SINGAPORE, Jan 14 — Pritam Singh today reportedly spoke against a parliamentary motion seeking to declare him unsuitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition, disputing claims that his conduct was dishonourable and unbecoming of a Member of Parliament.
The motion, filed by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah, called on MPs to express regret over Singh’s conduct after he was convicted of lying to a parliamentary committee, according to Singapore’s CNA.
Responding in Parliament, Singh said he disagreed with the findings against him, noting that the courts relied on an SMS sent by Khan in 2021 as key evidence.
Singh said he never told former Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan to “take her lie to the grave”.
“My conscience remains clear, as it will forever, that this was not said by me to Khan at any point in time,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Singh said he accepted “full responsibility for not responding quickly enough” to correct Khan’s false statement, while stressing that he did not expect her to repeat the lie when questioned in Parliament.
Separately, Singh rejected the assertion that a criminal conviction removes his right to maintain innocence.
He cited President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s past Official Secrets Act case, in which Tharman was convicted of negligence in handling confidential documents.
Tharman had reportedly later said in an interview that “they got the wrong man”.
