a formal dispute resolution process.

What Leong said in his speech

In his speech of almost ten minutes, Leong described the bill as one which would "level the playing field between landlords and tenants of retail premises in Singapore".

He said it is "a right step in the right direction" and "commend the government" for it "among other things".

After pointing out things he agreed with within the bill, he raised the issue of property "speculation" which he said he touched on during the housing debate in February 2023.

He claimed that the "power balance" has always been "in favour" of landlords and called for "more work" to be done "to reduce rent-seeking in the retail sector in Singapore".

For example, Leong called on the government to consider "asserting its influence" and encourage the committee to "outlaw" rental computation structures altogether in the next iteration of the code of conduct.

A sparring match between Leong and Murali

Murali referred to Leong's speech, claiming that Leong "advocated some form of low rent control".

"I've been in legal practice long enough to remember the spectre of the Rent Control Act," he added.

He was referring to the Control of Rent Act which was abolished in 2001.

Murali said the act caused "no real investment by the landlords on their premises" and had led to "dilapidated homes", which "in the end, Singapore suffers".

This prompted Leong to rise to seek clarifications from Murali,

"If I [heard] correctly, he mentioned that I mentioned I recommended rent control in my speech. Is that what you mean? I didn't say that."

In response, Murali clarified,

"What I said in my speech was that [Leong] sought low rents on behalf of SMEs, and as a result of that, it triggered memories of the Rent Control Act, and I was in legal practice long enough to remember the Rent Control Act, which was subsequently abolished."

Leong once again sought clarification and pointed out that what Murali said was a "very dangerous inference into what [he] said".

He then asked Murali to retract the statement, pointing out that he agreed with the Bill and the direction the government was taking with the Bill, which he pointed out was "quite rare".

Leong pointed out he only asked not to encourage property speculation.

"So you should not bring what I said in my speech to that conclusion. It is very unfair for the inference you made. Can you clarify that?"

Murali then explained that he did not intend to be confrontational with Leong.

For the next few exchanges, Leong insisted that Murali's explanation was insufficient.

At some points, Leong, visibly emotional, used his fist to hit the rostrum,

@mothershipsg "There is no need to bang on the rostrum, or things of that sort" #tiktoksg #sgnews ♬ original sound - Mothership

Murali then clarified again that he was only picking up on Leong's point in his speech.

The exchange reached its conclusion when Seah stepped in to point out that both sides had clarified their stance and what they said would be on the record in the Hansard.

Leong asked for a last clarification, to ask if Murali would apologise if the record later confirmed that Leong was not asking for lower rents.

Murali replied that he would not be making any commitments.

"Of course, Mr Leong is entitled to his views, and I hope he respects that I am entitled to my own views as well."

Shortly after, Seah addressed the House, reminding the members of his speech on Aug. 2.

"By all means, speak with passion, speak with conviction; please do that. But there is no need, I again remind people, there's no need to bang on the rostrum or things of that sort.

Top photos via MCI/YouTube