‘Only a few people who know what you’re going through’: After WP affirms his leadership, Sylvia Lim celebrates with Pritam Singh

SINGAPORE: After Workers’ Party (WP) cadres voted Pritam Singh in for the fifth time as Secretary-General in a secret ballot on Sunday (Jun 28), party chair Sylvia Lim posted a photo on social media with Mr Singh, where the two leaders celebrated with a drink with their better halves.

“Sometimes, there are only a few people who know what you’re going through. #ForBetterForWorse,” wrote Ms Lim in her caption.

They held up their classes as if in a toast together with Ms Lim’s husband, former national football star Quah Kim Song, and Mr Singh’s wife, the theatre practitioner Loveleen Kaur Walia, which explains Ms Kim’s hashtag.

Indeed, the WP leaders, particularly Mr Singh, have been going through extraordinarily difficult times, culminating with yesterday’s special cadres conference, which was held at the requisition of 25 cadre members. 

WP members were to vote on whether Mr Singh should remain as secretary-general if he declined to step down voluntarily. 

The special cadres conference came after the WP chief was found guilty of two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee on Feb 17, 2025. And while Mr Singh appealed the verdict, the appeal was dismissed by the High Court on Dec 4. 

After the meeting took place, the WP announced that cadre members had voted to retain Mr Singh as Secretary-General, and a new Central Executive Committee was subsequently elected. Ms Lim was also returned as chairperson of the party’s top decision-making body.

The election of the new CEC resolved “key leadership questions and establish(ed) a clear, democratic mandate for the ensuing term,” the party wrote, adding that it stands “united behind its leadership and remains fully focused on its work for all Singaporeans, in Parliament and on the ground. We continue the work of building a more balanced political system for Singapore.”

As for Ms Lim’s post, commenters, including the eminent diplomat and academic Tommy Koh, came in droves to wish her, Mr Singh, and the WP well.

On a more down-to-earth note, others wrote along the lines of “get that man a beer,” in reference to Mr Singh, whose longstanding troubles over the Raeesah Khan scandal in 2021 caused him to lose his position as Leader of the Opposition earlier this year.

Some expressed delight with Ms Lim’s photo, especially since Mr Quah is a legend in Singapore football and still has many admirers.

“Singaporeans believed in PS, and what is better than another great guy sharing the same table? The man who had stood by Sylvia Lim in her political career. I am making a photo frame of this foursome and hanging it in my home,” one wrote. /TISG

Read related: Ex Workers’ Party Chief Low Thia Khiang to support Pritam Singh at special cadres conference