Singapore government too cavalier: Jeyaretnam

Singapore government too cavalier: Jeyaretnam

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Singapore's ruling party has such tight control of the government that it tends to ignore parliament and simply does what it likes, veteran opposition leader Joshua Jeyaretnam alleged yesterday.

Jeyaretnam told a news conference his Workers Party was unhappy with the way the People's Action Party (PAP) government had taken a decision to lend US$5 billion to Indonesia to help it out of its financial troubles.

He said the government had taken a "cavalier attitude" to procedures and should have consulted parliament and President Ong Teng Cheong before agreeing to the loan in such a "casual way".

"The Singapore government is acting as if it were above the law," he said.

Singapore has promised to loan US$5 billion to Jakarta as a "second line of defense" to support Indonesia's reserves and has said the loan could only be drawn down if US$23 billion from international agencies were already exhausted.

The government has said it followed the proper procedures on agreeing the loan and has rejected a suggestion by Jeyaretnam that the matter be referred to a special court on constitutional matters.

"The Workers' Party secretary-general has misinterpreted the constitution," the Finance Ministry said last month.

But Jeyaretnam charged that the government's approach to the loan was typically arrogant.

"There is this arrogant assumption in this government that it knows what it is doing and everything it does is right and anyone who dares to challenge it is talking a lot of nonsense," he said. "It shows a total lack of sensitivity to the government's accountability to its people."

"Any government conscious of its responsibility and duty to be accountable to its people would, if it is challenged on a constitutional matter, refer the issue to the constitutional court. But not this government," he said.

The PAP won 81 of the 83 seats in parliament at the last general election in January.

Jeyaretnam was not elected, but became an MP as "best loser" under a constitutional provision that there must be at least three opposition members in parliament.

He said the PAP had been in power too long and had too big a majority to be properly accountable.

"They have this tyrannical majority," he said.

Jeyaretnam said he supported a change to the constitution made in 1988 by the PAP to ensure some big decisions were approved by parliament and the president, and not just by a government. This rule was "very laudable", he said, but "all just on paper". The loan to Indonesia fell into this category, he said.