Foo Cexiang hits back at WP’s Kenneth Tiong over SIA-Air India deal, says Parliament not a ‘risk committee’

While Parliament’s role is to ensure accountability for Singapore’s national reserves, it cannot serve as a “risk committee” for individual companies, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Foo Cexiang.In particular, Foo was referring to concerns that Workers’ Party MP Kenneth Tiong raised in Parliament earlier this month about Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) investment into Air India and whether if will affect the airline’s capacity to provide essential transport services.In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 15), Foo rebutted Tiong’s comments, saying that he made a “major leap of logic” and painted an “alarming narrative”.”Members of Parliament (MP) have every right to raise questions about the national reserves, including how they are safeguarded and stewarded,” Foo said.”But that does not make Parliament the risk committee for individual companies.”MPs, he said, “do not have the operational data, expertise, or mandate” to determine how much commercial risk companies should take.