NMP appointee Haresh Singaraju says he is no longer a PAP member after party shirt photo surfaces
Dr Haresh also said he had wrongly described the photograph as taken at a People’s Association event.
A photo circulating on social media shows newly appointed NMP Haresh Singaraju wearing a shirt with the People's Action Party logo.
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SINGAPORE: Dr Haresh Singaraju, one of nine individuals set to be appointed as Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs), has clarified that he is no longer affiliated with any political party after a photograph surfaced of him wearing a shirt with the People’s Action Party (PAP) logo.
The family physician at National University Polyclinics initially told the South China Morning Post on Monday (Jan 5) that he was formerly a PAP member and that the 2023 photograph was taken at a People's Association event.
However, following a query from CNA, Dr Haresh issued a correction on Instagram on Tuesday.
“In my response to SCMP, I had incorrectly referred to this as a People’s Association activity. The activity did not involve the PA,” he wrote, adding that he is "now not a member of any party”.
Dr Haresh said that the image was captured at a party activity where he had previously volunteered. The post, which had circulated as a screenshot online, has since been removed from his account.
He said the deletion was "part of a clean up of the Instagram account, to protect the identities of individuals in the pictures as I made my account public".
CNA has contacted the PAP for comment.
The photograph has reignited online discussion about the independence of the NMP scheme, established in 1990 to bring non-partisan voices into parliament.
Similar concerns emerged last year when two NMPs – Mr Raj Joshua Thomas and Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi – resigned in February, months before the General Election. Dr Syed Harun subsequently stood as a PAP candidate in Nee Soon GRC, and now serves as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and National Development.
Mr Thomas was not fielded as a candidate.
Dr Haresh would not be the only former PAP member to be appointed as an NMP.
Several past NMPs have had PAP connections: Mr Calvin Cheng and Ms Tan Su Shan both resigned from the party before their appointments, while Mr Gerard Ee was still a PAP member when he assumed the position.
Dr Haresh is among eight new faces scheduled for appointment on Jan 8, alongside Mr Mark Lee Kean Phi, CEO of Sing Lun Holdings, who returns for a second term.
