Singapore PM strips opposition leader of title after conviction for lying under oath

Singapore prime minister Lawrence Wong has formally removed Pritam Singh from his post of the leader of opposition, a day after parliament voted that the politician was unfit to continue following his conviction for lying under oath.

The move, the first of its kind in Singapore, ends the Workers’ Party chief’s tenure as Singapore’s first officially designated opposition leader, a role he has held since 2020.

In February last year, a Singapore court found Singh guilty of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee in 2021 about 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. The court fined him S$14,000 ($10,880; £10,430). His appeal was dismissed in December.

While Singh remains a member of parliament and secretary-general of the Workers’ Party, he will lose the title’s associated privileges, including additional allowances, staffing support, and priority speaking rights during parliamentary debates.

In a statement, Mr Wong said: “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 (leader of opposition) will therefore cease with immediate effect.”

He said the move was necessary “to uphold the rule of law, as well as the dignity and integrity of parliament”.

Mr Wong also invited the Workers’ Party to nominate another elected MP to assume the opposition leadership, saying that the nominee “should not have been implicated in the earlier findings of the Committee of Privileges, and must be able to meet the high standards expected of this office”.

The parliament’s decision followed more than three hours of debate on Wednesday, after lawmakers backed a motion initiated by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah. The motion expressed regret over Singh’s conduct, describing it as “dishonourable and unbecoming” of an MP, and concluded that his continuation as opposition leader would undermine public confidence in parliament.

All 11 Workers’ Party MPs present voted against the motion.

During the debate, Ms Rajah said that Singh’s lies “strike at the trust” Singaporeans place in parliament and accused him of “failing to take responsibility”.

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She later said: “We cannot endorse dishonourable conduct or ignore the court judgment, and we cannot talk about a first world parliament and effective checks and balances if fundamental values of honesty, integrity and accountability are not upheld as MPs, we have a solemn duty to make sure that politics in Singapore remains upright and honourable.”

Singh defended himself in parliament and maintained that he was innocent. “My conscience remains clear,” he said, adding that he disagreed with the motion’s findings.

He told MPs: “Whatever parliament decides, and as long as I’m a member of parliament, I will continue my work as an MP on the ground.”

Meanwhile, the Workers’ Party said that it would consider Mr Wong’s letter internally and respond “in due course”.

The party has also said it is conducting its own disciplinary review into whether Singh breached party rules.