10 Facts About Transport Minister S.Iswaran, Who’s Now Assisting in CPIB Investigation

By now, you should have heard of the whole hoo-hah surrounding Transport Minister S.Iswaran, and how he got called up by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

But if you have no idea who he is, much less what he did, no worries; I got you. This 10 Facts article will cover everything you need to know, including the recent controversy, other affiliated matters and the career path that has brought him to this point.

10 Facts About Transport Minister S.Iswaran, Who’s Now Assisting in CPIB Investigation

1. Who Is S.Iswaran?

Mr Iswaran is the current Minister for Transport, with land, air and sea transport responsibilities.

At the same time, he is the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the MP of West Coast GRC.

He has previously occupied Ministerial positions in the Ministry of Communications and Information, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education.

2. What Did the Transport Minister Do?

Minister Iswaran has been summoned by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to assist with investigations.

The exact details, however, have yet to be released.

During this turbulent period, he will be on a leave of absence administered by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

And while he is “away”, Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat will take over as Acting Minister for Transport. As for his MP duties, they will be covered by his fellow MPs from West Coast GRC.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee has since confirmed the unofficial handover of MP duties.

“We would like to assure residents of West Coast division that we will continue to serve them and ensure that their needs are supported,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

For the record, Minister Iswaran is not the only individual to have been called upon.

He is, however, the only one to have been named so far.

3. What Will Happen to S.Iswaran?

CPIB has stated in a press release that it will seek to “investigate this case thoroughly with strong resolve to establish the facts and the truth, and to uphold the rule of law.”

With Singapore’s “zero-tolerance” take on corruption, CPIB has expressed that it will “not hesitate to take action against any parties involved in corrupt activities.”

Singapore Management University associate professor of Law Eugene Tan has since suggested that considering how Minister Iswaran had his duties taken off him, there may be specific credible evidence that Minister Iswaran had, in fact, broken the law.

Tan did, however, emphasise the entire innocent until proven guilty notion.

4. First High-Level Probe in Nearly Four Decades

This is reportedly the first graft probe concerning a cabinet minister in nearly four decades.

In other words, Minister Iswaran broke a really long streak.

Back in 1986, then-Minister for National Development Teh Cheang Wan faced investigations for supposedly accepting bribes totalling $1 million.

Before he could be formally charged, however, he ended his life.

He had left behind a letter to then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in which he detailed his remorse as well as his perception that he should “pay the highest price for his mistake”.

5. The Latest in a String of Cases

Minister Iswaran is the latest political figure to face controversy after Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan Jin.

Lest you’re unaware, Minister Shanmugam and Dr Vivian were previously accused of corruption and abuse of power.

They were subsequently cleared after being subjected to CPIB investigations.

While Minister Shanmugam was of the opinion that CPIB was “firm and professional” while doing things, Dr Vivian felt that the interrogation stripped him of his privacy and that it was the most uncomfortable experience that he had gone through.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan Jin was caught calling Associate Professor and Member of Parliament Jamus Lim a “f***ing populist”. The comment, which was uttered under Mr Tan’s breath amidst a Parliament session, was noted and shared by a sharp-eared Reddit user.

Mr Tan has since apologised, a gesture that Jamus Lim publicly accepted.

6. First Class Honours

Contrary to what the whole fiasco may have you believe, Minister Iswaran has a very legitimate and high-end educational profile.

Mr Iswaran went to Saint Andrew’s School and National Junior College before studying Economics at the University of Adelaide, where he graduated with First Class Honours.

He also has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.

7. Career

Minister Iswaran also had a stellar career before entering the political industry.

He entered the Singapore Administrative Service in 1987 before serving in the Ministries of Home Affairs and Education.

He later became the first Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Indian Development Association.

Minister Iswaran would later become Director of Strategic Development at Singapore Technologies from 1996 to 1998.

8. Political Debut

Mr Iswaran’s political debut was in 1997, when he was elected into Parliament through a victorious four-member People’s Action Party (PAP) team in West Coast GRC.

He served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 1 September 2004 to 19 April 2006. During this time, he also served as the senior Vice President and Managing Director of Temasek Holdings from 2003 to 2006.

In July 2006, he was selected as Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

In 2011, he attained the position of a full minister.

On 15 May 2021, Mr Iswaran took on the position of Minister for Transport.

9. Personal Life

Minister Iswaran has a spouse named Kay Mary Taylor, with whom he shares a daughter and two sons.

10. Familiar Face

Even before this entire fiasco, Minister Iswaran was already a familiar face on video-sharing platforms.

From political broadcasts…

To COVID-related matters…

And to parliamentary sessions.

Only time will tell how Minister Iswaran will return to our screens:

Will he be the one talking, or will he be talked about?