SINGAPORE: Members of the Workers’ Party have been invited to share their views with the disciplinary panel that was formed to look into the conduct of its secretary-general, Pritam Singh.
On Jan 3, the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) announced that it had met the day before to discuss the High Court’s dismissal in December of Mr Singh’s appeal concerning his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee, adding that there had been a request made for a Special Cadre Members’ Conference.
“The CEC has directed that a disciplinary panel be formed to determine if Pritam Singh has contravened the constitution of the party,” said at the time, emphasising the need for due process.
On Jan 21, it was announced that Sengkang MPs He Ting Ru and Jamus Lim, together with former Hougang MP Png Eng Huat, would make up the panel.
AsiaOne reported on Feb 4 that, according to text messages it had seen the day before, the panel has offered party members who want to weigh in on the issue to send an email and arrange a meeting, which is said to be scheduled in the weeks to come.
The Pritam Singh problem
It has been quite the journey for Mr Singh, who was removed from his post as Leader of the Opposition by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Jan 15, one day after Parliament voted on a motion deeming the WP chief unfit for the position.
While PM Wong invited the WP to nominate another elected MP for the position, the party declined.
Mr Singh is Singapore’s first official Leader of the Opposition, having been appointed to the post by former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the General Election in 2020. The WP won an unprecedented 10 seats in Parliament after a victory in the then newly created Sengkang GRC.
Mr Lee said that he personally gave the WP chief a phone call. “I told Mr Singh that with 10 MPs, I think it is right that he, the Workers’ Party leader, be formally designated as the Leader of the Opposition, and that he will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties.”
On his part, Mr Singh wrote in a Facebook post that he looked forward “to serving as the leader of the opposition and will carry out my duties to the best of my abilities,” and added that he would “endeavour to ensure that the Workers’ Party under my leadership will remain loyal to Singapore and all Singaporeans.”
In the wake of Mr Singh’s removal as Leader of the Opposition, however, some Singaporeans have asked if the role should be institutionalised, just as it is in other countries with a similar form of government.
In declining to nominate another MP for the position, the WP underlined that the appointment had come because of voters’ choices.
“It is important to reiterate that the LO appointment in Parliament arose out of the political success of the opposition at the ballot box. It is the people’s vote that explains the presence of opposition MPs in Parliament,” it said on Jan 21. /TISG
