Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong has come under renewed scrutiny after sidestepping key questions raised by former NTUC Income CEO Tan Suee Chieh over the failed S$2.2 billion Income-Allianz deal.
Speaking to the media on 29 April 2025, on the sidelines of a walkabout in Punggol GRC with the rest of the People’s Action Party (PAP) team for the constituency and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Gan reiterated the government’s long-standing positions. He focused on the regulatory timeline and clarified that no formal application to extract capital from Income Insurance had been made when the deal was reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Gan, who chairs MAS, said the central bank first saw the proposal in July 2024 and assessed the main transfer of ownership. He added that Allianz’s plan to extract capital — reportedly aimed at returning S$1.85 billion to shareholders — “would have come much later”.
“It was something that they were thinking about. It was not an application for an approval for capital reduction,” Gan said, emphasising that MAS’s focus was ensuring liquidity and capital adequacy for the stake sale.
However, these remarks did not directly engage with the core concerns raised by Tan in his 28 April open letter, which has been widely circulated online.
In the letter, Tan questioned why MAS did not intervene earlier or impose conditions on the proposed transaction that could have safeguarded the cooperative mission of Income Insurance. While acknowledging that formal approval was not sought for the capital extraction, Tan asked why MAS appeared to allow the deal to proceed without clear assurances — particularly given the absence of a new capital injection.
He also queried the apparent lack of communication from MAS and other authorities throughout 2024, despite growing public concern and multiple letters sent to Gan between August and September last year.
Gan made no mention of Tan’s previous letters in his latest remarks and did not address the broader perception of regulatory inaction.
Tan also raised wider concerns about governance structures across NTUC-linked entities. He pointed to the dilution of the Singapore Labour Foundation’s (SLF) shareholding in NTUC Enterprise from 30% to 20% in 2021, arguing that this reduced the government’s ability to safeguard the social mission of such institutions. Gan, who previously chaired SLF, did not respond to these governance concerns.
The issue has gained political traction in Punggol GRC, where Gan is leading the People’s Action Party (PAP) team for General Election 2025.
At a rally on 28 April, Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Harpeet Singh directly challenged Gan to address Tan’s questions. Singh, a senior counsel and first-time WP candidate, stated:
“DPM Gan, will you answer Mr Tan Suee Chieh’s questions? Because they are important questions being asked on behalf of all Singaporeans. And DPM Gan, if you will not answer, please tell us why you will not answer, because this is about accountability. And real leadership never fears scrutiny. It welcomes it.”
Singh’s remarks were delivered in the context of broader calls for “fair politics and accountability” and echoed Tan’s appeal for transparency over regulatory decision-making and strategic shifts within NTUC entities.
While Gan said the government initially took a “positive approach” to the proposed sale — believing it could strengthen Income’s capital base — he added that later developments raised concerns about the preservation of the company’s social mission. These explanations have previously been offered by other PAP leaders, including former NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng.
Critics, however, contend that such general statements fail to address deeper questions about regulatory engagement, leadership accountability, and governance changes involving publicly significant institutions.
In Parliament, the WP had previously raised concerns that legislation passed to block the deal could appear retrospective. Gan reiterated that this was not the case, noting the deal had not yet been approved.
Nonetheless, he did not address why the issue was not debated publicly or in Parliament earlier, given its potential implications.
The post Gan Kim Yong sidesteps key questions in Income-Allianz saga, as WP rival demands accountability appeared first on The Online Citizen.
