SINGAPORE: Parliament is set to debate if Pritam Singh is suitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition following his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee.
A motion has been tabled by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah for the upcoming session of Parliament, which is scheduled to sit on Jan 12. The motion will be raised on Jan 13 or later in the week, said the Office of the Leader of the House in a statement on Jan 9.
It calls on the House to consider that Pritam’s “conviction and conduct render him unsuitable to continue as the Leader of the Opposition” and to express regret at his conduct which was “dishonourable and unbecoming” of an MP.
The motion notes that Pritam, who is chief of the Workers’ Party, had been convicted in a court of law for lying under oath when giving testimony to Parliament’s Committee of Privileges - a judgment that was upheld by the High Court - and was also found by that committee to have guided his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan to keep up a lie she told in Parliament.
It states that the Leader of the Opposition is a “parliamentary leadership position carrying important responsibilities, duties and privileges, and that his continuation in this role would undermine the standing of Parliament and public confidence in the integrity of Singapore’s political system”.
The motion, which has six points, notes that the High Court judgment and the Committee of Privilege’s findings have implications for WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim and vice-chair Faisal Manap, which have to be considered separately.
It also calls upon all MPs to affirm “that honesty and integrity are fundamental pillars of Singapore’s parliamentary and political system” and to “uphold their solemn duty to respect and abide by the law, act with integrity at all times, and honour the trust placed in them by Singaporeans”.
This comes after Indranee had first said in December 2025 that Parliament would have to discuss an “appropriate response” to Pritam’s conviction on two charges of lying under oath under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.
He was convicted on Feb 17, 2025 and fined the maximum of $7,000 for each of the charges. The verdict was upheld by the High Court on Dec 4 on appeal.
The case, which opened in court in 2024, arose over Pritam’s handling of Khan’s lie in Parliament in 2021.
Indranee had said that it was necessary for Parliament to take notice of the actions and convictions of the Leader of the Opposition.
She said: “In some countries, leaders who have lied, cheated or flagrantly broken the law still escape any legal or political consequences. We cannot accept such standards in Singapore.”
She also added that it was up to the WP to decide what it intended to do in light of the court judgment, and Pritam’s acceptance of the judgment, fully and without reservation.
On Jan 3, the WP announced that a disciplinary panel would be formed to assess if Pritam had contravened the party’s Constitution.
Pritam was first appointed as the Leader of the Opposition by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the 2020 general election, in which the WP won 10 out of 93 seats.
After the general election in 2025, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Pritam would continue in the role.
As Leader of the Opposition, Pritam is accorded some parliamentary privileges, which are decided on by the Government.
This includes an annual allowance of $385,000, double that of an elected MP, as well as additional allowance to hire up to three additional legislative assistants, on top of the allowance that all MPs get to hire one legislative assistant and one secretarial assistant.
He is also provided with an office in Parliament, as well as a secretary to support him administratively with parliamentary business, among other things.
During Parliament sittings, he is also generally given the right of first response among MPs and gets more time for his speeches.
In addition to these privileges, Pritam also has additional duties as Leader of the Opposition. These include leading the opposition in presenting alternative views and scrutinising the Government’s positions during parliamentary debates, being consulted on the appointment of opposition MPs to select committees, and being called upon to attend official state functions.
To enable him to carry out his duties, he receives confidential government briefings on select matters of national security and external relations, and will be briefed in the event of a national crisis or emergency.
Before Pritam was appointed to the role, Singapore had never had a formal Leader of the Opposition. This was the case even in the 1950s and 1960s, when there were larger numbers of opposition legislative assemblymen.
The position is not provided for in the Constitution or the Standing Orders of Parliament. - The Straits Times/ANN
