'Politics should stop at the water’s edge': PAP responds to Pritam Singh's appearance on M'sia's Khairy podcast

UPDATE on Jul. 3 at 6:51pm: This article has been updated with a statement from the Workers' Party.

The People's Action Party (PAP) has called out Workers' Party chief (WP) Pritam Singh for previously sharing his views on Singapore politics on foreign soil.

The Leader of the Opposition made his first podcast appearance on Jun. 24 on Keluar Sekejap, a Malaysian politics podcast hosted by former Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and former UMNO Information Chief Shahril Hamdan.

"Politics should stop at the water’s edge"

In a media statement on Jul. 3 titled "Politics should stop at the water’s edge", the PAP noted that Singh's "most extensive post-election interview" sharing his views on Singapore's political landscape was not with a local media outlet, "but a podcast hosted by Malaysians and recorded in Malaysia".

Adding that the choice "raises serious questions about why the Secretary-General of the WP would choose to speak about Singapore’s politics on foreign soil, to a foreign audience," the PAP said:

"This is not merely a matter of platform preference. It touches on a fundamental principle — that Singapore’s domestic affairs should be debated and decided by Singaporeans, within Singapore."

PAP cited the words of the founding secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Chiam See Tong, who once said that the opposition must be “truthful…good patriotic Singaporeans…and not go around the world denouncing Singapore.”

Raised concerns about WP's interactions with Malaysian key figures

PAP also raised concerns about the WP’s past interactions with Noor Deros, "a self-styled religious teacher in Malaysia known for views that are at odds with Singapore’s commitment to multiracialism and religious harmony".

WP had clarified that there were no promises, commitments or agreements made with Noor Deros or any other individual in exchange for political support for their candidates.

"Despite public interest, the WP has not explained what transpired in that meeting, or why Deros subsequently expressed public support for WP candidates during GE2025," the statement read.

PAP noted that Singh "claims not to 'score political points based on race or religion,' but the actions of his party indicate otherwise."

The party also highlighted how WP candidate Harpreet Singh "made misleading statements about the PAP’s stance on a minority Prime Minister" during GE2025.

PAP noted that these allegations were subsequently disproven with public records of PAP leaders such as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister K Shanmugam speaking on the issue.

"This pattern of misrepresentation is worrying," PAP said.

It added that the endorsements of WP that Malaysian politicians from Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) made on social media during GE2025 "contained racial and religious overtones, designed to encourage segments of Singaporean voters to vote along racial and religious lines."

PAP stated that Singh "remained silent until the Singapore Government called out these acts of blatant foreign interference," and that "even then, his response left many critical questions unanswered."

"Singapore’s affairs are for Singaporeans to decide"

PAP noted:

"Singaporeans are therefore entitled to ask: Does Mr Singh truly stand by the principles he has stated? Or are they only invoked when convenient? Does he believe foreign involvement is acceptable when it benefits his party?"

Adding that while Singapore and Malaysia share close historical ties, the countries also respect each other’s sovereignty.

"...We refrain from commenting on each other’s politics, and from using each other’s media to influence public opinion," PAP said.

They added:

"This is a longstanding understanding that has served both nations well. Maintaining it requires political leaders of integrity who place national interest above partisan gain.

As a sovereign nation, we must be clear: Politics should stop at the water’s edge. Singapore’s affairs are for Singaporeans to decide, based on what is best for our national interests."

WP's statement in response

In response to Mothership's queries, WP provided a statement titled "PAP opposing for the sake of opposing; LO's podcast had no impact on Singapore’s national interests".

WP responded that the public reception in Singapore to the podcast has been positive, adding:

"It exemplified how a non-government Singaporean politician can speak fairly and frankly about Singapore and the Singapore government, without denouncing either. This particular point continues to be well-received by many Singaporeans."

The party highlighted that the Leader of the Opposition is not a member of the executive, and thus, 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," it noted.

The WP also remarked that PAP leaders routinely give interviews and share their views on domestic matters to foreign media outlets, and that "some of these interviews have gone viral and are well-received by an international audience, embellishing the PAP".

In these cases, "no right-thinking individual would accuse the PAP of 'foreign involvement' to benefit the party", WP stated.

The party also cited examples of positive responses — it said one PAP member complimented Singh's appearance after watching the podcast, and other PAP members posed for pictures with one of the podcast hosts when they were in Singapore over the weekend.

The party remarked that it can be concluded that these actions show that Singh's appearance on the podcast "had no detrimental impact whatsoever on Singapore’s national interests".

In a postscript, WP also added that the Noor Deros and PAS issues were "decisively dealt with" during the general elections and a statement had already been issued.

Singh's appearance on the podcast

During the nearly two-hour-long podcast Singh appeared on with the Malaysian duo, the trio discussed various aspects of Singaporean politics, including the role of Singapore's opposition, the opposition leader, and the relationship between the two countries.

However, they also discussed at length the role of multiracialism in Singapore, as well as how seriously the Singapore government approached it.

Singh's final comment of the segment said that in regards to Singapore's government, "we don't have very public conversations about race and religion in Singapore", such conversations were usually behind closed doors.

But Singh speculated that if one were part of the Singaporean government, one tried to manage the situation as "respectfully as you can".

Even as an opposition politician, race and religion were something that "we don't really want to bring into the political realm" or to "score political points on a race or religion aspect".

"I think that's generally the approach that politicians in Singapore want to, and ought to, take."

Top image via Keluar Sekejap/Youtube and PAP/Facebook