Is Singapore facing ‘public fatigue’ over ex-MP Raeesah Khan saga?
Jean Iau
Published: 5:45pm, 30 Jun 2026
www.scmp.com
Published: 5:45pm, 30 Jun 2026
It has been nearly five years since then Workers’ Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan uttered her first lie in Singapore’s parliament but its aftershocks continue to reverberate, as some political observers argue that public fatigue has set in.
They say it would be in the interest of both the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) and the WP to avoid further drawing out the issue when there are more pressing matters to address for citizens.
Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said that as far as the WP was concerned, the line had been “drawn in the political sand” and that the chapter was closed.
“The saga has been so long and drawn-out that it has resulted in public fatigue over a political matter. It is therefore in the interest of both government and opposition to focus their attention squarely on issues that directly impact the lives and livelihoods of Singaporeans,” Mustafa said.
Implications from the case have rippled across multiple parliamentary debates and court hearings since Khan lied about accompanying a rape victim to a police station in August 2021.
In the wake of the incident, Khan stepped down from the party and as MP. A parliamentary committee was convened, which resulted in her being fined S$35,000 (US$27,000) and WP chief Pritam Singh prosecuted and later convicted and fined S$14,000 for lying to the committee over his handling of the matter.
Singh’s suitability as Leader of the Opposition was debated in the PAP-dominated parliament, with all 11 WP MPs present voting in his favour despite the party whip being lifted.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong removed Singh, 49, after the parliament vote and WP rejected the offer for another of its MPs to take up the role.
A group of 25 WP cadres later called a special conference to remove Singh as secretary general of the party and for him to account for his actions.
Singh emerged from Sunday’s WP sessions unscathed with 79 per cent of a secret vote in favour of him, and was re-elected as chief at the party’s leadership election.
Even as that has ended, parliamentary discussions on WP chair Sylvia Lim and former MP Faisal Manap are still pending. The parliamentary committee found that they too had lied under oath during proceedings on the Khan case.
Singh, a non-practising lawyer, also faces potential disciplinary action brought by the Law Society of Singapore.
In 2022, then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament that people were calling the incident “Raeesah-Gate, after Watergate”, in reference to the political scandal that led to the resignation of former United States president Richard Nixon.
“Just like in the original Watergate affair, while investigating Ms Khan’s transgressions, the COP unexpectedly stumbled upon a cover-up by WP leaders, even more serious than the original offence,” said Lee, referring to the Committee of Privileges.
He stressed that it was parliament’s responsibility to take the necessary and appropriate course of action.
On Sunday, asked by the media about whether WP was taking any action regarding the pending parliamentary discussions on Lim and Faisal’s conduct, Singh said it was not a party matter but a parliamentary one and declined to elaborate.
Parliament can still take action against Faisal despite him no longer being a sitting MP, according to analysts. Penalties for contempt of parliament can include a fine, a jail term or suspension as members in the legislature under a law on parliamentary privilege.
Mustafa argued that parliament might drop the case in light of other more important public interest issues.
Nydia Ngiow, managing director at BowerGroupAsia, said pursuing the matter against someone who was no longer a sitting MP could end up being “politically fraught”.
“Parliament would need to weigh whether the process serves a substantive accountability purpose or prolongs an issue the public has largely moved past,” she said.
She likened the saga to the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) proceedings, in which lapses were found in the way the town council was run, including in the management of sinking funds and the governance of related party transactions.
The matter spanned 13 years from 2011 until civil proceedings were settled out of court in 2024.
“The AHTC proceedings eventually wound up being a political liability for the ruling party because they ran so long and so visibly that they ultimately generated sympathy for the WP, and that dynamic could easily repeat itself here,” warned Ngiow, noting that appetite for further action on the Raeesah Khan issue was low.
The hawker centre training programme empowering Singaporeans with disabilities
She argued that if parliament or the Law Society were seen to be piling on, justification for the action might be questioned by the public, as well as whose interests this would serve.
Even if professional-conduct proceedings were independent of politics in principle, the public might perceive the matter through a political lens, Ngiow said.
Elvin Ong, an assistant professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, suggested that most Singaporeans were ready to move on and there were more immediate economic and technological concerns affecting livelihoods.
“Parliament needs to debate vigorously and the government needs to act robustly to overcome these challenges,” Ong said.
“This entire saga is reflective of how opposition party parliamentarians and candidates in Singapore must always be extremely careful of what they say and how they conduct themselves publicly. Mistakes can have lengthy consequences.”
Jean Iau
Published: 5:45pm, 30 Jun 2026
www.scmp.com
It would be in the interest of all political parties to focus on economic issues affecting citizens, analysts say
It has been nearly five years since then Workers’ Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan uttered her first lie in Singapore’s parliament but its aftershocks continue to reverberate, as some political observers argue that public fatigue has set in.
They say it would be in the interest of both the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) and the WP to avoid further drawing out the issue when there are more pressing matters to address for citizens.
Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said that as far as the WP was concerned, the line had been “drawn in the political sand” and that the chapter was closed.
“The saga has been so long and drawn-out that it has resulted in public fatigue over a political matter. It is therefore in the interest of both government and opposition to focus their attention squarely on issues that directly impact the lives and livelihoods of Singaporeans,” Mustafa said.
Implications from the case have rippled across multiple parliamentary debates and court hearings since Khan lied about accompanying a rape victim to a police station in August 2021.
In the wake of the incident, Khan stepped down from the party and as MP. A parliamentary committee was convened, which resulted in her being fined S$35,000 (US$27,000) and WP chief Pritam Singh prosecuted and later convicted and fined S$14,000 for lying to the committee over his handling of the matter.
Singh’s suitability as Leader of the Opposition was debated in the PAP-dominated parliament, with all 11 WP MPs present voting in his favour despite the party whip being lifted.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong removed Singh, 49, after the parliament vote and WP rejected the offer for another of its MPs to take up the role.
A group of 25 WP cadres later called a special conference to remove Singh as secretary general of the party and for him to account for his actions.
Singh emerged from Sunday’s WP sessions unscathed with 79 per cent of a secret vote in favour of him, and was re-elected as chief at the party’s leadership election.
Even as that has ended, parliamentary discussions on WP chair Sylvia Lim and former MP Faisal Manap are still pending. The parliamentary committee found that they too had lied under oath during proceedings on the Khan case.
Singh, a non-practising lawyer, also faces potential disciplinary action brought by the Law Society of Singapore.
In 2022, then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament that people were calling the incident “Raeesah-Gate, after Watergate”, in reference to the political scandal that led to the resignation of former United States president Richard Nixon.
“Just like in the original Watergate affair, while investigating Ms Khan’s transgressions, the COP unexpectedly stumbled upon a cover-up by WP leaders, even more serious than the original offence,” said Lee, referring to the Committee of Privileges.
He stressed that it was parliament’s responsibility to take the necessary and appropriate course of action.
On Sunday, asked by the media about whether WP was taking any action regarding the pending parliamentary discussions on Lim and Faisal’s conduct, Singh said it was not a party matter but a parliamentary one and declined to elaborate.
Parliament can still take action against Faisal despite him no longer being a sitting MP, according to analysts. Penalties for contempt of parliament can include a fine, a jail term or suspension as members in the legislature under a law on parliamentary privilege.
Mustafa argued that parliament might drop the case in light of other more important public interest issues.
Nydia Ngiow, managing director at BowerGroupAsia, said pursuing the matter against someone who was no longer a sitting MP could end up being “politically fraught”.
“Parliament would need to weigh whether the process serves a substantive accountability purpose or prolongs an issue the public has largely moved past,” she said.
She likened the saga to the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) proceedings, in which lapses were found in the way the town council was run, including in the management of sinking funds and the governance of related party transactions.
The matter spanned 13 years from 2011 until civil proceedings were settled out of court in 2024.
“The AHTC proceedings eventually wound up being a political liability for the ruling party because they ran so long and so visibly that they ultimately generated sympathy for the WP, and that dynamic could easily repeat itself here,” warned Ngiow, noting that appetite for further action on the Raeesah Khan issue was low.
The hawker centre training programme empowering Singaporeans with disabilities
She argued that if parliament or the Law Society were seen to be piling on, justification for the action might be questioned by the public, as well as whose interests this would serve.
Even if professional-conduct proceedings were independent of politics in principle, the public might perceive the matter through a political lens, Ngiow said.
Elvin Ong, an assistant professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, suggested that most Singaporeans were ready to move on and there were more immediate economic and technological concerns affecting livelihoods.
“Parliament needs to debate vigorously and the government needs to act robustly to overcome these challenges,” Ong said.
“This entire saga is reflective of how opposition party parliamentarians and candidates in Singapore must always be extremely careful of what they say and how they conduct themselves publicly. Mistakes can have lengthy consequences.”
