Pritam lied under oath and guided Ms Raeesah to continue with her untruths, alleged Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin.
“Attempts to politicise the matter even before it has been debated are regrettable,” said Speaker of Parliament in a statement released on Friday evening (11 Feb).
The Speaker was responding to the official statement by the Workers’ Party (WP) released earlier this morning. The WP statement, in noting the Committee of Privileges (COP) final report, said the government has filed a motion to debate this report in Parliament next week.
In its report, the COP called for a fine of $35,000 for Ms Raeesah Khan for lying in Parliament and referred the Leader of the Opposition Mr Pritam Singh and fellow Aljunied GRC MP Mr Faisal Manap to the Public Prosecutor for possible criminal charges.
The WP said that it sees “these developments with grave concern,” but that they “will persevere and continue (their) mission of contributing to the building of our democratic society.”
“The last time criminal charges were brought against an elected Opposition MP relating to their political work was in the 1980s. Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap will be expressing their views on the COP report in Parliament (which, like the COP, is dominated by MPs from the ruling People’s Action Party). Mr Singh and Mr Faisal will also co-operate with the Public Prosecutor and defend themselves in court in the event that charges are brought.
“While the two elected Aljunied GRC MPs, Mr Singh and Mr Faisal Manap, address these matters, the Party will continue to work for Singapore and Singaporeans. All our elected MPs will continue to serve our constituents to the very best of our ability while the Party’s work in other constituencies continues.
“Since its founding in 1957, The Workers’ Party has been through many trials and tribulations. We thank all Singaporeans who have supported us through the decades. We are confident that we will persevere and continue our mission of contributing to the building of our democratic society.”
Mr Pritam Singh lied under oath alleges Speaker
In his statement, Mr Tan said that based on evidence presented to the COP, it “was satisfied that Mr Singh had lied under oath… And that he had guided Ms Raeesah Khan to continue with her untruths.”
“Mr Faisal had directly and repeatedly refused to answer the COP’s questions, despite being warned that this might amount to an offence and constitute contempt of Parliament.”
Pritam lied but the book was not thrown at him
The Speaker said that Parliament has the power to impose sanctions on both Mr Singh and Mr Faisal based on the COP’s findings, but instead of doing that, the Committee has recommended that Parliament consider referring the matter to the public prosecutor. He added that if there are to be any charges against the duo, the courts will decide..
“In that way, the public prosecutor will have to consider the matter again; and if charges are brought, Mr Singh and Mr Faisal will have the full opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law. This process will give Mr Singh and Mr Faisal the best chance to vindicate themselves, if they are indeed innocent…This is how democracy should work.
“It will be a perversion of democracy, for an MP to lie, on oath, and then say that such lies should not be dealt with, or that he is above the law because of who he is. And regardless of what the COP has found, the courts will have the final say.”
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