Workers' Party expels Yaw Shin Leong - Channel NewsAsia

Workers' Party expels Yaw Shin Leong - Channel NewsAsia

Workers' Party expels Yaw Shin Leong
By Imelda Saad/Joanne Chan/Sharon See | Posted: 15 February 2012 1720 hrs
SINGAPORE : Singapore's opposition Workers' Party has expelled its Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang, Yaw Shin Leong, with immediate effect, amid allegations of an extramarital affair.

Mr Yaw had secured a win in the last General Election, where the WP had its best showing.

The decision paves the way for a by-election in Hougang, just nine months after the May elections.

Party Chairman Sylvia Lim said at a media conference on Wednesday that the party believes strongly in transparency and accountability, and expects no less from party members, especially an MP.

She said Mr Yaw has been accused of several indiscretions in his private life.

Ms Lim said Mr Yaw was asked many times to come forward and explain himself to the party but he remained silent.

She said by continuing not to account to the party and the people, especially the residents of Hougang, he has broken the faith, trust and expectations of the party and the people.

The shocking announcement came after weeks of speculation and rumours that Mr Yaw had an alleged extramarital affair with a fellow party member.

Other WP MPs will cover his duties in Hougang.

Ms Lim said the decision was difficult and painful for the party.

Party leaders said it is only fair that Hougang residents have another opportunity to elect their MP.

Ms Lim said: "There is no doubt that attention has been drawn to the party and we are of course cognizant of that but at the same time, we are also firm in our beliefs about what we expect of our party members and our MPs.

"The action that we have taken today may be no doubt deemed by some to be very drastic, but we feel that this is something necessary for us to do and it is in the public interest for us to do that. And we would like to assure the public that we are serious in our commitment to maintain high standards".

She said the party apologises for having to put Hougang residents through a by-election.

She also assured Hougang residents that they will continue to be served by the party until the by-election is called.

The Meet-the-People sessions in Hougang will continue, with other WP MPs covering the sessions.

The party said it made the decision to expel Mr Yaw during a Central Executive Council meeting on Tuesday night. Mr Yaw's wife was informed of the decision on Wednesday morning as Mr Yaw was uncontactable.

Ms Lim said Mr Yaw was invited to attend the party's Central Executive Council meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the allegations but he did not show up.

WP Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang announced the shocking news in Mandarin.

He said the decision to expel Mr Yaw was "painful" but stressed that the party has to act so that its MPs can stand tall and take the People's Action Party (PAP) government to account.

Mr Low added that the decision by the Central Executive Council was not unanimous but a "clear majority" voted for the motion to expel Mr Yaw.

Also present at the media conference were Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh and Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam.

This was the first time party leaders spoke openly about the issue.

Things came to a head after more reports of personal indiscretions surfaced about Mr Yaw.

Mr Singh said: "The party realised that there could be more individuals and we were not in the know of what information were in the hands of the media, who were these women, what are the details, we did not know any of that.

"Our concern was previously there was just one individual, the scope of one individual for Yaw to have come out and accounted himself to the people in a responsible manner, but for more individuals coming to the fore, we did not feel that keeping quiet was an option anymore, the obligation to be upfront to the people, to be upfront to the party, to the voters, took a new turn.

"He continued in his action to remain silent...we do not feel that is in keeping with the standards the Workers' Party expects from its elected MPs."

The party said Mr Yaw still has an avenue to appeal his expulsion.

The party has not decided who it will field for the by-election.

If and when a by-election happens, will be decided by the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Desmond Choo, who was a PAP candidate for Hougang during the General Election last year, has not ruled out the possibility of contesting in Hougang should a by-election be called.

Mr Choo currently serves as advisor to the Hougang grassroots organisations.

He lost to Mr Yaw in the last General Election after securing slightly more than a third of the votes.

But Mr Choo did not want to comment on the WP's decision to expel Mr Yaw.

He said: "I have been serving the residents, and I think I have built up a certain bond with them. And I will continue to serve the residents. As for what happens in the by-election, will I be put there as a candidate, I think that I will have the party leadership decide."

Political watcher Zulkifli Baharudin said the WP's move to expel Mr Yaw shows the party holds itself accountable to the public.

Mr Zulkifli said Singaporeans expect their politicians to have clean and responsible values in both public and private life.

He said: "One signal that the WP is sending is that they are here; perhaps they are making a significant compromise in the short term, knowing that they fought very hard to have Hougang as their foothold, and entrusted that to a young member of their leadership.

"And I think they are making a huge sacrifice in this effort, simply because they are clearly focused on the long term and want to get the support of Singaporeans at large."

Viewers can catch a Blog TV special on the issue "live" on Thursday at 8pm

- CNA/ms