WP chief Pritam Singh will keep Parliament seat after fine: Speaker

SINGAPORE – Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh will keep his Aljunied GRC seat after he was fined for lying to Parliament, said Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng on Feb 18.

Mr Seah told Parliament that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had advised that the criterion for disqualifying an MP who is fined $10,000 or more is based on the sentence imposed for a single offence, not the cumulative sentences of two offences.

On Feb 17, Mr Singh was fined a total of $14,000 for two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee investigating former MP Raeesah Khan.

In Parliament on Feb 18, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah also circulated a note reminding MPs of their obligations “to be truthful in parliamentary proceedings”.

In it, she said: “It is a grave contempt of Parliament for a Member to deliberately make a false or misleading statement to Parliament or its committees.”

Deliberately making false statements or giving false evidence undermines the integrity of parliamentary processes, added Ms Indranee, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development.

She said: “All Members are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity and observe the rules of parliamentary conduct so that the public can continue to have full confidence and trust in our Parliament and its representatives.”

Mr Seah’s statement reiterated a Feb 17 clarification by the Elections Department.It had said Mr Singh would not lose his seat or be banned from standing in the upcoming general election as his sentences had not reached the threshold for disqualification.

Mr Seah also reiterated the public prosecutor’s decision to not pursue charges against another Aljunied GRC MP, Mr Faisal Manap, for refusing to answer questions from the same parliamentary committee investigating Ms Khan.

Mr Seah said Mr Faisal has acknowledged an advisory by the public prosecutor to familiarise himself with “conduct expected of MPs” under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act and to refrain from actions that may be in breach of the Act.

Mr Seah also announced that the seats of two Nominated MPs – lawyer Raj Joshua Thomas and psychiatrist Syed Harun Alhabsyi – are now vacant.

The two NMPs had resigned on Feb 14 and indicated in social media posts that they intended to pursue other avenues of political service. This fuelled speculation that they could stand in the upcoming general election.

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