SINGAPORE, Jan 21 — The Workers’ Party has declined Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s request to nominate a new Leader of the Opposition (LO), setting up an unusual standoff over a role that has become a fixture of Singapore’s political landscape since 2020.
In a statement published today, the party said it had formally informed the prime minister of its decision, stressing that its position was rooted in principle: the leader of the largest Opposition party should, by definition, be the Leader of the Opposition.
The Workers’ Party also said it considers the appointment a matter of democratic convention rather than executive discretion.
“In Singapore, the position of LO is a discretionary appointment that the prime minister makes,” the party wrote.
“Despite not having any constitutional or statutory eligibility criteria, we hold the view that the only tenable candidate for the LO position would be a Member of Parliament who is the leader of the largest opposition in Parliament, the Workers’ Party.”
The dispute follows Wong’s decision on January 15 to strip WP chief Pritam Singh of the title, citing Singh’s recent court convictions and a Parliament motion that found him no longer suitable to hold the post.
The prime minister said then that allowing Singh to continue would undermine “the dignity and integrity of Parliament.”
The Workers’ Party said the appointment of an LO “arose out of the political success of the opposition at the ballot box,” underscoring what it described as the symbolic weight of the people’s vote.
It also referenced other Westminster-style systems in which the position is defined by law, rather than the prerogative of the government of the day — a structure the party argues better preserves the “authority and sanctity” of voter choice.
The role was formalised only in 2020, when then–Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong named Singh as Singapore’s first official Leader of the Opposition.
Wong reappointed him after the 2025 general election but reversed that decision last week.
With the removal, Singh loses the expanded speaking rights and doubled parliamentary allowance that accompany the post.
The Straits Times reported that the Workers’ Party has convened a disciplinary panel — comprising MPs He Ting Ru and Jamus Lim, and former MP Png Eng Huat — to examine whether Singh breached the party’s constitution following his conviction.
On January 15, Wong also wrote to the party’s top leadership inviting it to propose another elected MP for the position.
He specified that the nominee must not have been involved in earlier findings by the Committee of Privileges relating to former WP MP Raeesah Khan’s 2021 falsehood in Parliament, and that the candidate must meet the “high standards” required of the office.
“I hope to receive their nomination soon, so that this important position in our parliamentary democracy will not remain vacant for too long,” Wong said.
As of now, the Workers’ Party shows no sign of doing so. It said it would remain focused on its “primary duty” — to provide “a rational, responsible and respectable check on the government.”
