PUBLISHED ONJanuary 14, 2026 9:00 AMUPDATEDJanuary 15, 2026 7:10 AMBYKhoo Yi-HangLeader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has disagreed that his conduct was dishonourable and unbecoming of an MP, he stated in Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 14).
He was responding to the motion by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah questioning the suitability of Singh as the Leader of the Opposition.
This comes after Singh was found guilty and fined $7,000 each for two charges of lying to the Committee of Privileges (COP) in February last year.
"I disagree that my conduct was dishonourable and unbecoming of an MP, as I disagree with the finding of guilt by the courts and the COP," Singh said, explaining that he would refer to statements taken by the police from former MP Raeesah Khan's aide, Loh Peiying, which had been denied use in court.
Singh further claimed that a convicted person is able to retain their belief that they are innocent, highlighting how President Tharman Shanmugaratnam had responded to media queries relating to his 1994 criminal conviction with: "They got the wrong man".
"Criminal conviction does not negate one's right to assert innocence," he elaborated. "A finding of guilt by the courts did not undermine the President's personal view of his conviction.
"In my case, my conscience will always be clear in so far as my conviction on both charges is concerned."
He further stated that as long as he remains an MP, he will continue to work for Aljunied GRC and will "continue to advocate for Singaporeans in Parliament" to the best of his abilities.
In her speech, WP chair Sylvia Lim cast doubts that the motion against Singh was for Singaporeans.
The motion "does not serve Singaporeans, but is a party political exercise", adding that she believes Singapore Parliament may "slip further down" the World Justice Project's rule of law rankings for not being able to effectively check government power.
"This is unhealthy and not in the national interest," she added.
Lim also urged fellow MPs to "see each other as fellow Singaporeans who are not enemies, but competitors", striving for the common cause of serving fellow citizens.
WP MP Kenneth Tiong drew parallels to former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan Jin, highlighting how he had admitted to having an extramarital affair with a fellow-MP and resigned in 2023.
Then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had known of this affair since 2020, which went on till 2023, when it ultimately became public.
"Parliament was never asked to judge Tan, nor a motion. Not in 2020, not in 2021, not in 2022, not before his resignation. Not after nearly three years of silence, and then a quiet exit," he stated.
"So the member who faced nothing gets a quiet exit, and the member who already faced the courts must now face Parliament as well."
He further emphasised the need to hold Tan to the "highest standard of accountability" as Speaker.
In response, Indranee asked if he was suggesting that a fine ought to be imposed for extramarital affairs, to which Tiong stressed that his focus was on why Tan did not face Parliament as Singh now does.
Following a break, Indranee tackled Tiong's parallel drawn between Tan and Singh again.
She began by emphasising her disappointment towards Tiong's stance, stating that he has failed to properly understand the issue in Tan's case.
"He was asked to step down as a matter of party discipline," she explained. "He was told to resign his seat."
Then Prime Minister Lee was clear that Tan had to resign as Speaker, she said, but wanted to give Tan some time to settle constituency and family matters.
However, Tan's conduct did not stop, and PM Lee instructed both Tan and Cheng Li Hui to resign. Following this, Tan also apologised to Singaporeans, Indranee stated.
"Singh has not even been asked to resign his seat, at least not by us, and he doesn't seem to think that there is a problem with continuing as the Leader of the Opposition. There is no equivalence at all in those examples."
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
