SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong intends to nominate Seah Kian Peng to be the next speaker of parliament after his predecessor resigned over an extramarital affair.
The prime minister will nominate Seah, a former deputy speaker of parliament, at the next sitting of Parliament in August, according to a statement from his office.
The experienced Seah, 61, is an MP for Marine Parade GRC. He was Deputy Speaker between 2011 and 2016.
Deputy Speaker Jessica Tan is currently the acting Speaker.
The tiny island nation that has cultivated a reputation for clean governance has been consumed by recent scandals involving ruling party lawmakers.
Once seen as a potential prime ministerial candidate by political observers, Tan Chuan-Jin stepped down from positions in government and the party this week, becoming the second parliament speaker to resign for having an inappropriate relationship in just over a decade.
Days later, Singapore’s main opposition party announced that one of its lawmakers resigned following another affair with a colleague. - Bloomberg
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