Parliament set to debate Pritam's suitability as Leader of the Opposition

It will consider his conviction for lying, express regret at his conduct in next session

- Tham Yuen-C Senior Political Correspondent

Parliament is set to debate if Mr Pritam Singh is suitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition following his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee.

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah has tabled a motion for the upcoming session of Parliament, which is scheduled to sit on Jan 12. The motion will be raised on Jan 13 or later in the week, said the Office of the Leader of the House in a statement on Jan 9.

It calls on the House to consider that Mr Singh's "conviction and conduct render him unsuitable to continue as the Leader of the Opposition" and to express regret at his conduct, which was "dishonourable and unbecoming" of an MP.

The motion notes that Mr Singh, the Workers' Party chief, had been convicted in a court of law of lying under oath when giving testimony to Parliament's Committee of Privileges - a judgment that was upheld by the High Court. He was also found by the committee to have guided his party's former MP Raeesah Khan to keep up a lie she told in Parliament.

The motion states that the Leader of the Opposition is a "parliamentary leadership position carrying important responsibilities, duties and privileges, and that his continuation in this role would undermine the standing of Parliament and public confidence in the integrity of Singapore's political system".

There are six points in the motion, which notes that the High Court judgment and the Committee of Privileges' findings have implications for WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim and vice-chairman Faisal Manap, which have to be considered separately.

It also calls upon all MPs to affirm "that honesty and integrity are fundamental pillars of Singapore's parliamentary and political system" and to "uphold their solemn duty to respect and abide by the law, act with integrity at all times, and honour the trust placed in them by Singaporeans".