18-7-2023 (SINGAPORE) Singapore’s former Speaker of Parliament, Tan Chuan-Jin, has resigned from his positions in various organisations after admitting to having an extramarital affair with Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui. Tan stepped down as the president of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), an adviser to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), and his role as patron of the Centre for Fathering. SNOC has accepted Tan’s resignation and thanked him for his years of service and contributions. The organisation’s most senior vice president, Jessie Phua, will be appointed as SNOC’s acting president at the next executive committee meeting. Tan had been president of SNOC since 2014 and was re-elected for a third term last year.
Furthermore, Tan was appointed as an adviser to NCSS in 2017, and the organisation expressed gratitude for his leadership and support over the years, particularly his passion for promoting volunteerism in the social service sector. Tan also stepped down from his role as patron of the Centre for Fathering, and the organisation thanked him for serving as its patron from January 2018.
In addition to these resignations, Tan and Cheng resigned from parliament and the People’s Action Party (PAP) after admitting to having an “inappropriate relationship” with each other despite being told to stop. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was first alerted to their relationship after the 2020 General Election and that the pair were spoken to and counselled, most recently in February, but continued with the affair. Tan is married with two children, and Cheng is not married.
In his resignation letter, Tan said the recent incident involving his use of unparliamentary language in the House had added to the hurt he caused his family. He wrote, “I have let them down. We have spoken about my personal conduct before. There are areas where I have fallen short. I need to take responsibility for them and help heal my family. We need space to recover and work through the issues. I have discussed the matter with my wife and agreed I must step away from politics and devote myself to my family.”
Prime Minister Lee said he will nominate a new Speaker by the next sitting of parliament on Aug 1, and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jessica Tan will be Acting Speaker. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong will oversee Kembangan-Chai Chee residents in Tan’s Marine Parade constituency, while Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli will take care of Cheng’s Tampines East residents. Tan entered politics in 2011 as part of a five-member PAP team contesting Marine Parade GRC and held various important positions in the government.
