Singapore prime minister strips Pritam Singh of opposition leadership

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has removed Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition, saying Singh’s position had become "no longer tenable" after criminal convictions and a parliamentary vote that had found him "unsuitable." Wong said the step was necessary "to uphold the rule of law, as well as the dignity and integrity of Parliament."

The move follows a parliamentary debate on Jan. 14 in which lawmakers approved a motion, introduced by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah, that concluded Singh’s conduct and his conviction related to former Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan meant he had fallen short of the standards expected of the office. Parliament described his conduct as "dishonourable and unbecoming" and voted to declare him unsuitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition.

Singh, who remains the secretary-general of the Workers’ Party and an elected MP, was convicted in February 2025 of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee about events tied to Raeesah Khan and appealed the conviction. His appeal was dismissed in December 2025, after which he said he accepted the court’s judgment but continued to dispute the findings and maintained his innocence.

Singh’s removal revokes the formal privileges attached to the Leader of the Opposition post. Those privileges have included the right of first reply in debates, extra speaking time and an allowance reported to be twice that of a regular elected MP. The government has signaled it will consider the institutional implications of the vacancy and the nomination process for a successor. Wong has invited the Workers’ Party to nominate another elected MP to serve as Leader of the Opposition and asked that the nominee not be connected to the lying scandal; the party acknowledged receipt of Wong’s letter and said it would "deliberate on its contents carefully through our internal processes and respond in due course."

The political fallout is immediate but contained. The governing People’s Action Party holds 87 of the 97 contested seats in Parliament; the Workers’ Party holds the remaining 10 seats. That parliamentary arithmetic means day-to-day legislative control and policy continuity are unlikely to be disrupted. A political scientist at a local university noted the substantive losses for Singh are the allowance and speaking time and said the removal was unlikely to have a large institutional effect.

Market and governance implications are nuanced. Singapore's reputation for strong institutions and predictable policymaking is central to its appeal as a financial hub. Investors typically prize continuity and clear legal outcomes; the prime minister framed the decision around upholding legal and parliamentary standards, a line intended to reassure both domestic and international stakeholders. With a commanding parliamentary majority, the government can proceed with its fiscal and regulatory agenda, reducing the risk of market volatility tied solely to this personnel change.

Longer-term, the episode raises questions about parliamentary accountability and the formal role of the opposition in Singapore’s political architecture. The Workers’ Party must now balance internal cohesion, public perception and its ability to perform opposition duties without the formal privileges of the Leader of the Opposition. Parliament will also need to clarify processes for filling the post and the scope of its privileges, matters that may shape the institutional balance between government and opposition in future sessions.