Pritam Singh
 | |
| Pritam Singh பிரித்தாம் சிங் | |
|---|---|
| Party Affiliation | WP 
|
| Current Role | • Leader of the Opposition • MP for Aljunied GRC • Secretary-General of WP • AHTC Chairman |
| Past Roles | • Assistant Secretary-General of WP |
| Others | |
| Background | |
| Education | • NUS (SAF's Local Study Award) • Jurong Junior College • St. Thomas Secondary School • Woodsville Primary School • Belvedere Primary School |
| Personal Details | |
| Age | 48 |
| Others | |
Pritam Singh (Tamil: பிரித்தாம் சிங்; born 2 August 1976) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer serving as leader of the Workers' Party and Leader of the Opposition since 2018.
Prior to the appointment, he was previously the Assistant Secretary-General of the party since 2016.
A member of the opposition and the chairman of Aljunied-Hougang town council, he has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency for Eunos since 2011.
He is also the second Opposition Leader of Indian descent, following the late J B Jeyaratnam.
For the full list of positions, refer to https://www.parliament.gov.sg/mps/list-of-current-mps/mp/details/pritam-singh
Career
Pritam Singh served in the SAF until 2002, achieving the rank of Major. In 2007, he founded Opinion Asia, an online commentary syndicate with a focus on Asian issues.
At the 2011 general election, Singh was part of the five-member Worker's Party team which contested the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC).
The team included the party's Secretary-General, Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim (the party's Chairperson), Chen Show Mao and Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap. They faced the team from the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP), which was led by then Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo.
The Workers' Party's team defeated the PAP team by 72,289 votes (54.7%) to 59,829 (45.2%), marking the first occasion in Singapore's history in which an opposition party had won an election in a GRC.
Since the election, Singh has represented the Eunos ward within the constituency in Parliament.
Within the Workers' Party, Singh was the Assistant Secretary General on the party's Executive Council before he became the Secretary-General.
Singh is also an associate of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice at the Singapore law firm Donaldson & Burkinshaw.
Singh was tipped to be the next chief of the Workers’ Party, succeeding Low Thia Khiang. Subsequently, Singh was officially confirmed as Secretary-General of The Workers' Party on 8 Apr 2018 after Low Thia Khiang stepped down as party chief.
Education and Personal life
Singh was educated at Woodsville Primary School, Belvedere Primary School, St Thomas Secondary School and Jurong Junior College, before going on to the National University of Singapore under the SAF's Local Study Award, where he completed a BA (Hons) degree in 2000.
He won the Straits Steamship Prize for the top undergraduate student reading history and political science in 1999. . He later received a Chevening Scholarship to study at King's College London in the United Kingdom, where he completed a Master of Arts degree in war studies in 2004.
He also earned a Diploma in Islamic Studies from the International Islamic University Malaysia in 2005. In 2011, Singh completed a Juris Doctor degree at the Singapore Management University.
Singh married the Kri Art and Theatre company practitioner Kaur Walia in 24 June 2012 and they later have a daughter Maahi Kaur in 2015. They later had another daughter in August 2018.
Controvesies
Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) Lawsuit
In 2017, the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council initiated legal action against several WP members, including Singh, over alleged improper payments made to their managing agent. The lawsuit claimed that these payments were made without proper oversight, leading to a risk of overpayment.
In July 2023, Singapore's Supreme Court found that while WP members Sylvia Lim and Low Thia Khiang were liable for control failures related to payment processes, Singh was not held liable in this case.[1]
In a joint statement on 25 July 2024, the town councillors announced that the parties involved had agreed to settle the lawsuits on a drop hands basis. This means that AHTC and SKTC will drop their claims for damages and costs against the town councillors, who, in turn, will drop their claims for costs against the town councils.[2]
Perjury charges
Pritam Singh’s trial is scheduled to deliver its verdict on 17 February 2025.[3] The trial revolves around two charges under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act for allegedly providing false statements to the Committee of Privileges (COP) in December 2021.[4]
The charges relate to an incident involving former Workers’ Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan, who admitted to lying in Parliament on 3 August 2021 about accompanying a rape victim to a police station where the victim was allegedly mistreated.
Singh’s first charge alleges that during an 8 August 2021 meeting involving WP leaders and Raeesah Khan, he gave false testimony when he claimed that he had instructed Khan to clarify her untruth in Parliament.
His second charge pertains to his statements during the COP proceedings, where he allegedly misrepresented events regarding an instruction given on 3 October 2021 for Khan to rectify the lie in Parliament.
The trial opened on 14 October 2024 and spanned 13 days, concluding on 8 November 2024. After closing cross-examination, Singh’s lawyer, Andre Jumabhoy, confirmed that the defence would not call witnesses.
Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan ordered closing submissions to be uploaded by 13 January 2025 and reply submissions by 31 January 2025. Oral arguments may take place before the court’s decision on 17 February 2025.
If convicted, Singh faces up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to S$7,000 per charge, or both. The prosecution has stated that it will seek fines, though the quantum remains unspecified. Under Singapore’s Constitution, an MP fined at least S$10,000 or jailed for at least a year would be disqualified from Parliament and barred from contesting elections for five years.
Social Media Pages
References
- ↑ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2023/07/07/court-of-appeal-holds-workers-party-leaders-sylvia-lim-and-low-thia-khiang-liable-for-negligence-pritam-singh-cleared/
- ↑ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2024/07/25/workers-party-town-councillors-settle-long-running-lawsuits-with-ahtc-and-sktc/
- ↑ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2024/11/08/pritam-singhs-perjury-trial-concludes-verdict-expected-on-17-february-2025/
- ↑ https://gutzy.asia/2024/03/19/pritam-singhto-contest-charges-on-alleged-perjury-in-2021-privileges-hearing/