On Aug. 2, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) tabled its motion for Parliament to "reaffirms its commitment to the need for the Speaker of Parliament to be independent and impartial" and for Parliament to "be a fair arena for all".

PSP filed debate motion after Tan Chuan-Jin's hot mic incident

PSP announced on Jul. 14, 2023, that they would file the motion in response to the former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin's hot mic incident.

For context, Tan made an unparliamentary "f*cking populist" comment after Workers' Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim delivered his speech in Parliament on Apr. 17, 2023.

The incident came to light on Jul. 10, 2023, and Tan apologised on Jul. 11 for the unparliamentary comment.

In its Jul. 14 Facebook post, PSP said the incident is a "serious matter" deserving a full parliamentary debate.

Its debate motion for the August 2023 Parliament is as follows:

"That this House reaffirms its commitment for the need for the Speaker of Parliament to be independent and impartial, and for Parliament to be a fair arena for all."

Seah: Motion is not a debate on hot mic incident

Before PSP Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai could deliver his speech in Parliament on Aug. 2, newly elected Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng reminded Parliamentarians that PSP's motion is not a debate on the conduct of Tan.

Seah suggested they confine their observations to the subject of the motion and refrain from any aspersions or allegations regarding the independence or impartialness of Tan.

Leong proposes a non-partisan Speaker

Leong noted in his speech that Tan had apologised to Lim and resigned following his extramarital affair with Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Cheng Li Hui.

However, he believed that the "truly regrettable" hot mic incident deserved a full debate as it has brought Parliament into "full disrepute".

He claimed that Tan's "highly contentious" comment not only damaged the public's perception of his impartiality but also revealed Tan's personal views on Lim, his speech, or both.

As Lim is a member of the opposition, Leong said his comment had eroded the public's confidence in Tan's neutrality and impartiality.

As such, Leong proposed for a non-partisan Speaker, or at least someone who is not a member of the ruling party's core leadership, which in this case is the People's Action Party (PAP) Central Executive Committee (CEC).

PAP MP suggest amendments

PAP Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair disagreed with Leong's motion.

Vikram explained that he believes Speakers do not automatically lack independence when performing their duties just because they belong to a party or its leadership.

He added that keeping Parliament as a fair arena for all is "not just for the speaker, but also one which every member has a part in", where they are bound by the Parliament's standing orders and the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

He proposed to amend PSP's motion, with the additions in bold and for the words in strikethrough replaced:

"That this House reaffirms its commitment

a) for the need for the Speaker of Parliament to be independent and impartial discharge his duties independently and impartially, and for Parliament to be a fair arena for all

b) to uphold the Standing Orders of Parliament and the obligations under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act 1962."

... while others disagreed

Several MPs explained why they could not support PSP's original motion.

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah agreed with the need for the Speaker to be independent and impartial but disagreed with Leong defining independent as non-partisan.

PAP MP for Mountbatten SMC Lim Biow Chuan said Speakers would have their own views even if they are not from any party.

Nominated MP (NMP) Raj Joshua Thomas pointed out that the Constitution does not require the Speaker to be independent.

Passed motion

WP MP Lim said he supported PSP's motion, both the original and the amended version, saying that he welcomes differences of opinion.

"It is impossible to successfully identify the 'right' way forward for society, unless there is genuine, passionate, and — dare I say — animated debate, with proper respect for Parliamentary decorum, of course.

This is because I sincerely believe that we will only arrive at a balance that society can accept when there is some degree of agitation toward a solution."

PAP and WP MPs voted in favour of the amended motion, while Leong and fellow PSP NCMP Hazel Poa recorded their dissent.

Leong claimed in his closing speech that Vikram's version of the motion is just keeping with the status quo.

The amended PSP motion was passed in Parliament.

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Top image from Leong Mun Wai 梁文辉/Facebook and Ministry of Communications and Information/YouTube