Pritam Singh's leadership 'failure' a contrast to Low Thia Khiang's: Indranee Rajah

Pritam Singh’s approach to the Raeesah Khan lying incident showed a "failure of leadership" on his part, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said on Wednesday (Jan 14),

Speaking on the motion of Singh’s suitability as Leader of the Opposition which she had tabled before the Parliament sitting, Indranee summed up on what she said are a number of “dishonesties” from the Workers’ Party (WP) chief.

Singh had told Khan, a former WP MP, to maintain her lie to Parliament, even though she had confessed to him in August 2021.

He then lied to the public and concealed material information from his own party, according to Indranee.

"There are simply too many lies — they pile up, one on top of another, each to cover up a previous lie," she said.

"And that is a problem as Mr Singh is also the Leader of the Opposition."

Singh was convicted and fined $14,000 in February last year for lying to a parliamentary committee. His conviction was upheld in December after he appealed against it.

Indranee noted that it would have been "inconvenient and uncomfortable" to disclose the truth then when Khan was a member of WP’s Sengkang slate that won in the 2020 General Election.

"But the consequences would have been nowhere as grave as what followed — Mr Singh’s telling Ms Khan to take the untruth 'to the grave'," she said.

"It is precisely at such moments where leaders are tested, and leadership matters. And we have seen the contrast between Singh’s approach and Mr Low Thia Khiang’s leadership."

Indranee stated in the motion that Singh’s conduct was "dishonourable and unbecoming of an MP" and he has "fallen short of the requirements and standards" of a Leader of the Opposition, which comes with parliamentary privileges including the right of first response among MPs and more time for his speeches.

"If members agree with this conclusion, they should vote in favour of the motion," she said.

"If they disagree and wish to vote against, they should justify to this House and to Singaporeans why Singapore should accept such lowered standards of honesty and integrity from their political leaders."

On Jan 3, the WP said that it will form a disciplinary panel to assess if Singh had contravened the party constitution.

Indranee pointed out that the WP MPs have made speeches in Parliament about the importance of accountability, and declared it is their mission to hold the Government to account.

"The question is whether they believe that their own members — including their leader — should also be held to account for doing something wrong, especially after the Court has convicted them of a crime,” she added.

"I am sure the WP will agree with me that the same standards and rigour must apply, whether to backbenchers or party leaders."

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chingshijie@asiaone.com