Vivian Balakrishnan objects to the characterisation of PAP Govt engaging in half truths

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan stood to object to comments made by Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, accusing the People's Action Party (PAP) of engaging in half-truths on matters of significant public interest.

Mr Singh had stated, "...this behavior goes a long way to explain why there is real disquiet among Singaporeans today when the PAP invokes the memory of pioneer generation peer leaders and talks about trust."

The Foreign Affairs Minister, in response to the mention of the TraceTogether (TT) data being used by the Singapore Police Force, said he had "never deliberately engaged in any obfuscation, prevarication or delay."

"I have tried to make sure that in the design, execution, and coordination of a complex matter, in any emergency, I have been transparent and forthright with the people. I object to your characterization and use of this debate in Parliament to suggest that there is a pattern of delay, prevarication, and obfuscation," Dr Balakrishnan added.

Mr Singh countered by asking Dr Balakrishnan when he discovered that his statement, that TT is solely used for contact tracing, was going to be affected by the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

He went on to state that the point is there were ministers in the House who knew they were already in receipt of knowledge in October 2020 about the fact that TraceTogether applied to the CPC.

Reiterating the previous points he made, Dr Balakrishnan stood to object to Mr. Singh's points, which he claimed insinuated that there was any undue delay or any attempt at obfuscation or lack of transparency.

Mr K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Law, also joined in the exchange by asking Mr Singh if he was insinuating that the Minister had deliberately kept quiet.

Mr Singh responded with a question, "Did the minister or anybody in MHA ring the bell in government to say, actually, section 20 of the CPC applies to TraceTogether well before 2020?"

Both Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Shanmugam did not stand to respond to Mr Singh's question.