When the political drama starring Pritam Singh and Raeesah Khan exploded in 2021, it was greatly overshadowed by a global pandemic. Nobody was in the mood for lying politicians pointing fingers at each other when there were more pressing things on our minds, such as when can we go makan and travel without restrictions?
Since then, the many revelations at the Committee of Privileges (COP) hearings have been largely forgotten. Former Workers Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan became immortalised as the girl who lied in parliament while Pritam Singh, smug as hell, continued roleplaying as Leader of the Opposition (LO). All was well in the world until news broke that Singh had been charged with lying to a parliamentary committee! As expected, keyboard warriors have gone nuclear, denouncing the PAP for killing democracy. A short media statement by Singh, who pleaded not guilty, implied as such.
But looking back on the chain of events, one cannot help but feel that there is a level of culpability on Pritam Singh’s part. In fact, he might even be considered the driving force behind this entire catastrophe.
August 2021: A lie is born
Everyone tells fibs from time to time. However, Raeesah Khan took it to the next level when she spun a tale vilifying the police in parliament. In the days that followed, maybe her conscience got the better of her. Because it was at this point that Khan confessed her lies to senior WP leaders. As tantalising as it is, her anecdote about the police questioning the clothing choice of a sexual assault victim was false.
At this point, the saga would have ended if Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap had told Khan to come clean. But for whatever reason, they chose not to. Instead, Khan was encouraged to ‘retain the narrative’ and ‘take the information to the grave’. Reviewing how the situation played out makes us want to scream. What would have possessed three veteran politicians to make such a stupid decision?
Somehow, what’s happening feels like a scene right out of some B-grade movie? You know, the one where a bunch of teenagers chanced upon a dead body in the woods. Instead of calling the police, they buried the body to not get into trouble for underage drinking. As a result, find themselves entangled in a crime scene that they were not a part of in the first place.
October 2021: The intrigue deepens
Two months probably felt like an eternity to the four individuals involved in one of the biggest deceptions in Singapore’s political history. As much as they would like the issue to go away, what did they expect when statements were made tarnishing the good name of the police force? With all key players operating in a state of suspended animation, this is when it all went tragically downhill for the WP.
A day before parliament was due to meet (Oct 3), Pritam Singh visited Raeesah Khan at her house. Could this be the turning point where he tells her, in no uncertain terms, that she must speak the truth? Sadly, no, which is another missed chance for the WP to end this crisis once and for all. Hereon, the subsequent actions of Singh appeared to be driven by Machiavellian forces. Not only did he give Raeesah Khan zero instructions on what to do, but considering the circumstances, he also threw in one of the most ambiguous statements of all time. “I will not judge you,” he told Khan.
The next day, Raeesah Khan took the bait as Singh knew she would. Cowed into submission by the charismatic leader, Khan spoke in parliament and doubled down on her lie. That was it. The nail in the coffin of Khan’s short and blighted political career. As for Singh, it was clear that he intended to keep things under wrap for as long as possible. But with police interest in Khan’s claims closing in, the LO had nowhere to hide. Short of ordering a hit job on Raeesah Khan, Singh finally directed her to speak the truth.
November 2021: A show trial within the WP
After three months, the truth was finally made public in parliament. At this point, nobody was none the wiser that anyone else within the WP knew about the lies. Raeesah Khan took the heat, with everything she said called into question. Were her claims about her own sexual assault real? Could it be another excuse to deflect her behaviour?
Not knowing the depth of Pritam Singh’s involvement in this shambolic affair, WP supporters were up in arms calling for forgiveness. Raeesah is young. Give her a chance, blah, blah, blah. At this point, Khan probably assumed that WP leaders would have her back. After all, she had dutifully followed their advice every step of the way.
But with things snowballing into a scandal that might bring down the WP, Singh was already one step ahead to orchestrate Khan’s exit. Along with Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap, the original trio convened a Disciplinary Panel, which was nothing more than a show trial when you consider how they knew about the lies months ago. To keep up with the façade of honesty and integrity, Raeesah Khan had to go. Forced into resignation at the end of November, that was perhaps the last shred of dignity the WP offered Khan.
December 2021: Bombshell revelations
Even with the sacking of Raeesah Khan, plenty of questions remain. How much did the WP leaders know? Did they conspire to bury the lie? We know they did, but back in 2021, these questions were all up in the air. Subsequently, a Committee of Privileges (COP) was set up to clarify the matter. This was also the moment things went from bad to worse for Pritam Singh.
With nothing left to lose, Khan diverged in astounding details on how the WP leaders have coaxed her to stay with the narrative, which is an elegant way of saying, “Lie woman, lie!”. Between August and October, Pritam Singh admitted as much that he did nothing to encourage Raeesah Khan to come clean to her parents or in parliament. Two WP activists who testified have supported this sequence of events.
It is said that an angry dog bites out of frustration, and Singh is now that rabies-infected dog snarling away at everyone. Pushed into a corner, everyone is a liar as far as he is concerned. Activists Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan are lying out of loyalty to Khan. As for Raeesah herself, that’s another liar with mental health issues. Beginning with the personal attacks, one can see the desperation of a deranged leader who will stop at nothing to hang on to power. In fact, Pritam Singh ought to know better than to dismiss a woman as crazy and untrustworthy. It is practically a kind of hate speech in some quarters these days.
Throughout the COP hearings, one of the most jarring things to emerge was how cocky Pritam Singh was. WP supporters might call it assertiveness, but his speech, his demeanour, and the way he degraded Raeesah Khan as if she were disposable is simply ghastly. In fact, it is not even the lies that Singh has been charged with that matter so much. Instead, it is his ruthlessness, cruelty and complete lack of empathy that makes Singh unworthy to be any sort of leader.
Of course, this entire incident also puts into question just how many other lies the WP have tried to cover up (and get away with) over the years. Our guess is that there is probably a ton of skeletons tucked away in Pritam Singh’s closet.