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Pritam Singh
Leader of the Opposition in Singapore since 2020 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pritam Singh[a] (born 2 August 1976) is a Singaporean politician, author and lawyer who has served as the Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP) since 2018 and the Leader of the Opposition since 2020. A member of the Parliament of Singapore since 2011, he represents the Eunos division of Aljunied GRC. Singh is the first politician to be formally appointed as Leader of the Opposition in Singapore’s history. Under his leadership, the Workers' Party has maintained its position as the largest opposition party in Parliament, holding ten elected seats following the 2020 general election & 2025 general election.
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Singh graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, winning the Straits Steamship Prize in 1999 for being the top undergraduate student in history and political science.[4] He went on to pursue postgraduate studies at King's College London on a Chevening Scholarship, earning a Master of Arts degree in war studies in 2004.[5][6] Singh subsequently returned to Singapore and enrolled in the Juris Doctor programme at the Singapore Management University, completing his legal studies and being called to the bar in 2011. In 2013, he joined the litigation and dispute resolution department of Donaldson & Burkinshaw, Singapore’s oldest law firm.
Singh entered politics with the Workers' Party and contested in the 2011 general election, where the party won Aljunied GRC, marking the first GRC victory for any opposition party. Singh has retained his seat in subsequent general elections. He succeeded Low Thia Khiang as Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party on 8 April 2018 as part of a leadership transition. From 2018 to 2020, Singh functioned as the de facto Leader of the Opposition. Following the party’s performance in the 2020 general election, where it won Hougang SMC and Sengkang GRC in addition to Aljunied GRC, Singh was formally appointed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the de jure Leader of the Opposition, a role which grants him additional parliamentary responsibilities and resources.
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Early life and education
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Singh was born on 2 August 1976 in Singapore.[7][8] He is the younger of two children. His father served as a district judge and had earlier held a commission as a military officer.[9][10] Singh attended Woodsville Primary School and Belvedere Primary School before moving on to Saint Thomas Secondary School, where he studied in the Normal (Academic) stream. He subsequently enrolled at Jurong Junior College before being awarded the Singapore Armed Forces's Local Study Award to pursue undergraduate studies. He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.[11][12]
Following his undergraduate education, Singh pursued postgraduate studies at King's College London, where he obtained a Master of Arts degree in war studies in 2004 under the Chevening Scholarship.[2] He later completed a diploma in Islamic studies from the International Islamic University Malaysia in 2005.[13] In 2007, Singh co-founded Opinion Asia, an online syndicate that focused on analysis and commentary about Asian affairs and communities.[14] He returned to Singapore to read law at the Singapore Management University, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 2011.[2][15]
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Career
Military career
Singh enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces in 1994 and served as a commissioned officer between 1996 and 2002. During his service, he was a combat engineer.[16] At present, he is a reservist commander with the rank of Major.[2]
Legal career
In 2013, Singh joined the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Donaldson & Burkinshaw, Singapore's oldest law firm.[15][17]
Political career
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Singh joined the Workers' Party around 2010[18] while completing a juris doctor degree at the Singapore Management University, citing its "level-headedness and leadership" as his primary motivator.[19]
2011 election
During the 2011 general election, Singh was part of the five-member Workers' Party team which contested in Aljunied GRC. The team included the party's secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, chairwoman Sylvia Lim and members Chen Show Mao and Faisal Manap. They faced the team from the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP), which was led by Foreign Affairs minister George Yeo. The Workers' Party's team defeated the PAP team by 72,289 votes (54.7%) to 59,829 (45.2%),[20] marking the first occasion in Singapore's history in which an opposition party had won an election in a GRC.
Since the election, Singh has represented the Eunos ward within the constituency in Parliament.[21] Singh was appointed as the assistant secretary general on the party's executive council.[22] Singh was also previously the chairman of the Aljunied–Hougang Town Council (AHTC) from 2016 to 2020.
Leadership of the Workers' Party
In 2017, after Low Thia Khiang announced that he was contemplating retirement as well as wanting to rejuvenate the party for "younger blood", Singh was widely regarded to be the next chief of the Workers' Party before the general election that would have been scheduled to be held by 2021.[23] Subsequently, Singh was eventually confirmed as secretary-general of the Workers' Party on 8 April 2018 after Low stepped down for a leadership self-renewal.[24]
2020 general election
The results of the 2020 general election saw Singh, together with Sylvia Lim, Faisal Manap and former NCMPs Gerald Giam and Leon Perera, being re-elected to represent the Aljunied GRC constituents, with an increased share of the vote of 59.95%, defeating the PAP team that received 40.05%.[25] The Workers' Party had also won Hougang SMC, its stronghold which has been held since 1991,[26] and the newly created Sengkang GRC,[25] the first time the Workers' Party had won a general election in a second GRC.[27]
False testimony to Committee of Privileges
Following Raeesah Khan's admission in Parliament on 1 November 2021 that she had lied about a sexual assault case, the Committee of Privileges (COP) initiated an inquiry into the conduct of several Workers' Party leaders. On 10 February 2022, the COP recommended that Singh and Faisal Manap be referred to the Public Prosecutor to assess whether criminal proceedings were warranted for potentially providing false statements to the committee.[28] Parliament voted on 15 February 2022 to endorse this recommendation.[29] Two years later, on 19 March 2024, Singh was charged with two counts of giving false evidence to a parliamentary committee under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act 1962. He appeared in court without legal representation, pleaded not guilty, and opted to claim trial.[30][31] Despite being charged, Singh retained his seat in Parliament, as the legal proceedings did not meet the constitutional thresholds for disqualification.[32]
On 17 April 2024, Singh appointed lawyers Andre Jumabhoy (grandson of Rajabali Jumabhoy) and Aristotle Emmanuel Eng Zhen Yang to act in his defence.[33] The trial was scheduled to begin on 14 October and span 16 days, concluding on 13 November, with Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan presiding.[34] On 17 February 2025, Singh was found guilty on both charges and fined $7,000 for each count.[35][36] He has filed an appeal. The conviction does not disqualify him from contesting elections or serving as an MP, as each fine falls below the disqualification threshold of $10,000 on a single charge stipulated under Article 45 of the Constitution.[37][38][39]
2025 general election
In the 2025 general election, Singh contested in Aljunied GRC as both the leader of the WP and as an incumbent MP. He led a revised slate that included incumbent MPs Gerald Giam and Sylvia Lim, alongside two new candidates. Fadli Fawzi replaced Faisal Manap who chose to contest in Tampines GRC, a decision Singh later described as fulfilling a long-standing wish for Faisal.[40] The other newcomer, Kenneth Tiong, succeeded Leon Perera, who had resigned in 2023.
The PAP fielded four changes in Aljunied GRC from 2020, led by Chan Hui Yuh.[41] Despite the changes on both sides, the WP retained the constituency with a vote share of 59.71% to the PAP's 40.29%, securing a fourth consecutive term for the party in the GRC since its historic victory in 2011.[42]
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Leader of the Opposition (2020–present)
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Following the 2020 general election, in which the WP won ten seats in Parliament, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the formal designation of Singh as Leader of the Opposition.[1][43] This marked the first time in Singapore's parliamentary history that the office had been officially established. Prior to this, the role was informal and held no statutory or procedural standing under either the Constitution or the Standing Orders of Parliament. Singh's appointment was accompanied by provisions for dedicated staff support and resources, including a research team, a secretarial office and facilities commensurate with the responsibilities of leading opposition scrutiny in Parliament.
The establishment of the formal office of the Leader of the Opposition also brought with it a revised salary structure. It was announced that the position would carry an annual salary of S$385,000, double that of an ordinary Member of Parliament in recognition of its expanded scope and constitutional significance. Singh later clarified that he would donate half of the salary increment arising from his new designation. He pledged to allocate the funds to a combination of party activities, charitable causes and constituency needs, thereby affirming his continued commitment to both civic service and political accountability.[44]
As Leader of the Opposition, Singh also began to take on a more pronounced policy advocacy role within Parliament. In October 2020, he called for the introduction of a universal monthly minimum wage of S$1,300 to replace the existing progressive wage model, arguing that a uniform wage floor would better uphold the dignity of low-income workers and address income inequality more effectively.[45] In February 2023, Singh further proposed that an English language proficiency requirement be introduced for applicants seeking Singaporean citizenship or permanent residency, contending that it would aid integration and align with the country's linguistic and civic norms.[46]
Podcast appearance
In 2025, during his first podcast appearance on Keluar Sekejap with Malaysian politicians Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan, Singh said that the WP aims to be ready to govern should the ruling PAP suffer a "serious failure", calling this a form of "political insurance" for Singapore. He emphasised that he does not aspire to be Prime Minister, but seeks to normalise a credible opposition and grow the party in line with the "pragmatic outlook of Singaporean voters". Singh also noted that while other opposition parties take more radical stances, the WP aims to stay relatable and effective within the current political context.[18][47]
Several days after the podcast was released, the PAP criticised Singh for discussing Singaporean politics on a foreign platform, questioning his choice to speak "on foreign soil to a foreign audience".[48] In response, the WP said the interview "had no negative impact on Singapore's national interests" and was "well received by Singaporeans". The party noted that the leader of the opposition is not part of the executive and is not subject to any known restriction on such engagements, also pointing out that PAP leaders regularly give interviews to foreign media.
In a subsequent statement, the PAP acknowledged that ministers often speak to foreign outlets on a range of topics, but called it "unusual" for the leader of the opposition to give his first detailed interview to Malaysian hosts, with the discussion focused largely on Singapore's domestic affairs. The PAP also criticised the WP for downplaying concerns over its links to Noor Deros, an Islamist preacher based in Kuala Lumpur who endorsed WP's Faisal Manap at Tampines GRC as well as public endorsements from Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) politicians. It argued that these issues "raise serious questions" about the need to safeguard against foreign influence in Singapore's domestic politics.[49]
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Personal life
Singh is of Punjabi ancestry and is a practising Sikh.[50][51] He married Loveleen Kaur Walia, a Singaporean theatre practitioner, in 2012.[9][52] The couple have two daughters.[53]
References
External links
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