SINGAPORE – The ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) commitment to honesty and incorruptibility is “absolutely non-negotiable”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday, as he stressed the need for high standards of integrity and competent governance.

“Singapore is a small place. Our system works,” he told more than 1,000 PAP members at the party’s biennial convention at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“If you do something improper, sooner or later, it will come to light. And when it does, you will be investigated. And if it is proved that you did something wrong, you are out and consequences will follow.”

PM Lee, the PAP’s secretary-general, said this principle applies not just to ministers or party leaders, but also to every party member, and he cautioned those in attendance against abusing their positions or accepting any favours.

“It’s shameful. It’s wrong.

“Remember, you are a member of the People’s Action Party, and the name of the party says it all – your duty is to serve the people, to act on behalf of the people and never of yourself,” he added, highlighting the need to also keep corrupting influences out of Singapore.

“Our integrity and honesty must never be compromised, and only in that way can we do justice and uphold the trust that Singaporeans have given us,” PM Lee said.

He pointed to a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau investigation into a minister – a veiled reference to the ongoing probe into Transport Minister S. Iswaran, who has been put on leave of absence.

“However strict our discipline, however zealous our enforcement – human nature being what it is – somewhere, sometime, someone will be tempted and will go astray.”

The Prime Minister added: “It is particularly when we are tested that we must prove our mettle, put our principles into action, regardless of the embarrassment or political cost.”

He urged PAP members to show Singaporeans and the world that the party’s standards remain “as high as ever”.

PM Lee also referred to the sprawling $2.8 billion money laundering case – believed to be among the world’s largest – in which nine men and a woman were arrested and charged with offences including money laundering, forgery and resisting arrest.

He said a journalist had asked him whether by promoting family offices – investment funds managing the assets of wealthy families – and the financial industry, Singapore is letting its standards slip to attract “unclean money”.

“My answer was: Not on your life,” PM Lee said.

“We will never let our standards slip. It’s not worth it. If we let it happen, if we relax and close one eye and let dirty money in, what will happen to us? The doubtful characters will come, they will spend generously to make themselves appear respectable, to show that they love Singapore, to ingratiate themselves to us, to try to get PR (permanent residency) and citizenship.

“They will cultivate ministers and officials, they will donate to good causes, they will make themselves useful in all sorts of ways… Very soon, our whole system would be tainted, and then corrupted.”

Noting how law enforcement agencies here picked up warning signs in 2021 and watched the money laundering network carefully before swooping in to cripple it, PM Lee said everybody who does business in Singapore must know how things work here.

“We will never let this system go corrupt,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who will take over the top job before the next general election, said he, too, believes in keeping politics here clean, honest and right.

Besides integrity, another basic prerequisite for the PAP is clear and strong governance, said PM Lee. He said the party is elected not just to occupy office or be popular, or to seek power for the sake of it.

“We fight to form the Government, so that we can serve Singaporeans, to make decisions on their behalf, to solve their problems, to improve their lives, and to constantly watch over the nation to keep it safe and secure.”

He said the Government has to be on top of its responsibilities, be clear on what needs to be done and act decisively and promptly.

“We must be prepared to take the hard decisions, and have the courage to do the right thing for Singapore, even if this incurs short-term political costs. And if we are not ready or able to do that, we should get out of the way,” he said.

PM Lee cited examples of how the party had pushed through difficult decisions despite initial doubts and resistance – from national service to resettling people into public housing.

He said the PAP government has continued doing its best in this regard, including how it contained the Covid-19 pandemic while tackling other urgent concerns.

Beyond Singapore’s borders, PM Lee said the Government has continued strengthening ties with the United States and China amid increasing geopolitical rivalry, settled longstanding issues including those related to airspace and defence with Indonesia, and is discussing key bilateral issues with Malaysia.

Singapore is also watching closely events in the Middle East, and the recent re-eruption of conflict between Israel and Palestine has had an impact here, he added.

“Like people elsewhere in the world, Singaporeans identify with the plight of the Palestinian people, and Muslim Singaporeans especially have felt this very strongly,” he said.

“But all Singaporeans are appalled by the human suffering in Gaza as Israel attacks targets there, as they were by Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians on Oct 7 that prompted these IDF (Israel Defence Forces) military operations.”

PM Lee added: “The Government has to take a national position that upholds our consistent principles, which considers the sentiments and feelings of our population.

“We feel sympathy for the civilian victims on both sides and will extend humanitarian help to those in need. But we must not let problems elsewhere widen fault lines in our society.”

To prepare for the future, PM Lee said the Government has made longer-term decisions.

For example, the increase in the goods and services tax – which will climb from 8 per cent to 9 per cent from 2024 – is a difficult but unavoidable move to fund the rising healthcare needs of an ageing population.

He said policy changes have also been made on sensitive social issues, such as the repealing of Section 377A, which criminalised sex between men.

PM Lee added: “Tackling a global pandemic, solving immediate problems and planning for the future, all at the same time – this is what people expect of a competent and efficient government.”