PAP questions Pritam's sharing of views on S'pore politics on Malaysian podcast

WP says no legal convention communicated to him that fetters his freedom of speech

- Goh Yan Han

The PAP has raised questions about Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh's decision to share his views on Singapore politics with a Malaysian podcast.

Politics should stop at the water's edge, with domestic affairs debated on and decided by Singaporeans in Singapore, said the ruling party in a statement on July 3.

In response, the Workers' Party said Mr Singh is not a member of the executive — which comprises Cabinet ministers and political office-holders — and there is "no legal convention that has been communicated to him which fetters his freedom of speech, locally or overseas".

"Should there be such a guideline, it should be made known," said the party in a Facebook post. It added that the PAP was "opposing for the sake of opposing".

Mr Singh, who leads the WP, had made his first podcast appearance on Keluar Sekejap, a popular political podcast hosted by former Malaysian health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan.

The almost two-hour-long session, filmed while Mr Singh was on a family holiday in Malaysia, was uploaded to YouTube on June 24.

The podcast covered topics such as the WP's strategy during the May 3 General Election and the party's role in Singapore's political landscape. Mr Singh had reiterated his view of WP's role as a check and balance to the ruling party, given the appetite of Singapore voters today.

The PAP said in its statement that Mr Singh had "strikingly" chosen a non-local media outlet to "share his views on our domestic political landscape", in what was his most extensive post-election interview.

"It raises serious questions about why the secretary-general of the Workers' Party would choose to speak about Singapore's politics on foreign soil, to a foreign audience," it said.