WP to form disciplinary panel to determine if Pritam Singh breached party Constitution

SINGAPORE – The Workers’ Party will form a disciplinary panel to assess if its party chief Pritam Singh contravened its Constitution, following his conviction in court.

The party said in a statement on Jan 3 that its central executive committee (CEC) – its top decision-making body, which Mr Singh is part of – had directed the formation of the panel.

WP said its CEC had met the day before to discuss matters arising from the Dec 4 High Court judgment that upheld Mr Singh’s conviction on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee.

The Jan 2 meeting also addressed a recent request for a special cadre members’ conference.

The opposition party had said in a statement on Dec 28 that

a request to hold the special conference was submitted

and that party chairwoman Sylvia Lim had acknowledged the request.

WP said in its Jan 3 statement that the CEC also concluded that it is appropriate to call the special cadre members’ conference after the disciplinary panel has completed its work, considering the need for due process.

The CEC comprises 19 members, including its 12 elected MPs such as Mr Singh and Ms Lim. Former Aljunied GRC MPs Faisal Manap, who is party vice-chair, and Low Thia Khiang, previously WP secretary-general, are also on the committee.

Said the WP: “To prevent undue delay, the CEC has set a timeline that the disciplinary process be concluded within three months.

“The notice of the special cadre members’ conference will be issued within two weeks after the conclusion of the disciplinary process.”

While the party did not cite any part of its Constitution in its statement, Mr Singh had in announcing the resignation of two party members in 2023 over a past affair said that “the Constitution of the Workers’ Party requires candidates to be honest and frank in their dealings with the party and the people of Singapore”.

The Constitution also states that a special cadre members’ conference can be called at any time by the party’s chair, the CEC, or 10 per cent of the cadre membership or at least 20 cadre members, whichever is higher.

Party sources had confirmed to The Straits Times that more than 20 cadres signed and submitted a letter calling for a special conference to be held in February.

Among the issues they hope to raise is whether Mr Singh should step down as party chief, they said on condition of anonymity as party members are not supposed to speak to the media.

Past estimates of the number of WP cadres have been reported as at about 100. Only cadre members, who are appointed by the CEC, can be present at cadre members’ conferences and vote at these conferences.

This comes ahead of a January discussion in Parliament on the appropriate response to Mr Singh’s conviction.

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah had said that Mr Singh’s conviction has implications for Ms Lim and Mr Manap. This will be part of the upcoming discussions in Parliament, which will convene on Jan 12.

Now that Mr Singh’s court case has concluded and he has been found guilty of lying, these matters will be raised for discussion, Ms Indranee said in a statement on Dec 22.

On Dec 4,

the High Court upheld Mr Singh’s Feb 17 conviction

on two counts of lying to the Committee of Privileges (COP), which included a $14,000 fine.

The COP had in February 2022 released a report that said the “appropriate sanctions” for Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Manap for their roles in former WP MP Raeesah Khan’s untruths to the House and to the COP would be deferred until the end of investigations or criminal proceedings against Mr Singh.

Mr Singh’s trial began in October 2024, and he was later found by the courts to have lied to the COP on two key issues: whether he had told Ms Khan to take her lie to the grave, and what he meant when he told Ms Khan that he would not judge her.

WP said on Dec 17 that it had started the party’s “internal processes” in the light of the Dec 4 High Court judgment.