SINGAPORE – The Workers’ Party now has to weigh solidarity with its party chief Pritam Singh against keeping the role of the Leader of the Opposition (LO) and the resources and visibility it provides, analysts said.
This comes after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s decision on Jan 15 to remove Mr Singh from the role following a motion in Parliament where the House agreed he is no longer suitable for it given his convictions for lying.
PM Wong also invited the WP to nominate another elected MP who is able to “meet the high standards of the office”.
Reacting to PM Wong’s announcement on Jan 15, analysts said they expect the WP to not rush into a decision.
They noted that the WP had already formed a disciplinary panel to look into whether Mr Singh had contravened the party’s Constitution after his convictions were upheld by the High Court in December 2025, and said it expects to complete this process within three months.
In response to PM Wong’s statement on Jan 15, the WP said it would carefully deliberate his request.
There are several options on the table for the party, analysts said.
Three outcomes are possible, said Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore.
The WP could choose not to nominate another MP to the position “as a matter of principled solidarity” with Mr Singh.
Or, the WP’s highest decision-making body – its central executive committee (CEC) – might opt for Mr Singh to remain as secretary-general and nominate someone else to be the LO. This would mean the secretary-general – the party chief – and the LO would be two different people, though analysts felt this was the least likely.
A third option is to remove Mr Singh as secretary-general and elect a new one who would be nominated as LO. This could mean the office is left vacant for some time.
“Either way, the political ball is firmly in WP’s court on whether to take up the LO position or not to do so in solidarity with the current leader,” said Dr Mustafa.
All these options have their trade-offs, analysts said.
SMU associate law professor Eugene Tan said the optics of the LO not being the “top dog in the WP” is something that the party will have to deliberate in deciding whether to put forth another MP to be LO.
“Pritam is their most charismatic politician and no WP MP comes close in terms of charisma and popularity. Is the WP ready for another MP to upstage Pritam, or to pale in comparison with Pritam at this point in time?” he said.
Ms Nydia Ngiow, managing director of strategic advisory firm BowerGroupAsia, said if the WP decides not to nominate a new LO, it would signal that the party views the role as secondary to its broader parliamentary mandate.
Doing so would also underscore the point that opposition legitimacy ultimately flows from electoral support rather than formal titles, she said.
She noted that Singapore operated without a formally appointed LO prior to 2020, and the absence of one would not prevent the WP from continuing its parliamentary work.
But the opposition party will have to weigh the fact that the LO role carries institutional resources and visibility that can materially strengthen its ability to scrutinise legislation and articulate alternative views in Parliament, she said.
Prof Tan noted that the extra resources and extra speaking time, as well as precedence in taking the floor, can help to bolster the WP’s prominence and role in scrutinising the actions of the government of the day.
The office comes with privileges that include the right of first reply during parliamentary debates, more time for speeches, and twice the allowance of an elected MP.
It also comes with an office in Parliament House and allowance for staff.
An outright refusal from the WP to take up the post of LO would be a setback for Singapore’s political system, as the office “goes some way in institutionalising the Opposition’s role” in the system, said Prof Tan.
Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Gillian Koh said the WP could decide not to nominate anyone to “reinforce in the public mind what has taken place”, and this could play out to its benefit or against it.
“It can play the victim card for political purposes, or it can choose to rise above it and reinforce its substantive policy standing going forward,” she added.
The LO appointment was first introduced after GE2020 by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the WP won 10 seats. He said then that it was to recognise voters’ desire for more opposition presence in Parliament.
PM Wong’s invitation for the WP to nominate a replacement is an important step that recognises the importance of representing alternative views in Parliament and Singapore’s parliamentary democracy, said Dr Koh.
Dr Koh said PM Wong’s offer helps to establish the role and “normalise the existence of political opposition in our legislature and political system”.
She added that it is important to test the role, and decide when there should be one, who qualifies as well as what roles and responsibilities the LO has.
The debate over the role has been an “exercise of establishing what is the character of someone who is suitable for the position of LO”, she said.
“The political custom grows, the ecosystem adapts, and then when it is formalised, it has deep roots to be understood and used well for national interest.”
As the role is not provided for in Singapore’s Constitution, PM Wong still has a “free hand” to shape it, Prof Tan noted.
It is a relatively new office, and the PAP government is not in a hurry to institutionalise it, he added.
“They will see how the office works and how to adapt it to the local context. The experience of the past five years of the LO office has been instructive.
“So it may be another two or more parliamentary terms before we see the LO office being institutionalised.”
While it remains an open question on whether WP will choose to nominate anyone for the role, analysts like Ms Ngiow noted that those with longer tenures, more parliamentary experience and public visibility may be considered.
The WP has 10 elected MPs in Parliament, along with two Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs).
Ms Sylvia Lim is out of the running, analysts noted, as the WP chairwoman has been implicated in Mr Singh’s court judgment and the proceedings of the parliamentary committee where Mr Singh lied – and PM Wong said the nominee cannot have been involved in either of these.
Several analysts agreed that experienced parliamentarians Dennis Tan and Gerald Giam are front runners.
Mr Tan, a lawyer and MP for Hougang SMC, has been in Parliament since 2015, first as an NCMP and then as MP since 2020.
Mr Giam has been an Aljunied GRC MP since 2020, following a term as NCMP between 2011 and 2015.
Both sit on the party’s CEC – Mr Tan is organising secretary, while Mr Giam is head of policy research.
Whatever its final choice, analysts do not expect PM Wong’s decision to rush or pressure the WP.
Prof Tan said: “WP will not be hurried; they will march to their own drum beat, as it were. They can live with the LO office being vacant for a few months.”