The Raeesah Khan affair has been blowing hot and cold for the last week, with many people groping in the dark trying to hunt down THE truth. My friend was so exasperated with the twists and turns that he told his colleague: Go read Pravda (Truth in Russian).
Raeesah lied, there is no doubt about that. Then she told the Committee of Privileges a few damaging things about the Workers’ Party leadership. I watched the video of her appearance before the committee, and she appeared cool, collected, and composed, answering questions the way an experienced politician would. She was emotionless and judicious with her words. For a 27-year-old, it was a masterly act, I must say.
There is no doubt this is the biggest crisis for the Workers’ Party under Pritam Singh. Singh and his MPs are very millennial in the way they speak and act. The dead giveaway came when the Leader of Opposition used the phrase “give her space”, referring to Raeesah’s disclosure that she is a survivor of sexual assault when she was studying overseas.
His colleagues also display their millennial credentials on their sleeves. In fact, that was one reason why the party defeated the PAP in Sengkang GRC, which has many young residents. The voters must have seen a reflection of their aspirations and lifestyle in those of the WP politicians.
But in the Raeesah case, the WP leadership went overboard in wanting to stick to their millennial credentials. They gave her too much space and time to come clean with Parliament and the public. It must have been in line with millennial thinking. Don’t be judgemental is their mantra. And telling her that she should get her act together and come clean at an appropriate time must have been in line with the thinking of the party’s younger members.
Look at the words of old-timers like Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim used when they responded to disgraced former MP Yaw Shin Leong. They said they categorically deny that they told Yaw, who came out of the woodwork to say he was told to keep the dirty secret of his extramarital affairs under wraps when Low was the secretary-general. It is not the kind of language Singh and his MPs would have used.
The millennial brand is an image that has strong legs. If nothing else, it moves away from the PAP- Lite slogan the many have stuck on the party. Also, politics here is shifting, with many younger voters wanting a more humane approach to politics that will talk to them and not down to them. If you have noticed the PM’s speeches of late, they seem to urge his people to move towards a softer approach.
But the ruling party has always been a broad church, trying to satisfy as many people as possible. WP is under a new leadership and being in the opposition it can afford to strike out with a new brand image. How far it will push and what it will mean for its electoral success in future elections is anybody’s guess.
Now to the matter of the release of the testimony of Raeesah and her two legislative assistants before the committee had concluded its investigation. The committee explained it away by saying that it was to keep Parliament informed and said it did not contravene any laws. But what did not go down well with some people is the point that there was no need to release the transcripts to the media. And at such a late hour of 11:30 pm at that.
As one observer asked that if the intention was to inform Parliament, then why the need to tell the media? What was even more troubling was that the committee’s decision had failed the fairness test, as Singh was not given the chance to respond to the accusation that he had told Raeesah to stick to the lie until she was pressed.
It is turning out to be a messy affair. Singh has a lot to unpick, and the committee has a lot of explaining to do.
This article first appeared at The New Singapore
PN Balji is a veteran Singaporean journalist who was formerly chief editor of Today and The New Paper. He is the author of the book Reluctant Editor and is currently a media consultant. /TISG