Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has stripped Pritam Singh (pic) of his post as Leader of the Opposition, saying his position had become untenable after his conviction for lying to parliament.
The move, the first of its kind in Singapore, comes after parliament decided in a vote on Wednesday that Pritam of the opposition Workers’ Party was unsuitable to continue in the post given his “dishonourable and unbecoming” conduct after a lying conviction.
Wong in a statement said the decision was necessary to uphold the rule of law, as well as the dignity and integrity of parliament.
“Having considered the matter carefully, I have decided that Mr Singh’s criminal convictions, taken together with Parliament’s considered view of his unsuitability, make it no longer tenable for him to continue ... Mr Singh’s designation as the LO will therefore cease with immediate effect,” Wong said yesterday.
The Leader of the Opposition is designated by the head of government and not provided for in the constitution or parliament’s standing orders.
Despite the parliamentary vote, it was entirely up to Wong whether to remove Pritam from the role.
The post comes with certain privileges and duties, such as staff support and an additional allowance, as well as access to confidential government briefings, especially in the event of a national crisis or emergency.
Wong said he has asked the opposition party to nominate another lawmaker not embroiled in the lying scandal to serve as the next leader of the opposition, which he described as an “important position in our parliamentary democracy”.
Walid Jumblatt Abdullah, a political scientist at Nanyang Technological University, said he did not think removing Pritam from the post would have a big impact.
“The only substantive things he would be losing are his allowance, which won’t affect the party, and speaking time,” he said.
Pritam will remain a lawmaker and the leader of his party. The Workers’ Party said it would study the letter sent by Wong to its central executive committee.
“We will deliberate on its contents carefully through our internal processes and respond in due course,” it said.
Last February, a Singapore court found Pritam guilty of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee in 2021 about a fellow party member, Raeesah Khan, who admitted to lying in a parliamentary speech about an account of her accompanying a sexual assault victim to make a police report.
Pritam was Singapore’s first leader of the opposition and was appointed after the 2020 election, when his party gained five seats in parliament, bringing its total to 10. — Reuters
