GE2025 results: PAP gets 65.57 per cent of votes in landslide win

Commanding swing from 61.24% share in last general election gives Prime Minister Lawrence Wong the clear mandate he sought

By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 4 May 2025

Singaporeans have returned the PAP to power with 65.57 per cent of the popular vote, a commanding swing from its 61.24 per cent share in the last general election.

Voters overwhelmingly endorsed the ruling party, which secured 87 of 97 seats in an election that took place against a backdrop of global uncertainty and trade wars.

They gave Prime Minister Lawrence Wong the clear mandate that he had sought, in his first electoral contest as head of government and leader of the PAP.

Constituencies tipped to be fierce battlegrounds – Punggol GRC, Tampines GRC and Jalan Kayu SMC – were in the PAP’s grip by 11pm, when all sample count results were in.

Contests in East Coast GRC and West Coast-Jurong West GRC that were expected to be close also ended in decisive wins for the PAP.

At a press conference at 3am, PM Wong said the clear and strong mandate that Singaporeans have given the PAP was deeply humbling, and called the results “a clear signal of trust, stability and confidence” by Singaporeans in their government.

The immediate next task is to form the Cabinet, and PM Wong said he was grateful that all his key MPs had been voted in, and he could put together the best team to serve Singapore. “I will announce the Cabinet line-up when ready.”

While voters largely heeded PM Wong’s call for a strong PAP team to steer Singapore through coming storms, they also helped the WP retain its 10 seats and strengthen its grip on Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC.

However, the WP’s call for a more balanced Parliament – and that more opposition MPs would lead to better policies – did not seem to have resonated with voters, as the party failed to make inroads elsewhere.

In Tampines, the only four-cornered fight in this election, the PAP secured 52.02 per cent of the vote against a WP team that garnered 47.37 per cent.

In Punggol, which was a focal point of the hustings after Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong was deployed there, the PAP polled 55.17 per cent to clinch the new GRC against a WP team led by senior counsel Harpreet Singh.

The other opposition parties failed to win any constituencies or send any candidates to Parliament as Non-Constituency MPs.

The PSP failed to convert or retain its two NCMP seats.

Its West Coast-Jurong West team, led by party chairman Tan Cheng Bock and NCMPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa, polled 39.99 per cent. This was a near-10 percentage point drop in votes from 2020, when the PSP came close to winning then West Coast GRC.

Instead, the “best loser” of this election was the WP’s candidate in Jalan Kayu SMC Andre Low, who took 48.53 per cent of the votes against labour chief Ng Chee Meng. Mr Ng made a successful comeback after losing in Sengkang GRC in the 2020 election.

The second NCMP came from the WP’s Tampines team, which comprises WP vice-chair Faisal Manap, Institute of Mental Health senior principal clinical psychologist Ong Lue Ping, former diplomat Eileen Chong, start-up co-founder Michael Thng and industrial equipment supply firm co-founder Jimmy Tan.

PM Wong said an issue that came up in the election was the desire for more alternative voices in Parliament, and that he respected Singaporeans with these views.

While he understood the sentiments, he urged those who held them to consider the merits of having a strong team in the Government to work effectively for the country.

The WP fielded a strong and young slate that gave the PAP a tough fight in several constituencies, and now have 10 elected seats as well as two NCMP seats, if they choose to accept them, he added.

“That’s an increase from what they have today, so they will have an increased and continued strong presence in Parliament, as well as the opportunity to refresh some of the members in their slate,” he said.

The WP did not hold its customary post-election press conference right away, but party chief Pritam Singh told supporters at Serangoon stadium at about 1am that it was always going to be a difficult election.

“The slate is wiped clean. We start work again tomorrow, and we go again,” he said to cheers.

The PSP’s Mr Leong, who is the party’s chief, said the results were “shocking” and that the party needed to regroup to fight another day.

SDP chairman Paul Tambyah expressed disappointment at his party’s showing, and attributed voters’ flight to safety to “the constant drumbeat of crisis”.

He said the silver lining was Dr Chee Soon Juan’s showing. The SDP chief took 46.81 per cent of votes in Sembawang West against the PAP’s Poh Li San in his best electoral performance to date. This, however, was not enough for the SDP to secure a parliamentary presence.

At the PAP press conference, PM Wong said he heard feedback from Singaporeans on key issues like cost of living and housing, and gave his assurance that the Government will redouble its efforts in the coming term to tackle these concerns.

“We have already started work on many of these issues and progress has been made, but we will work even harder with this mandate now to ensure concrete progress, and to see how we can achieve even better outcomes across all of these issues and on the economic challenges that are coming,” he said.

He also highlighted the mixing of race and religion with politics as an issue that surfaced at the election.

This was not just a matter of foreign interference, as there were also many negative comments by Singaporeans encouraging people to vote along racial lines, he added.

PM Wong said: “I am heartened that all political parties made clear their stance in this campaign to reject identity politics and reaffirm their commitment to multiculturalism, and the election results show that Singaporeans, by and large, reject identity politics and continue to support a multiracial and multi-religious society.”

The PAP had asked Singaporeans to vote for the name on the ballot that could best represent them in Parliament, and that it was not time for political experimentation given external turbulence.

In the end, the people chose stability and continuity over the opposition’s call for greater checks and balances, and gave PM Wong and his 4G team an unequivocal mandate to tackle the coming storms.

At the close of polls at 8pm, there were 2,429,281 votes cast in Singapore, including 42,829 rejected votes. This made up 92.47 per cent of the 2,627,026 registered voters in all contested electoral divisions.

PM Wong said Singapore has always been and continues to be the underdog despite what it has achieved, and must now close ranks to face the challenges ahead together.

“Now that the election is over, we must put aside our differences and stand together as one Team Singapore to confront the storms ahead, and to secure a brighter future for ourselves, our families and Singapore.”

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said changes happening to the world are worrying, but that Singapore can come through with cooperation between the PAP and the people.

“With your trust and your full support and cooperation, we will do the best for our families, for our country and for our future,” SM Lee said.

GE2025 electoral boundaries announced: 15 SMCs and 18 GRCs

Extensive changes to electoral boundaries due to population shifts; number of MPs raised from 93 to 97

By Linette Lai, The Straits Times, 12 Mar 2025

Major changes ahead of Singapore’s next general election will see the creation of one more group representation constituency and an additional single-seat ward, bringing the total to 18 GRCs and 15 single-member constituencies.

The number of elected MPs will increase to 97, up from 93 now.

The revisions will see electoral boundaries change in 22 out of the current 31 constituencies.

The release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report on March 11 marks a major step on the road to the next general election, which is expected to be held in the first half of 2025.

Explaining its recommendations, the EBRC said in its report that voter numbers have grown significantly in Pasir Ris-Punggol, Sembawang and Tampines GRCs, as well as the single seats of Hong Kah North and Potong Pasir.

This is largely due to population shifts and new housing developments in these areas, it said. Voter numbers in each of these constituencies have increased by more than 10,000 since GE2020.

Revisions to electoral boundaries in these areas had knock-on effects on boundaries in some surrounding constituencies, the EBRC said.

With the latest changes, the number of four-member GRCs will grow from six to eight, while the number of five-member GRCs will go down from 11 to 10.

One key change is the creation of a new four-member Punggol GRC. It will take in Punggol West SMC and parts of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, which will shrink into a new four-member Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.

Five SMCs have been taken off the map, while six new ones have been added. The single seats removed are: Bukit Batok, Hong Kah North, MacPherson, Punggol West and Yuhua.

The new SMCs have mostly been carved out of existing GRCs. They are: Bukit Gombak, Jalan Kayu, Jurong Central, Queenstown, Sembawang West and Tampines Changkat.

Three polling districts in Tampines West, east of Bedok Reservoir, have been moved from the opposition-held Aljunied GRC to Tampines GRC.

Sengkang GRC, which is also held by the Workers’ Party, is among nine constituencies to see no changes to electoral boundaries. The other eight are Bishan-Toa Payoh, Jalan Besar, Marsiling-Yew Tee and Nee Soon GRCs; as well as Bukit Panjang, Hougang, Marymount and Pioneer SMCs.

An estimated 2,753,226 voters will head to the polls in 2025, an increase of 101,791 from GE2020.

The EBRC submitted its report to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on March 7. Its recommendations have been accepted by the Government, the Elections Department (ELD) said on March 11.

Significant changes have been made in the east and west of Singapore, where the fiercest electoral battles are expected to be fought.

In the east, the new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC will be formed by merging parts of Pasir Ris-Punggol and East Coast GRCs.

East Coast remains a five-member GRC. However, it will take in 15 polling districts from Marine Parade GRC – mostly flats in Chai Chee and private estates in Siglap. The constituency was hotly contested by the People’s Action Party and WP in 2020, with the ruling party eventually winning 53.39 per cent of the vote.

A new five-member Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC will absorb the single seat of MacPherson. It will take in two polling districts from Potong Pasir, where many new flats have been built in the Bidadari area, and parts of the existing Marine Parade GRC and Mountbatten SMC.

In the west, the new five-member West Coast-Jurong West GRC will take in estates from neighbouring Jurong West and Taman Jurong, which are in Jurong GRC.

Estates in Dover and Telok Blangah, which are part of the existing West Coast GRC, will be absorbed into Tanjong Pagar GRC. West Coast GRC saw the closest fight in 2020, when the PAP won with 51.69 per cent of the vote against the Progress Singapore Party.

Meanwhile, a new five-member Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC will take in polling districts from the existing Jurong GRC, as well as parts of three SMCs which have been taken off the map – Bukit Batok, Hong Kah North and Yuhua.

The EBRC, made up of five senior civil servants, was formed seven weeks ago on Jan 22. It was directed to keep the average size of GRCs, the proportion of MPs elected from SMCs, and the average ratio of electors to elected MPs, about the same.

The average number of MPs in each GRC will be 4.56, down from 4.65. In the coming general election, there will be approximately 28,384 voters per MP, compared with 28,510 now.

Stakes high in GE2025; no guarantee PAP will win and form a stable government, says PM Lawrence Wong

People’s Action Party Awards and Conference 2024

By Kenneth Cheng, Assistant News Editor, The Straits Times, 25 Nov 2024

The upcoming general election in 2025 will be a high-stakes one, and Singapore risks ending up with a much weaker government if there is just a modest swing in popular votes against the ruling party, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Speaking at the People’s Action Party conference at the Singapore Expo on Nov 24, he told party members: “Please don’t think it is guaranteed that the PAP will win and form a stable government.”

In a speech lasting about 40 minutes, the Prime Minister also highlighted the need for Singaporeans to stay united in the midst of trying circumstances beyond the country’s borders, and spoke of the urgency for the PAP to have a fresh crop of younger candidates who can take the nation forward.

He noted that in the 2020 General Election, the opposition had warned Singaporeans against an “opposition wipe-out”.

“Actually, there is no chance of that happening at all,” he said, adding that the opposition in Singapore is here to stay.

There have been opposition MPs in Parliament since 1981, and the Non-Constituency MP scheme guarantees at least 12 opposition MPs in the House, noted PM Wong, who is set to take over as PAP secretary-general. He is now the party’s deputy secretary-general.

“In fact, given the desire for more opposition voices, the bigger risk we face is the loss of a stable and strong and good government,” he said.

The opposition admits it is far from ready to form the Government, he told an audience of about 3,000 PAP cadres, activists and guests.

“They say that partly because they know that Singaporeans will not support them if they openly declare their intention to govern,” he added.

But if more and more voters are persuaded by the opposition’s argument to vote them in so they can oppose the government of the day, “you can be sure that what is now the opposition will soon be the Government”, said PM Wong.

He cautioned that such a scenario would not require a large swing in votes at the next general election, which must be held by November 2025.

A modest swing in popular votes against the PAP, he noted, can lead to very different electoral outcomes, and very possibly the loss of another three or four group representation constituencies or GRCs.

This means the party will lose four or five ministers – or a quarter of the Cabinet.

“We will end up with a much weaker government, with far less ability to solve the problems facing our people and our country at a time when the world is becoming more uncertain and troubled,” he said.

“So, comrades, the stakes in the next election are high.”

PM Wong urged the party to work hard for every vote, to earn the confidence and trust of Singaporeans, win the mandate to govern, and ultimately, serve fellow Singaporeans.

“We know from the last election, and more so in the next election, there are no longer any safe seats,” he said.

“So every resident, every vote counts, and all our efforts matter.”

He noted that the PAP faces a rather unique political challenge, having governed Singapore for 65 years.

It is the party’s desire to keep serving Singaporeans for as long as possible, but he warned that members must never assume they will not see a change in government in their lifetime.

Singaporeans cannot have it both ways – more opposition MPs but also effective PAP government: PM Lee Hsien Loong at PAP Conference 2022

PAP needs strong mandate to govern Singapore firmly and decisively: PM Lee

By Hariz Baharudin, Assistant News Editor, The Straits Times, 6 Nov 2022

Singaporeans cannot have it both ways, where many want the People’s Action Party (PAP) to continue governing the country but also to have more opposition MPs elected to keep the Government on its toes, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

After many years of the PAP in power, many Singaporeans want the party to continue governing the country as it has been doing a good job, and no one else can do it better, he noted.

So they vote for the opposition, fully expecting that the PAP will still be returned to power and can function as effectively, regardless of whether it receives strong or weak support at the polls, he said in a speech at the PAP’s biennial party conference on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, we cannot have it both ways. Whether voters give the new Government a strong or weak mandate makes a very big difference,” he told over 3,000 party members and activists.

“With a strong mandate, when the Government needs to act strongly and decisively – whether at home and abroad – everyone will know that it is acting with the people’s support. And everyone will know that Singaporeans are united, tackling problems as one and moving ahead together.”

PM Lee, who is the PAP’s secretary-general, said a strong mandate will give the government the confidence and backing to make tough calls and steer Singapore safely through ups and downs. He cited how the Government could impose tough measures such as the circuit breaker, mandatory mask-wearing, strict border controls and vaccination regimes as there was no doubt it had the people’s full confidence.

Had the PAP won the 2020 General Election narrowly with a 51 per cent vote share, instead of 61.2 per cent, it would have still formed the government and ruled Singapore to the best of its ability, said PM Lee.

But it would have lost many good MPs and ministers, and its leadership team would have been considerably weakened, he added.

“Singapore would have gone into battle with Covid-19 divided and disheartened. It would have been much harder for the Government to act decisively, or for Singaporeans to respond cohesively and resolutely,” he said.

“Our Covid-19 experience might well have been very different... And I can assure you our international position would have been considerably weakened too, both regionally and globally. A Singapore ruled by a government hanging on to power by its fingernails is bound to be pushed from pillar to post by other countries.”

PM Lee said the stakes are raised at each successive election. The more seats the opposition wins, the more the general election becomes a decision on which party will form Singapore’s next Government, he added. At the 2020 election, the Workers’ Party won 10 seats – two group representation constituencies in Aljunied and Sengkang, as well as the Hougang single seat. The PAP has delivered on its policies and promises through the decades, but this is not enough, PM Lee said, stressing that it needs to convert people’s approval of its performance into votes.

He sketched out three things it must do to “win the political battle”.

First, the party must put across its political message so that people know PAP leaders are “conviction politicians” who adopt policies and programmes because they are convinced these will benefit Singapore in the long term.

“But, more important than the details of policies, we have got to convince Singaporeans why the policies matter to them, and how they match people’s needs and aspirations,” he said.

Second, the PAP has to counter moves by the opposition and show voters where the opposition falls short, he said.

While it is the opposition’s job to scrutinise government policies and highlight mistakes, the PAP, too, has to point out instances when its opponents fail to measure up or they act against Singaporeans’ interests, he added.

“It is very easy for the opposition to support only the pleasant things the Government does, but to oppose the harder moves that are sometimes not avoidable,” he said, adding that a responsible opposition should be accountable for what it proposes and what it opposes.

Third, PAP MPs and branch activists must work the ground and show residents how the party makes a difference to them by improving the amenities in their towns, resolving conflicts and issues and advocating their concerns.

PM Lee said that party branches need to ramp up physical activities, which were paused during Covid-19, and make up for lost time by wearing their party whites and covering the ground comprehensively.

He also paid tribute to party members working in opposition wards in Aljunied, Hougang and Sengkang, and commended them for engaging residents, helping needy households and supporting bereaved families, even though they cannot hold Meet-the-People Sessions.

If Singapore’s politics go wrong, its governance will go wrong too, and so will the lives of all Singaporeans, he warned.

He cited how politics in other countries have turned contentious and volatile – governments get distracted and paralysed, and society becomes divided.

“The government has neither the ability nor the mandate to push through hard decisions or to see beyond immediate problems. What is politically expedient overrides what is in the longer-term good of the people and country. And then, we are all in deep trouble,” he said, noting this has happened in the United States and United Kingdom.

PM Lee noted that the US is having its midterm elections on Tuesday. “There is great foreboding on how the results will turn out, and how that will change their politics, possibly even making it worse”, he said.

Some think that Singapore politics will always work well as it has for 60 years, and that the natural order of things is for the country to keep on succeeding, with the Government always thinking and planning 30 or 50 years ahead, PM Lee said.

But what Singapore has today is not natural at all, and the sort of Government that it has is rare, he said.

Almost everywhere else, the Government hardly thinks beyond the next general election, and Singapore has only become like this through the blood, sweat and tears of many generations.

The PAP does not take its duty lightly, and things can easily go wrong here as well. PM Lee said that Singaporeans are not inherently better, smarter or more virtuous than people in other countries.

“Maybe we are more cohesive (but) there is no vaccine to protect us from the same dark forces of anger, fear, racism, xenophobia,” he said.

“Similar divisive emotions and tensions can build up here too, can well up here too, can explode here too. We can end up with the same messy politics and broken country that we see elsewhere.”

“To prevent this and to keep things working well for Singaporeans, the PAP must stay true to its founding mission. Not only to continue to deliver results, but to keep on convincing minds and appealing to hearts, and winning the political battles.”

On party renewal, PM Lee said the PAP has already identified some promising potential candidates for the next election, with more in the pipeline.

“I am confident that come the next general election, we will again be able to present a talented, diverse and representative team of candidates, both experienced and new, ready to work with voters and take Singapore forward.”

A History of the People's Action Party, 1985-2021: New book traces key developments of PAP in government

PAP at turning point again, party must continue working with Singaporeans to take country forward: PM Lee Hsien Loong

By Hariz Baharudin, The Straits Times, 14 Dec 2021

The People's Action Party is once again at a turning point as it navigates an ongoing leadership transition and a new generation of voters, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Drawing parallels between now and 1985 when the party was passing the baton to its second-generation leaders, PM Lee said there are many questions about the future, including how the PAP and its fourth-generation team will deal with new challenges, and whether they have what it takes to bring Singapore forward.

In a speech on Tuesday (Dec 14) at the launch of a book that chronicles the PAP's history since 1985 held at the National University of Singapore, he said the next 35 years will be quite different from the last.

"Most fundamentally, our task is not to foretell the future, but to create it. The PAP continues to carry a heavy responsibility for Singapore's security, stability and success," said PM Lee, who is PAP secretary-general.

"It must always work closely with Singaporeans to take the country forward."

The book, titled A History Of The People's Action Party: 1985-2021, recounts the party's activities and events during that period. It was written by Dr Shashi Jayakumar, a senior fellow and head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and published by NUS Press.

PM Lee noted that the PAP is now in the midst of a leadership transition from the 3G to the 4G team, just like in 1985 when its second generation of leaders was taking over from the pioneer generation.

At the time, only founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, Mr S. Rajaratnam and Mr E.W. Barker remained in the new Cabinet.

The PAP's vote share fell sharply by 12.9 percentage points to 64.8 per cent in the 1984 General Election, which also heralded a generational change in the electorate, said PM Lee. For the first time since independence, the PAP received less than 70 per cent of the overall votes.

At the post-election conference, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had said the older generation of voters who stuck with the PAP through Singapore's earlier years were beginning to fade away, and were replaced with a younger generation that was better educated and more demanding of their leaders.

"It seemed like the PAP was losing its political dominance," said PM Lee on Tuesday. "It was a moment for introspection, perhaps even concern. What did the future hold for the party, and for Singapore?"

Today, PM Lee is the only one of the 1984 batch of PAP MPs still in politics, and the pioneer generation of voters who began to leave the scene in 1985 are mostly gone.

About 60 per cent of today's voters were born after independence, he said. Growing up in a stable Singapore, they experienced steady progress and benefited from the nation's collective efforts to develop its economy as well as its identity.

"Their aspirations, hopes and expectations are different from the young voters in the 1984 General Election," he said.

PM Lee said that while the PAP won a strong mandate in last year's general election, the party's vote share fell by 8.6 percentage points to 61.2 per cent and it lost two group representation constituencies to the opposition for the first time.

He expressed hope that the new book will provide a sense of history and perspective to the PAP's journey over the past decades, and help its readers appreciate how Singapore has achieved what it has.

While Singaporeans who have lived through the past decades may not consider the country's stability, progress and success astonishing, PM Lee said all this was hardly predicted - much less foreordained.

"It did not happen by itself, nor has it happened in very many other countries. And yet it happened in Singapore," he added. "How did Singapore manage to achieve this? The PAP is an important part of the explanation."

This is why the party's history from 1985 to 2021 is a story well worth telling and understanding, he said.

"I hope this book will… most importantly, inspire the next generation - party activists, party leaders and Singaporeans alike - to be equally committed, resourceful and resolute in pursuing a brighter future for Singapore."

Raeesah Khan lying in Parliament: Workers' Party attempts at cover-up backfires spectacularly

Workers' Party leaders, Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap told Raeesah Khan to Stick to the LIE she had told Parliament: Committee of Privileges

Raeesah Khan insists Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh had told her to keep up her lie and 'Take it to the GRAVE'

By Lim Yan Liang, Assistant News Editor, The Straits Times, 3 Dec 2021

Three senior Workers' Party (WP) MPs had told their party colleague Raeesah Khan to stick to the lie she had told in Parliament on Aug 3, the Committee of Privileges heard this week.

Ms Khan and two other party members said she was told by WP chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, WP chairman Sylvia Lim and WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap at an Aug 8 meeting that there was no need for her to clarify herself or for the truth to be told.

Following that meeting, she texted her secretarial assistant and a WP volunteer: “I just met Pritam, Sylvia and Faisal... they’ve agreed that the best thing to do is to take the information to the grave.”

These were among a number of revelations contained in a special report that the committee presented to Parliament on Friday (Dec 3), and which was published on Parliament’s website, alongside footage of the committee’s hearings over the past two days.

Ms Khan and her former assistant Loh Pei Ying gave evidence to the committee on Thursday and Friday, while the volunteer, Mr Yudhishthra Nathan, did so on Friday. Ms Khan’s former legislative assistant Lim Hang Ling testified on Thursday.

Ms Khan, who resigned from the party and as an MP for Sengkang GRC on Tuesday, told the committee chaired by Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin that the WP leaders had told her to keep to the lie.

"My interpretation (of the meeting with WP leaders on Oct 3) was that that there would be no consequences for me to continue the narrative that I had begun in (Parliament) in August," she said in the recorded footage.

The committee said in its report: "If Ms Khan and the WP could get away with it, there was no need to clarify the lie. If the matter was brought up again, there would also be no need for her to clarify and there was no need for the truth to be told."

The report comes a day after Mr Singh told a press conference that the party leaders had decided to give Ms Khan time to deal with the matter, as she had also told them she had been a sexual assault victim herself, and had not told her family about it.

In her Aug 3 speech, Ms Khan said she had accompanied a 25-year-old rape victim to a police station to make a report, and that the officer who interviewed the victim had made inappropriate comments about the victim's dressing and the fact that she had been drinking. But Ms Khan never accompanied the victim to a police station.

She later admitted that the victim had shared the account in a support group for women, which Ms Khan herself was in, and said she did not have the victim's consent to share the story.

In her evidence to the committee, Ms Khan also disputed statements made by Mr Singh at his press conference on Thursday (Dec 2), where, among other things, he told reporters that he had directed Ms Khan to take responsibility and admit to her lie in Parliament, and that she had contradicted this order.

No one from WP advised her to tell the truth, Ms Khan told the committee. There was also no order for her to clarify the matter.

When the committee put to her on Thursday that Mr Singh said he had ordered her to clarify the matter in Parliament in October, Ms Khan replied: "I'm hearing this for the first time."

She said that on Oct 3, a day before the Oct 4 Parliament sitting, Mr Singh had visited her at her home and said that if she kept to her narrative on the untruths which she had said on Aug 3, there would be no judgment by him.

"Ms Khan understood... that Mr Pritam Singh was advising her to continue to lie, should the matter come up the next day during the parliamentary session.

"Mr Pritam Singh did not ask Ms Khan to clarify and state the truth in Parliament," said the committee.

"To the contrary, Ms Khan was advised that she can continue to lie."

On Oct 4, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam had asked Ms Khan to provide more details about the alleged incident, saying the police had since checked their records and found no cases that fit her description.

In reply, Ms Khan maintained that her account was true but repeatedly declined to reveal any further details – including the police station they went to – citing confidentiality. She added that she had not been successful in contacting the victim.

On the same day, Ms Khan met Mr Singh and Ms Lim at the Leader of the Opposition’s office in Parliament, where the three discussed the matter.

“Neither Mr Pritam Singh nor Ms Sylvia Lim asked Ms Khan why she had lied again earlier, in answering questions asked by the Minister for Home Affairs,” said the report. “Nor did they suggest that Ms Khan clarify the truth in Parliament.”

Ms Khan was also directed by Mr Singh and Ms Lim to ignore requests by the police for information, after the authorities sent her an e-mail on Oct 7 asking her to assist with investigations into the case she had raised.

The two WP leaders told Ms Khan that the police could not compel her to speak to them.

When asked whether she was concerned that she was ignoring a legitimate request from the police, Ms Khan told the committee that she was, but that she had been unsure about what to do.

"I was concerned, but I was not sure what to do. When I asked for advice, that was the advice that was given to me (by Mr Singh and Ms Lim)," said Ms Khan.

On Oct 12, Ms Khan attended a meeting called by Mr Singh. At the meeting, which Ms Lim also attended, the three discussed the matter and came to the view that the matter would not be dropped and was not going away. As such, Ms Khan should come clean and tell the truth.

“At this meeting, Ms Khan asked if disciplinary action will be taken against her and the answer given to her was no,” said the report.

Ms Khan then made a statement in Parliament on Nov 1, clarifying that she had lied on Aug 3 and on Oct 4.

In her evidence to the committee, Ms Khan said she was “shocked and surprised” to learn that the WP had formed a disciplinary panel the next day to look into her lies to Parliament.

She went before this disciplinary panel on Nov 8 and on Nov 29.

Ms Khan told the Committee of Privileges that she would have come clean to Parliament in October and assisted police in their inquiries and told them the truth if the WP leadership had told her to do so.

“She had done neither because they had told Ms Khan that there would be no judgment if she did not clarify the truth in Parliament,” said the report.

“She took that to mean that she should continue to lie.”

The committee also asked Ms Khan about Mr Singh’s statement at the WP press conference that she would be expelled from the party if she did not resign of her own accord.

Ms Khan said this was not said to her. The WP leaders had suggested she resign for her well-being and because she had lost the support of her fellow Sengkang GRC MPs, she added.

Aide, volunteer say Workers' Party leaders were not upfront about being told Raeesah Khan lied in Parliament

By Tham Yuen-C, Senior Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 4 Dec 2021

Unlike what the Workers' Party leaders have claimed, former Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan was not the sole actor in allowing her lie in Parliament to go uncorrected, two party members told a Parliament committee looking into the matter.

In fact, the leaders had asked her to "take the information to the grave", and by not being transparent about their own role, they have been highly unfair to the erstwhile MP, Ms Loh Pei Ying and Mr Yudhishthra Nathan added.

Ms Loh, who was Ms Khan's secretarial assistant, and Mr Yudhishthra, a WP member assisting Ms Khan, were testifying before Parliament's Committee of Privileges.

The committee on Friday (Dec 3) night released a special report on its investigation into Ms Khan's conduct, including video testimonies of Ms Khan, Ms Loh and Mr Nathan recorded over two days of hearings on Thursday and Friday.

Ms Loh has been a party member for 10 years and was WP chief Pritam Singh's secretarial assistant. Mr Nathan has been a volunteer since 2013, became a member in 2016 and had been in the council of the WP youth wing.

They corroborated Ms Khan's testimony to the committee that WP leaders had asked her not to confess about having lied. Both knew by Aug 7 that what Ms Khan said in Parliament on Aug 3 was not truthful after she confessed to them.

Ms Loh said she was assuaged that the party's leaders knew that Ms Khan had lied in Parliament. However, she soon realised they wanted Ms Khan to batten down and keep to her untruthful story, instead of coming clean to the House, she said.

When Ms Khan again repeated her lie in Parliament on Oct 4, Ms Loh said she was shocked and was scared for her. It turned out that Mr Singh had met Ms Khan a day earlier to talk about it, and indicated that he would leave it to her to decide if she wanted to tell the truth in Parliament. He also told Ms Khan that he would not judge her. This was related to Ms Loh and Mr Nathan by Mr Singh, during a meeting on Oct 12.

Asked about the matter by the committee, Ms Loh said she was disappointed with what Mr Singh had said to Ms Khan. Mr Nathan said he felt Mr Singh had been rather indecisive.

When the party set up a disciplinary panel to look into Ms Khan's conduct on Nov 2, both Ms Loh and Mr Nathan were shocked, given the role the leadership had played.

Ms Loh said she felt the panel composition - Mr Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap - was self-serving, as they were the very people who had advised Ms Khan on what to do and played a part in allowing the matter to drag on.

Mr Nathan felt any inquiry should have been done earlier, since the panel's members already knew of Ms Khan's lies since Aug 8.

He added the panel had contributed to an uninformed, biased and jaundiced view of the incident, because it had invited WP members and volunteers to give their views on the incident without revealing that Ms Khan had acted with the guidance of the senior WP leaders now making up the panel.

Eventually, Ms Loh and Mr Nathan met the panel on Nov 25, and told the three WP leaders they should give the public a full account of what had happened. They said not disclosing the full events would be highly unfair to Ms Khan.

Ms Loh told the Parliament Committee what Mr Singh had said on Thursday was not completely true.

"Ms Khan's mistake and the extent of her mistake is lying in Parliament on three occasions. But beyond that she is not a sole actor in how things transpired, and when she could, when she felt the need to come clean, she had informed leadership of the matter," she said.

"In case anyone thinks I am coming in with an agenda, I just want to clarify that I've been a member of WP for 10 years and I've given the cause a reasonable amount of my personal time and my youth."

Tearing up, she added: "I'm very aware of the ramifications of what I've shared... it pains me greatly. But to me, beyond anything else, it's important to be truthful to my country. I'm genuinely very afraid of what will happen after."

Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan admits to lying in Parliament about allegation that police mishandled rape case; Sengkang MP Raeesah resigns on 30 Nov 2021

WP MP Raeesah Khan referred to committee after admitting she lied to Parliament about sexual assault case

Raeesah Khan should not have shared account with untruths in Parliament: Pritam Singh

By Rei Kurohi, The Straits Times, 2 Nov 2021

Workers' Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan will have to appear before the Committee of Privileges, after she admitted to lying in Parliament about details of a sexual assault case that she alleged was mishandled by the police.

On Monday (Nov 1), she apologised in Parliament to the Singapore Police Force and retracted an anecdote she had shared of the alleged incident.

In explaining why she had made up details of that case, Ms Raeesah, 27, said she lacked the courage to admit that she was part of a support group for women, where the story was shared, as she herself had been a victim of sexual assault at the age of 18.

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said Ms Raeesah (Sengkang GRC) had lied to Parliament on three occasions, after clarifying details of the matter with the WP MP when she finished her statement.

She raised an official complaint against Ms Raeesah for breaching her parliamentary privilege, and asked for the matter to be referred to the Committee of Privileges, which looks into any complaint alleging breaches of parliamentary privilege. Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin agreed to do so.

Ms Raeesah had told the House during a debate on empowering women on Aug 3 that she had accompanied a 25-year-old rape victim to a police station to make a police report three years ago, and the police officer who interviewed the victim had allegedly made inappropriate comments about her dressing and the fact that she was drinking.

On Monday (Nov 1), she admitted that she had not accompanied the victim to the police station. Instead, she said the victim had shared the account in a support group for women, which Ms Raeesah herself was a part of, and that she did not have the victim's consent to share the story in Parliament.

"I did not share that I was a part of the group, as I did not have the courage to publicly admit that I was part of it. I attended the support group because I myself am a survivor of sexual assault," she said.

Ms Raeesah said she was sexually assaulted as an 18-year-old while studying abroad. The experience continues to traumatise her to this day, she added.

"Unlike the survivor whose anecdote I shared in this House, I did not have the courage to report my own assault. Yet, as a survivor, I wanted so deeply to speak up and also share the account I had heard when speaking on the motion, without revealing my own private experience.

"I should not have shared the survivor's anecdote without her consent, nor should I have said that I accompanied her to the police station when I had not. It was wrong of me to do so."

Ms Raeesah also apologised to the survivor whose story she had shared, Parliament, her Sengkang constituents and residents, the WP, and her family.

Ms Indranee noted that Ms Raeesah had confirmed that did not have any details of the police case and was thus unable to substantiate her allegation when she made her statement in August.

Her actions had resulted in “a cloud hanging over the police” and caused them to devote time and resources to investigate the alleged incident. It also does a “great disservice” to the survivors of sexual assault and rape victims, Ms Indranee added.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said Ms Raeesah should not have shared in the House an account that contained untruths.

The WP secretary-general noted that the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act gives an MP significant freedom of speech, to the extent that what is said in Parliament cannot be impeached or questioned outside Parliament.

“However, this freedom of speech does not extend to communicating untruthful accounts, even if an MP’s motives are not malicious,” Mr Singh said. “(Ms Raeesah) shared with me that she wanted to set the record straight in Parliament. This was the correct thing to do.”

Ms Indranee said she was raising the complaint to the Committee of Privileges with great reluctance as she had sympathy for Ms Raeesah’s personal circumstances.

“But as Leader of the House, I also have a responsibility and that is to ensure that in this Chamber, all MPs discharge their duties faithfully, accountably and responsibly. Any breaches of privilege have to be dealt with,” she said.

The eight-member Committee of Privileges is chaired by the Speaker of Parliament. Its other members are Ms Indranee, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, Mr Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang GRC) and WP MP Dennis Tan (Hougang).

Ms Indranee said she and Mr Shanmugam would recuse themselves as she had made the complaint, while his ministry was involved.

Under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, Parliament can take action against MPs found to have breached their parliamentary privileges. The punishments include a jail term not extending beyond the current session of Parliament; a fine of up to $50,000; suspension; a reprimand from the Speaker; or any combination of the above.

MPs can also have their privileges and immunities suspended, which means they can be liable to civil proceedings for anything they said in Parliament.