Singapore — There has been an outpouring of support, and thanks, for Raeesah Khan since the news broke late on Tuesday evening that she had quit the Workers’ Party and resigned her seat in Parliament (Sengkang GRC).
Exactly one month ago, on Nov 1, Ms Khan admitted that she lied when she told the House on Aug 3 that she had accompanied a victim of sexual assault to the police station, and accused the police of making inappropriate remarks. It happened during a debate on empowering women.
She apologised to the Police, the rape survivor, Members of Parliament, the Workers’ Party, her constituents, and her family.
She said in her apology that she herself had been a victim of sexual abuse at 18 when she was studying overseas, and that she had heard the victim’s story in a support group for sexual abuse survivors.
Afterwards, the Leader of the House, Ms Indranee Rajah, said she was referring the matter to Parliament’s Committee of Privileges.
While she expressed sympathy for Ms Khan, Ms Indranee added that she had “no choice” but to raise a complaint about the breach of privilege based on Ms Khan’s disclosure that she had thrice lied in Parliament, and also her inability to substantiate an allegation she made.
The following day, Nov 2, the Workers Party announced that a disciplinary panel had been formed “to look into the admissions made by MP Raeesah Khan in Parliament arising from an earlier speech that she had made in Parliament on Aug 3 this year.
The panel comprising party chief Pritam Singh, chairperson Sylvia Lim and vice-chair Faisal Manap, was to report its findings to the WP’s Central Executive Committee.
The party issued a statement on Nov 30 announcing Ms Khan’s resignation, saying that she had expressed her intention to resign from the Party at 4:30 pm that day.
The WP added that it will hold a press conference on Thursday (Dec 2) “to provide more information on this matter and to share its plans to ensure that Sengkang residents, particularly in the Compassvale ward, continue to be cared for and represented.”
On her Facebook page, Ms Khan posted a copy of her letter to Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin announcing her resignation as MP.
In it, she thanked Sengkang residents, especially volunteers at Compassvale for their “dedicated support”.
Many netizens have commented on her post, thanking and even commending her for admitting her mistakes and taking responsibility for her actions.
Several encouraged Ms Khan to continue to serve Singaporeans.
/TISG
Read also: Raeesah Khan made a mistake but she’s human. Aren’t we all?