The Ministry of National Development (MND) has instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office to issue a Correction Direction to Singaporean Workers' Party member Yee Jenn Jong for his Facebook posts on Jul. 25 and 27.

MND said in an Aug. 26 press release that Yee's posts made false and misleading statements regarding the ministry's basis and motivation for actions previously taken against the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC).

What happened

Yee claimed that the decision for MND to withhold grants, call in external auditors, and call for an independent panel was politically motivated and not based on legitimate concerns.

He also said MND was wrong to call in external auditors because it was Action Information Management Pte Ltd (AIM)'s termination of the town council management system (TCMS) on insufficient notice and handover issues with the previous Aljunied Town Council (ATC) that led to AHTC’s failures in reporting to MND and its audit findings.

Yee also claimed MND withheld grants from AHTC to pressure AHTC to appoint an independent panel, which was decided by MND and not independent.

MND issued a Correction Direction against Yee's claims

MND issued a Correction Direction in response to Yee's posts.

A Correction Direction is issued to a person who has communicated a falsehood that affects the public interest and requires the recipient to publish a correction notice and provide access to the correct facts.

It does not require the recipient to take down their post or edit their content and does not impose criminal sanctions.

MND's reasons on why external auditors were called in

MND said it called in external auditors because AHTC’s auditors had flagged numerous issues with AHTC’s financial and accounting systems, raising questions about whether public funds in AHTC were properly applied.

A substantial portion of town council funds are public funds, the ministry added.

The fact that Yee's posts omitted the context that AHTC’s auditors had highlighted serious lapses by AHTC was misleading, MND said.

"MND therefore had legitimate and sufficient basis to call in the external auditors," the statement read.

AHTC's auditor Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton not only submitted a disclaimer of opinion for AHTC’s financial statements for two consecutive years for the financial years 2011/12 and 2012/13, MND said the auditor was also unable to determine the validity and accuracy of items in AHTC’s financial statements amounting to over S$20 million.

"Contrary to Mr Yee’s claims, there is no reasonable basis to suggest that AIM’s termination of the TCMS contract on insufficient notice or handover issues had caused all the TC’s process and system weaknesses," MND said.

It added several of AHTC’s lapses were inherent to AHTC rather than due to AIM’s termination of the TCMS or handover issues in 2011.

This included AHTC’s governance framework and policy management, accounting practices, and AHTC’s accounting system used to record and account for the town council’s transactions, as well as the town council’s finance department’s capability and retention of management personnel.

MND also said Yee's claims that AIM’s TCMS was terminated on insufficient notice is false, with AIM granting two extensions requested by AHTC and AHTC did not request for any further extension.

Ministry's actions necessary to safeguard public funds: MND

The ministry stated that its actions against the town council were necessary to safeguard public funds, rebutting Yee's claims that MND's actions were politically motivated and not based on legitimate concerns.

"If left unaddressed, this falsehood calls into question the integrity of MND and other agencies which were involved in looking into the matter of AHTC," said MND.

MND also added that AHTC’s independent panel members were independent and not decided by MND.

MND added that the formation of the independent panel was not a pre-condition by the ministry for the disbursement of the withheld service and conservancy charges (S&CC) operating grants, as such funds were disbursed before the independent panel was even formed.

MND said the withheld grants were disbursed in April 2016, nearly a year before the formation of the independent panel.

This was after AHTC had appointed KPMG as its independent accounts and accepted MND’s conditions set in relation to the grants.

As AHTC’s appointed independent accountants, KPMG would help AHTC identify its non-compliances with the town councils act, advise the town council on appropriate remedial steps, and establish whether any past payments made by the town council were improper and ought to be recovered, MND added.

AHTC case

MND said Yee will be required to carry a correction notice on his Facebook posts, which states that the posts contain false statements of fact and to provide a link to the government’s clarification.

"This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions," said MND.

AHTC and Sengkang Town Council (STC) had previously sued WP leaders Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Khiang, Pritam Singh, Chua Zhi Hon, and Kenneth Foo for alleged misuse of town council funds.

The town councils dropped their lawsuits following a mediation at the Singapore International Mediation Centre, a development which was shared via a joint statement on Pritam Singh's Facebook page on Jul. 24.

Top image via Nirmala Damith Jayawardena/Google Maps and Yee Jenn Jong Facebook.