Did Workers’ Party leaders mishandle the Raeesah Khan affair? I think they did big time by not acting quickly – not necessarily because of self-serving reasons but possibly more out of compassion for a fellow MP. Now, they have their work cut in regaining public trust ironically damaged by the very person they seemed to have wanted to protect.
The whole sad saga, as we all know, started because of a lie not mischievously but stupidly made in Parliament to push a speech about empowering women. In her eagerness, Raeesah Khan concocted a story in Parliament on Aug 3 about accompanying a sexual assault victim to a police station where she said she witnessed inappropriate conduct displayed by police officers.
Nothing of the sort took place. When Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam asked her on Oct 4 to provide more details, she declined citing the need for confidentiality. She finally admitted on Nov 1 that she lied. She said she was part of a support group because she herself was a victim of sexual assault when she was abroad and she inferred that she learnt about the case from the group. (It has now been made clear from what was said in the Parliament Committee of Privileges investigations that the support group was local).
Out of practically an immature conduct unbecoming of a Member of Parliament, we are seeing a set of consequences that we should not have to be dealing with in the middle of an existential pandemic crisis.
We do not know what the COP or Parliament itself may come up with or recommend. More waste of time and resources, probably.
Suddenly, Sengkang GRC residents get short-changed. A part of Aljunied GRC loses a portion of the time and attention of Faisal Manap who has to take care of minority residents in Sengkang although the WP has reiterated that it treats all residents the same regardless of race.
Raeesah Khan’s action may also have caused abused women or those at risk to be more wary of coming forward to report or testify. Here, we hope our police or social workers will not let this Khan incident make their work harder.
Personally, because she seemed to represent a new generation of “woke” activists more willing to take up and press the causes of the underprivileged and minorities (which includes women), Khan’s absence following her resignation leaves a vacuum. More important, let not Khan’s demise deter others from coming forward to highlight her areas of concern – on either side of the political divide in Parliament.
But the most dramatic consequence of all is: who to believe now – the WP leaders or Raeesah Khan? The problem has been solved. The liar has admitted and resigned. And yet we are left with a Rashomon scenario.
In her testimony to the COP, Khan said that she called Pritam Singh on Aug 7 to come clean on the matter after he pushed her to substantiate the anecdote she recounted in Parliament. She said that she met Singh, Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap the next day to discuss the matter, TODAY reported. The three party leaders reacted with incredible disappointment, a lot of anger but also compassion, she told the committee: “The reaction was that if I were not to be pressed, then the best thing to do would be to retain the narrative that I began in August.” COP member, Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, asked Khan if this meant that “if you can get away with it, we don’t have to clarify the lie”. She said yes.
This party stance was allegedly maintained all the way till the confession day on Nov 1.
Singh gave a different version on Dec 2.
The WP leadership knew that Khan had lied about a sexual assault case a week after her original speech in August, he said. Khan also repeated the untruth in Parliament in October, despite being asked to clarify the matter, he added.
Much mainstream online chatter and not a small part of alternative social media have shown their fangs and accused the WP leaders of throwing Khan under the bus to save their own skin.
Now, why would they need to do that? They did not start the mess. Khan made her own mistake and has gone down with it – herself. Sadly.
Tan Bah Bah, consulting editor of TheIndependent.Sg, is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a local magazine publishing company.