SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party’s decision to only reprimand its chief Pritam Singh signals he has the core leadership’s backing, but the final decision on his post at the helm will be made by the rest of its inner circle.
Two developments to watch are a promised special cadre members’ conference and the party’s internal leadership election – both expected by June – where the cadres will indicate if they agree with this outcome, political analysts told The Straits Times.
It is at these meetings that the party’s members will decide whether Pritam will continue as secretary-general, a post he has held since 2018.
For now, all signs point towards him staying in the role, reflecting his strengthened control on the WP, they said.
The party’s central executive committee (CEC) issued a formal letter of reprimand to Pritam after an internal disciplinary panel that looked into his conviction for perjury found he had contravened the party’s Constitution.
The panel comprised Sengkang GRC MPs He Ting Ru and Jamus Lim, along with former Hougang MP Png Eng Huat.
The CEC met on April 28 and 29 to consider the panel’s report, and said on April 30 that while it accepted the findings, it also “separately considered” that Pritam’s actions were ultimately “judgment calls” and he did not intend to act against the party’s principles, aims or welfare.
So, it was assessed that a formal letter of reprimand would be adequate, the CEC said.
The CEC also said a notice would be sent out within two weeks for a special cadre members’ conference requested by a group of members in December 2025. About 20 members had said they were looking to move a motion of no confidence against Pritam following his conviction.
The WP did not comment on the consequences of receiving a formal reprimand. But the party said Pritam is not precluded from putting himself up for election at its internal polls, which requires members to be “of good standing”.
Nydia Ngiow, managing director at strategic advisory firm BowerGroupAsia Singapore, said the reprimand keeps Pritam “in the game”.
The party has about 100 cadres – its inner circle – who are typically recruited by the CEC.
Noting this, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) senior research fellow Gillian Koh said given Pritam’s years in the CEC, there is likely to be a “high degree of loyalty” to him.
Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said Pritam is likely to continue leading the party “until and unless… someone (with) the requisite support” steps up to challenge him for the role.
Under the WP’s leadership election rules, the roles of secretary-general and chairman are contested separately from the rest of the leadership team. Pritam has not been challenged in his seven-year tenure as party chief.
Looking further ahead, the WP’s decision to keep Pritam on as chief suggests the Leader of the Opposition (LO) role is likely to remain vacant for the foreseeable future and for the rest of this parliamentary term, said Ngiow. This is especially after the WP’s public commitment that the leader of the largest opposition party is by definition the leader of the opposition.
The party has declined an invitation from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to nominate another MP to the role of LO. PM Wong had removed Pritam as LO after the High Court in December 2025 upheld his convictions on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee. It was these convictions that also triggered the WP’s own disciplinary proceedings against him in January.
Will public perception of WP take a hit?
While Pritam remains qualified to stand for the internal election, the question remains if his standing with the public will take a hard knock, said IPS Social Lab adjunct principal research fellow and academic adviser Tan Ern Ser.
Ngiow said public reaction is likely to split along existing political lines, with supporters viewing the reprimand as proportionate and critics seeing it as insufficient, given that Pritam’s criminal conviction was upheld on appeal.
Dr Mustafa said some may see Pritam as having displayed “remarkable tenaciousness to rise above” it and see him as a stronger leader.
Analysts said some may also draw comparisons between the WP’s punishment of Pritam and past disciplinary cases.
Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan noted how previous members had been more severely punished. He called the party’s decision to merely reprimand Pritam “a slap on the wrist” and said it could be seen as practising double standards.
Referring to how the party had made a distinction between Pritam’s conduct and his intentions, he said: “Arguably, neither Raeesah Khan, Leon Perera, nor Nicole Seah had any intention to act against the party’s welfare. But they had to resign all the same because they were not frank and honest. An exception was carved out for Mr Singh.”
Khan and Perera, former WP MPs, as well as Seah, a former WP youth wing leader and election candidate, had all resigned from the WP after they were found to have been untruthful to its leadership.
In November 2021, the party had convened a disciplinary panel to look into Khan’s conduct after she admitted to lying in Parliament about the details of a sexual assault case. The panel, which comprised Pritam, party chairwoman Sylvia Lim and party vice-chairman Faisal Manap, eventually recommended to the CEC that Khan be expelled if she did not resign.
Meanwhile, in July 2023, Pritam had said that the party would have recommended the expulsion of Perera if he had not offered to resign, adding that he had fallen short of the standards expected of WP MPs.
Still, the WP’s position as Singapore’s only opposition party in Parliament could mean the public will be more forgiving towards this episode, said IPS’ Dr Koh.
She cited how the WP came back stronger in the 2025 General Election in the constituencies where they were incumbents despite Pritam having received his conviction in February 2025 – prior to the hustings.
“There is no other group and therefore no other opposition leader to provide the important check and balance against the PAP,” she said, although voters may penalise Pritam for not being wiser despite having been party chief since 2018.
The PAP is known to be harsh on the Opposition and would scrutinise its every move, she noted. “The expectation is that WP should know better than to provide the PAP with the ammunition it needs to diminish it.”
But SMU’s Prof Tan said that while the public may give the WP and Pritam the benefit of the doubt, the party “cannot take the public for another ride”.
Dr Koh said the WP will have to continue to tighten up its party discipline and socialise its MPs and members to certain standards of governance and conduct. It will also have to drive “far greater engagement and thinking on the policy end”.
Ngiow said Pritam’s path forward also depends on whether he can re-establish himself as a substantive parliamentary voice in terms of moving the public conversation more towards policy.
He will also have to ensure that the party’s conduct is spotless so that the WP can convince swing voters that they are a credible alternative to the ruling party. - The Straits Times/ANN
