PM Wong in 'disbelief & shock' upon seeing Faishal's messages with woman, thought contents were fabricated

When he learnt of Faishal Ibrahim’s interactions with a female member of the public, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first reaction was “disbelief and shock”.

He even suspected that the contents of the woman's email were fabricated.

PM Wong was commenting on the issue during a press conference on the Cabinet reshuffle on Jul. 22.

The former Acting Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs had resigned after his interactions with the unnamed woman fell short of "standards".

He also relinquished his roles as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, and as a People's Action Party (PAP) member.

'Very serious mistake'

PM Wong said that they first learnt of the issue when the woman sent an email to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), complaining about Faishal's interactions with her.

It was a very “detailed email”, containing screenshots and contents of the interaction, PM Wong explained.

“When I first saw it, my initial reaction was disbelief and shock. I thought that the contents were fabricated, but as it turns out, unfortunately, they were genuine, and the interactions did take place,” he said.

While he did not provide further details on the interactions in question, he stressed that Faishal had made a "very serious mistake", a fact which Faishal himself accepts.

Consequences not overly harsh

PM Wong also addressed a question on whether he felt the consequences were “overly harsh”.

This was in the light of recent online discourse, including a petition which called for PM Wong to reject the resignation.

It has since accumulated 1,215 signatures.

"Let me put it this way," PM Wong said.

"First, Faishal himself, reflecting on the matter, realised that it was not tenable for him to continue as an office holder and as an MP."

While Faishal had explained that he was trying his best to manage what he felt was an awkward situation, he nonetheless accepted that his responses to her were "objectively speaking, questionable and inappropriate".

"That's why he asked to stand down, and he asked and requested for privacy for himself and for his family, and we have respected that request as much as possible.”

Not a private matter

Following the matter, PM Wong said he had “tried [his] best” to see if there was a way for Faishal to continue in office regardless.

But it was not a "private matter between two private individuals and two consenting adults," he clarified.

“A complaint has been made against him; it has entered the public arena, and that's why we have to undertake this objectively, undergo a process where we listen to both parties, and we certainly took pains to listen to Faishal's explanations as well,” he said.

But after examining the evidence and the facts, it was clear that his conduct had “fallen short of the standards” that were expected of him.

As such, Faishal’s decision to resign was the “right course of action to take”, he said.

He also acknowledged that as the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Faishal had certain expectations of him from the Malay-Muslim community.

But the same standards would be applied to every PAP MP in the “same way”, he said.

"The code of conduct is not new. The standards are not new... Does it make it more challenging to attract people? Perhaps it does.

...I understand that, but we have to maintain the high standards. It is necessary in order... to uphold trust in our system."

Done good work, but no exceptions

Calling the loss "difficult and painful", PM Wong said he understands the outpouring of support and sympathy for him from Singaporeans, and especially from the Malay-Muslim community.

He has "done good work wherever he went as MP and as office holder", and the incident does not diminish his contributions to Singapore over the past 20 years, he added.

However, PM Wong contended that making an exception for Faishal would only cause “more damage and harm” to Singapore.

“In the end, we look at the evidence. We have to do the right thing, and we have to continue to uphold the trust that Singaporeans have in our political system and in our public institutions," he said.

"It's very sad. It's very unfortunate, but we have to move forward from here."

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