"'No conflict of interest' in appointment of new Auditor-General, wife of political-office holder: Chan Chun Seng
SINGAPORE: Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said that there is "no conflict of interest" in the appointment of the new Auditor-General, who is the wife of a senior minister of state, in a response to a parliamentary question on Thursday (Feb 28).
Ms Goh Soon Poh, Singapore's new Auditor-General, took up the position on Feb 8. She is the wife of Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How.
Workers' Party Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim asked for clarification about the selection process and criteria in selecting the Auditor-General, and if the appointment of the spouse of a senior minister of state would affect the public perception of the independence of the Auditor-General's Office (AGO).
"We are all familiar with the annual audit reports of the AGO. They often contain embarrassing findings and may uncover misconduct," she added."
1st of it is good that WP MP Lim asked the question of public perception of the appearance of conflict of interest when the newly appointed Audotor-General (A-G) has to report on some uncovered control deficiencies n troublesome issues in the Ministry that her hubby is part of the leadership, albeit not operationally responsible.
It is a bit sensitive though there is no insinuation that Ms Goh is not qualified n unable to perform this A-G role.
Just as another writer in the CNA Comments space provided in the CNA Website commented that there is no conflict of interest too when the wife of PM is the head of 1 of Sgp 3 public investment vehicles, Temasek. In fact, at one time she was reporting, sort of, to the Finance Minister then PM Lee held currently.
Given that the precedence had been set n there were no issues, this minor appointment of the A-G of a lower ministerial office holder should be no problem too.
Minister Chan has acknowledged everyone involved in the appointment of Ms Goh r fully aware of the wife-hubby relationship n r comfortable the A-G n her office will continue to highlight any deficiencies n wrong doing in ALL the public offices/ministries that will serve Sgp well.
The A-G office is a very critical part of ensuring Sgp Inc functions properly, safeguarding the public assets n ensuring the limited resources r not being abused.
It's function is as critical as CPIB that reports directly to the PM in ensuring Sgp's incorrigible public n private services r maintained.
A heavy burden is now placed on Ms Goh. Many will b looking at the next A-G Report.
All the best to her n blessed Sgp's system of check-n-balance.
SINGAPORE: Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said that there is "no conflict of interest" in the appointment of the new Auditor-General, who is the wife of a senior minister of state, in a response to a parliamentary question on Thursday (Feb 28).
Ms Goh Soon Poh, Singapore's new Auditor-General, took up the position on Feb 8. She is the wife of Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How.
Workers' Party Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim asked for clarification about the selection process and criteria in selecting the Auditor-General, and if the appointment of the spouse of a senior minister of state would affect the public perception of the independence of the Auditor-General's Office (AGO).
"We are all familiar with the annual audit reports of the AGO. They often contain embarrassing findings and may uncover misconduct," she added."
1st of it is good that WP MP Lim asked the question of public perception of the appearance of conflict of interest when the newly appointed Audotor-General (A-G) has to report on some uncovered control deficiencies n troublesome issues in the Ministry that her hubby is part of the leadership, albeit not operationally responsible.
It is a bit sensitive though there is no insinuation that Ms Goh is not qualified n unable to perform this A-G role.
Just as another writer in the CNA Comments space provided in the CNA Website commented that there is no conflict of interest too when the wife of PM is the head of 1 of Sgp 3 public investment vehicles, Temasek. In fact, at one time she was reporting, sort of, to the Finance Minister then PM Lee held currently.
Given that the precedence had been set n there were no issues, this minor appointment of the A-G of a lower ministerial office holder should be no problem too.
Minister Chan has acknowledged everyone involved in the appointment of Ms Goh r fully aware of the wife-hubby relationship n r comfortable the A-G n her office will continue to highlight any deficiencies n wrong doing in ALL the public offices/ministries that will serve Sgp well.
The A-G office is a very critical part of ensuring Sgp Inc functions properly, safeguarding the public assets n ensuring the limited resources r not being abused.
It's function is as critical as CPIB that reports directly to the PM in ensuring Sgp's incorrigible public n private services r maintained.
A heavy burden is now placed on Ms Goh. Many will b looking at the next A-G Report.
All the best to her n blessed Sgp's system of check-n-balance.
No comments:
Post a Comment