SINGAPORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Singapore’s parliament will debate whether to remove opposition chief Pritam Singh from his post as Leader of the Opposition on Wednesday after he was convicted of lying to parliament.
Leader of the House and ruling People’s Action Party MP Indranee Rajah tabled a motion to declare Singh, the leader of the Workers’ Party, unsuitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition given his “dishonourable and unbecoming” conduct.
In December, Indranee said that the conduct of Workers’ Party chair Sylvia Lim and vice-chair Faisal Manap would also be discussed and that there would be “implications” for them from Singh’s case.
Singh, 49, is Singapore’s first official Leader of the Opposition since the city state gained independence in 1965. He was appointed after the 2020 general election, when his party gained five seats in parliament, bringing its total to 10.
In 2025, the ruling PAP won its 14th successive election to extend its unbroken six-decade rule, winning 87 of the 97 seats up for grabs. The Workers’ Party won the remainder, having contested a total of 26.
A Singapore court found Singh guilty of two counts of lying to parliament in February last year, handing down fines that spared him the loss of his seat and a ban from the 2025 general election.
He was found guilty of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee in 2021 about a fellow party member, Raeesah Khan, who also admitted lying to parliament.
Singh’s appeal failed in December, and Indranee said in a media statement that Parliament must deliberate on an “appropriate response” to Singh’s actions and convictions.
“Lying under oath is a serious matter. 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 said.
(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by David Stanway)
