{"id":9399,"date":"2025-11-06T17:58:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T09:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=9399"},"modified":"2025-11-06T17:58:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T09:58:33","slug":"court-of-public-opinion-can-be-a-bigger-court-than-any-court-in-the-world-pritam-singh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=9399","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Court of public opinion can be a bigger court than any court in the world\u2019: Pritam Singh"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 Workers\u2019 Party chief Pritam Singh has said he believes the court of public opinion can be bigger than any court in the world, and that the WP\u2019s respectable performance at the May general election showed what the public thought of his role in the Raeesah Khan case.<\/p>\n

Asked about being called a liar due to his handling of Ms Khan\u2019s false anecdote in Parliament in 2021, Mr Singh said this was not something he had lost much sleep over because he was \u201cin the business of politics\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Singh, who is Leader of the Opposition, fielded this and other questions in an episode of CNA\u2019s The Assembly programme that aired on Nov 5. <\/p>\n

The programme, which features a panel of neurodivergent individuals interviewing different guests in each episode, was recorded prior to <\/p>\n

Mr Singh\u2019s appeal on Nov 4<\/p>\n

<\/a> against his February conviction of\u00a0lying under oath\u00a0to a parliamentary committee. The verdict for the appeal has not been delivered.<\/p>\n

On this issue, he said: \u201cMy political opponents will do whatever it takes to lower my esteem and the esteem of my party in the public eye. But ultimately, you answer to your conscience first, and if your conscience is clear, then people can throw whatever they want at you, and you will still be standing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was something my conscience was not in agreement with, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be sitting here today, and I don\u2019t think we would have done how we did in the last elections. We did pretty respectably,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, the court of public opinion can be a bigger court than any court in the world,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd I think people have eyes, people can see what is happening, and you are thankful for the support that you get, no matter what people try and throw at you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Singh<\/p>\n

was fined $14,000 for the two charges of knowingly lying to Parliament\u2019s Committee of Privileges,<\/p>\n

<\/a> which was under the threshold that would have barred him from running in the 2025 General Election. <\/p>\n

At the election, <\/p>\n

he successfully defended his parliamentary seat in Aljunied GRC,<\/p>\n

<\/a> leading the five-member team to victory with 59.71 per cent of the vote. The WP also consolidated its hold over Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC and gained two Non-Constituency MP seats.<\/p>\n

Replying to another question about the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) case, Mr Singh said that ultimately, the public \u201cis a very, very good mirror in terms of what the truth really is\u201d.<\/p>\n

The AHTC case was a pair of civil suits brought by two town councils against the leaders of the WP. The 13-year saga came to a close in July after the parties reached a settlement after mediation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the public turns around and they continue to vote you, and they continue to show support for you, then you should really reflect on that and appreciate that strong wind you have behind you,\u201d Mr Singh said.<\/p>\n

The WP chief was also asked whether he felt betrayed by <\/p>\n

the affair between former party members\u00a0Leon Perera and Nicole Seah,<\/p>\n

<\/a> given that they had initially lied to him and denied it around late 2020 and early 2021.<\/p>\n

In July 2023, a video of them sharing an intimate moment at a restaurant emerged, and both Mr Perera, who was then an MP for Aljunied, and Ms Seah, then the president of the party\u2019s youth wing, came clean. Both resigned from the WP, with Mr Perera also resigning his parliamentary seat.<\/p>\n

Said Mr Singh: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I felt betrayed, because some of the things that had happened with them \u2013 it\u2019s quite a private matter… But you know, in politics, there are very few private matters. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverything tends to come in the open, and some things that come in the open are not so simple to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n

One participant said both controversies involved integrity as a central issue, and asked Mr Singh how well he really knew what was going on in the WP.<\/p>\n

Mr Singh said that every organisation will have people who come from different walks of life, and similar things have happened in other political parties.<\/p>\n

There is no manual that can be pulled out with answers, and one has to deal with the situation as best as possible when it comes up, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings happen, learn from it, do your best, move on,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the best thing I can do, and that\u2019s the best thing that I advise people to do when the going gets a bit tough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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