The Singapore Government have come out strongly against claims put forward by the Opposition Workers Party in Parliament that the appointment of a new Attorney General has a conflict of interest flavour in it. This is because the new AG, Goh Soon Poh, is the wife of Minister of State Heng Chee How.
The feeling of conflict of interest is not a new one among Singaporeans, as this is not the first time that someone with links to the Singapore government have been appointed to top posts in Singapore. Among the most notable ones are of course Ho Ching, the wife of PM Lee Hsien Loong. She is of course the CEO of Temasek, the government's investment arm. Apart from her, they are others, notably SingHealth CEO Ivy Ng, who is the wife of Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, NHB CEO Chang Hwee Nee, the wife of Heng Swee Keat, and Surbana Jurong CEO Teo Eng Chong, husband of Josephine Teo.
The government refuted this by saying that those people are appointed based on their capabilities. Which goes to say that Singaporeans are expected to believe the government mantra of them having searched the globe for talented individuals, and they found that the most talented are also those married to Singapore Ministers, the elite of the elites.
