WP chief Pritam Singh issued letter of reprimand following conclusion of disciplinary probe

Ng Wei Kai and Tham Yuen-C
The Straits Times
April 30, 2026

The Workers’ Party (WP) has issued a formal letter of reprimand to its chief Pritam Singh, wrapping up a disciplinary process that was sparked by his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee.

In a statement on April 30, the WP said a disciplinary panel convened in January had found that Mr Singh contravened two articles of the party’s Constitution.

The party’s top decision-making body, its central executive committee (CEC), has accepted its findings after meeting on April 28 and 29 to consider the panel’s report.

The WP said that the CEC separately considered that “at all material times, Mr Singh did not have any intention to act in a manner contrary to the principles, aims, or objects of the party, or prejudicial to the welfare of the party”.

It added that his actions ultimately reflected judgment calls that he had to make.

“In considering the range of potential actions to be taken against Mr Singh, the CEC assessed the totality of the circumstances and has issued a formal letter of reprimand to him,” the party said in its statement.

WP chair Sylvia Lim, its vice-chair Faisal Manap and Mr Singh recused themselves from these CEC meetings, it said.

In a separate response to queries from The Straits Times, the WP said there are “currently no restrictions on Mr Singh that prevent him from seeking office” at the next party election. This is scheduled for later in 2026.

It did not specify when the election will be held, but said that “as part of the agenda... cadre members in good standing may elect or put themselves up to be elected as members of the CEC, including the roles of chair and secretary-general”.

The disciplinary panel was set up by the CEC after the High Court upheld Mr Singh’s conviction in December 2025 on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee.

It comprised two of WP’s Sengkang GRC MPs, Ms He Ting Ru and Mr Jamus Lim, and former Hougang MP Png Eng Huat. The panel on April 4 said it would be presenting its final report to the party’s CEC that month.

On April 30, the WP said the panel found that Mr Singh had contravened articles 20(1) and 30 of the party’s Constitution.

According to the party’s website, Article 20(1) states that: “The Central Executive Committee, if satisfied that the conduct of any member is contrary to the principles or aims or objects of the Party or prejudicial to the welfare of the Party, may suspend or expel such member from any post in the Party, and demote him to the status of ordinary member if a Cadre Member, and expel him from membership of the Party.”

Article 30 states: “The Party may nominate members as candidates for election to public office, and each nominee shall be required to take a solemn oath or affirmation to support the three-fold principle of the Party, and to comply with Party discipline in major decisions of policy, and to be honest and frank in all his dealings with the Party and the people of Singapore.”

The WP told ST a notice of a special cadre members’ conference, which was requested by a group of its cadres, will be issued within two weeks from now. Cadres form the party’s inner circle.

The notice will include the agenda for the meeting and “cadre members will be given the opportunity to raise clarifications on all resolutions tabled for discussion”, it said.

When asked about the consequences of the letter of reprimand, a WP spokesman referred ST to the statement.

ST has contacted Mr Singh for comment.

Mr Singh’s convictions had triggered a series of actions from both the Government and his own party.

This included the request from this group of cadres – numbering at least 20 – for this conference to discuss the issue.

The Aljunied GRC MP – who has been WP chief since 2018 – was also removed as Leader of the Opposition (LO) by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in January. PM Wong cited Mr Singh’s criminal convictions, as well as a Jan 14 motion in Parliament which found him unsuitable for the role, making it “no longer tenable for him to continue as the LO”.

PM Wong also asked the WP then to nominate another MP as LO – which the party declined to do. Analysts said this signalled the party had closed ranks around Mr Singh.

Independent political observer Felix Tan said the decision is a “slap on the wrist” for Mr Singh. He added that the result shows that the WP feels that while Mr Singh lied to Parliament, it was not done intentionally or with malice.

Singapore Management University (SMU) law don Eugene Tan characterised the result as a “pointed rejection” of the High Court’s findings.

“The CEC has now indicated that there is such a thing as justifiable lying much aligned with Mr Singh saying that he accepts the court’s ruling but that he is not guilty.”

Both agreed that the result shows the party has rallied behind Mr Singh.

Dr Tan said this was already indicated by the WP MPs’ support of Mr Singh in Parliament during the motion which found him unsuitable for the role of the LO. All 11 WP MPs dissented to it.

Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Gillian Koh noted that Ms Lim had, during the Parliament debate, called the motion a partisan move.

“The outcome, in terms of internal party discipline, was therefore not surprising,” she said.

SMU’s Prof Tan said: “The outcome underscores Mr Singh’s tight grip on his party as well as the WP becoming more personality based – one that revolves around him.”

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