'I apologise for the lapse': Medication no excuse for nodding off in Parliament, says Speaker Seah Kian Peng

Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng has apologised for "nodding off" during a Parliament sitting on Sept 9.

"This should not have happened, and I take full responsibility," he said in a Facebook post on Friday (Sept 18).

Seah had fallen asleep about four hours into the day's session, during the Second Reading of the Health Sciences Authority (Amendment) and Other Matters Bill .

In his Friday post, Seah said he felt slightly unwell and had medicines before parliamentary proceedings.

"But that does not excuse what happened. I should have called for a break earlier rather than continuing with proceedings. I normally do so after four to six hours and this incident took place after the four-hour mark," he wrote.

Seah stated that the incident has fallen short of standards expected of the office.

"I apologise for the lapse. I will learn from it and take steps to ensure it does not happen again," he said.

"I remain fully committed to serving Parliament and Singaporeans to the best of my ability."

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

国会议长谢建平就9月9日国会议事期间“打瞌睡”一事道歉。

“这本不应该发生，我愿承担全部责任，”他在周五（9 月 18 日）的 Facebook 帖子中写道。

在当天的会议进行到大约四个小时的时候，也就是《卫生科学局（修订）及其他事项法案》二读期间，谢先生睡着了。

Seah在周五的帖子中表示，他感觉身体有些不适，在国会会议开始前服用了药物。

“但这并不能为发生的事情开脱。我应该早点宣布休庭，而不是继续进行。我通常会在四到六个小时后这样做，而这次事件发生在四个小时之后，”他写道。

Seah表示，该事件未能达到该办公室应有的标准。

“对于我的疏忽，我深表歉意。我会从中吸取教训，并采取措施确保此类事件不再发生。”他说。

“我将继续竭尽全力为国会和新加坡人民服务。”

lim.kewei@asiaone.com