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Singapore

WP will continue to hold government to account, regain Singaporeans' trust after resignations: Pritam Singh

At a media conference confirming an affair between Leon Perera and Nicole Seah, Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh says the party tries its best to screen election candidates rigorously.

WP will continue to hold government to account, regain Singaporeans' trust after resignations: Pritam Singh

The Workers' Party Secretary-General Pritam Singh at a press conference in Singapore on Jul 19, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)

SINGAPORE: Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh said on Wednesday (Jul 19) that the party will regain Singaporeans' trust by continuing to hold the government to account and serving residents in its wards, in the wake of an extramarital affair that prompted the resignations of two WP members.

Mr Singh was responding to questions at a press conference where he announced that Aljunied Member of Parliament Leon Perera and WP Youth Wing president Nicole Seah had resigned. 

Both were in the opposition party's Central Executive Committee.

Mr Singh told reporters that while the party leadership was alerted to allegations of an affair around 2021, Mr Perera and Ms Seah denied it then.

But after a video surfaced on Monday in which the pair appeared to be behaving intimately at a restaurant, they admitted to an affair and resigned from the party.

The WP chief added that Mr Perera and Ms Seah had an affair after the 2020 General Election, but it had stopped "some time ago".

Following his explanation, Mr Singh was asked how the WP will move forward from this episode, with one reporter asking how the party will regain the trust and confidence of Singaporeans.

Mr Singh said that the "important forum" for the party to gain the trust of Singaporeans is parliament.

"I think Singaporeans expect the Workers' Party to hold the government to account to make sure that we don't have a one-party dominant state ... we have to continue to work hard to encourage and persuade good Singaporeans to come forward and be part of a balancing force, which is in Singapore's interests," he said.

He added that the party will continue its work on the ground in its town councils - Aljunied-Hougang and Sengkang.

Party chair Sylvia Lim said Aljunied MPs are collectively responsible for the residents in the GRC, and that the other MPs will take over Meet-the-People sessions in Mr Perera's Serangoon ward.

"As for the other duties and groundwork, we will be meeting with the Serangoon team of volunteers shortly to work these out," she said at the media conference.

"Please let me assure, especially the Serangoon residents, that the party will use its best efforts to make sure that you're well cared for."

"UNCANNY COINCIDENCE"

The WP media conference comes just two days after the People's Action Party (PAP) announced that former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and former Tampines MP Cheng Li Hui were in an "inappropriate relationship" and had resigned. 

The video of Mr Perera and Ms Seah began circulating that same morning, before the PAP's announcement, prompting a question from a reporter about this "coincidence".

Mr Singh said he did not want to speculate on this, but added: "I think the fact that you're asking the question suggests that it's on your mind, and I think you're not wrong, I think it's on a lot of people's minds. But I leave you to draw your own conclusions on the ... uncanny coincidence vis-a-vis timing."

Reporters also asked about the WP's selection of candidates as this is not the first time that an MP has quit this term of parliament. 

Ms Raeesah Khan resigned from the party and as Sengkang GRC MP in November 2021 after admitting to lying in parliament. 

Mr Perera's resignation leaves the WP eight seats in parliament, down from the 10 seats it won in the 2020 General Election, which was a record number for the party.

Ms Seah was one of 21 candidates the WP inducted in the last general election.

Mr Singh said that while the party tries its best to put forward good candidates, it cannot predict what they will do after becoming candidates.

"You try your best to find out as much as you can about those individuals ... I think once you know that there are certain issues that have come up, then in good conscience I cannot field them as candidates again if I am aware of those facts," he added.

Mr Singh also said every episode is a "moment of reflection" for the party and it will think about how to better its processes. He added that the party will continue to look for good candidates who "bring something to the table".

"We will try to be as rigorous as possible, within the means that are available to us, to put forward individuals who will fly the flag proudly and I mean the Singapore flag proudly and be effective parliamentarians in parliament," he said.

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Source: CNA/hm(gs)
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