SINGAPORE, Jan 15 — Singapore’s Parliament has reportedly approved a motion expressing the view that Pritam Singh is unsuitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition following his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee.
The motion, moved by Indranee Rajah, said Singh had fallen short of the standards expected of the Leader of the Opposition and that his continued appointment could undermine public confidence in Parliament, according to a report by The Straits Times.
“There are simply too many lies — they pile up, one on top of another, each one to cover up a previous lie,” Indranee was quoted as saying during the debate.
After a three-hour debate on yesterday, all People’s Action Party MPs and Nominated MPs reportedly supported the motion, while all 11 Workers’ Party MPs present opposed it,.
Indranee reportedly said Parliament was not imposing further penalties on Singh — who was fined the maximum S$7,000 on each of two charges on Feb 17, 2025 — but was instead expressing a view on whether such conduct was acceptable for the Leader of the Opposition.
She added that honesty and integrity are fundamental pillars of Singapore’s parliamentary system, and that lying to Parliament or its committees strikes at the trust Singaporeans place in their institutions.
The Leader of the Opposition post is reportedly conferred by the prime minister, leaving the final decision on whether Singh remains in the role rests with Lawrence Wong.
Singh’s conviction arose from his handling of a false allegation made in Parliament in 2021 by then Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan.
Khan had claimed that a police officer made insensitive remarks to a sexual assault victim.
She later admitted the account was untrue, and the court found that Singh had lied to the Committee of Privileges about his role in how the matter was handled.