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The Committee of Privileges (COP) made its recommendation on Feb. 10 that Workers' Party leaders Pritam Singh and Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap be referred to the Public Prosecutor for further investigations.

The Committee also recommended referring Singh to the Public Prosecutor for further investigations, "with a view to considering if criminal proceedings ought to be instituted in respect of his conduct before the Committee".

As for Faisal, the COP recommended that he be referred to the Public Prosecutor for further investigations for "his refusal to answer relevant questions put by the Committee". The Public Prosecutor will consider if criminal proceedings ought to be instituted.

Responding to the the recommendations made by the COP, Singh put up a Facebook post today (Feb. 10) to discuss the various "unknowns" that may occur if Parliament accepts the recommendations made by the COP.

Prospect of losing parliamentary seats

These include the Public Prosecutor's decision to prosecute, the "intervening time" before trial, the eventual verdict and what sentence, if any, would be meted out.

Singh also brought up the prospect of Faisal and himself losing their parliamentary seats and stepping down as Members of Parliament (MPs) "if either of us is fined $2000 or more".

However, Singh noted that since the resolution to these matters "may take some time yet", he and Faisal will continue their work, "as per normal".

He said he will continue to conduct Meet-the-people's sessions (MPS), estate walks, house visits, and other parliamentary commitments.

He assured that this will be the same for the rest of the Workers' Party and its activities, which include their outreach efforts in previously contested constituencies.

Singh said:

"As always, Sylvia, Faisal and I are grateful to the public for their support of the Workers’ Party, and all three of us, like our party colleagues will continue to serve to the best of our abilities. Finally, we thank the public for your encouragement and support towards the efforts of The Workers’ Party in building a more democratic Singapore, one that all Singaporeans can be proud of. That work will continue."

What happens next?

Unlike a court judgment, which can be appealed to a higher court, whatever the COP comes out with cannot be appealed.

Instead, it is up to Parliament to decide whether the COP's findings and recommendations are to be accepted.

At a future Parliament sitting, the Leader of the House puts forward a motion in Parliament on the matter of the COP's report and recommendations.

Before the matter is put to a vote, MPs can then rise to speak in support, or dissent.

Background

On Aug. 3, Raeesah gave a speech, saying that she accompanied a 25-year-old rape survivor to make a police report three years ago. She said the survivor emerged from the police station crying as an officer had allegedly made comments about her dressing and the fact that she had been drinking.

Raeesah was subsequently pressed by Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam on Oct. 4 to divulge more information pertaining to the claim, and police later stated that they could not identify such a case or the officers allegedly involved.

In a speech in Parliament on Nov. 1, Raeesah admitted that she had not been present with the woman whose anecdote she had shared, and rather had heard the survivor share it in a women's support group of which Raeesah herself had been a part.

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah raised a complaint with Parliament's Committee of Privileges, who conducted a series of hearings with Raeesah, members of the Workers' Party, and others in Dec. 2021.

The various Special Reports from those hearings, and links to the relevant videos for full context, can be found at this site.

Top image from gov.sg/YouTube

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