'Whoever steps up will have big shoes to fill': Analysts weigh in on removal of WP's Pritam Singh as LO

After four hours of debate on Jan. 14, the majority of parliament voted in support of the motion filed by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah that Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh is unsuitable to continue as Leader of the Opposition (LO).

This comes after he was convicted of lying to the Committee of Privileges (COP) on his role in ex-WP Raeesah Khan's case.

All People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament (MP) and Nominated MPs (NMPs) voted in support of the motion.

The 11 WP parliamentarians present recorded their dissent against the motion, save for WP non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Eileen Chong, who was absent from the chamber.

On Jan. 15, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong removed Singh as LO, effective immediately, and invited WP to nominate another elected MP to serve as LO.

PM Wong added that the nominee should not be implicated in the COP's earlier findings.

Now that the LO position is open, who would WP nominate?

Two analysts speak with Mothership and weigh in on who could fill the position.

Shoes to fill

Eugene Tan, a political analyst and professor of law at Singapore Management University, commented that WP would look to its more experienced MPs to be the next LO, putting the likes of Dennis Tan and Gerald Giam at the front of the pack.

Mustafa Izzuddin, Senior International Affairs Analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, also threw in Jamus Lim's name as a potential option.

While Mustafa noted that it might be awkward for the LO not to be the leader of the opposition party, WP will decide in the best interests of the party and in line with its assessment of ground sentiments.

Meanwhile, Tan pointed out that "whoever steps up will have big shoes to fill".

"The WP will be mindful of whether the new LO would be consistently overshadowed by Pritam in Parliament. Or will Pritam have to take on a lower profile, and how will that impact upon the perception of WP's parliamentary performance?"

Tan also suggested that the possibility that WP will not nominate anyone as LO and leave the post unfilled cannot be ruled out, a sentiment that Mustafa also shares.

Tan noted that WP is in no hurry to nominate one of its own for the role and will bide its time. At the same time, Mustafa believes that WP may not immediately respond with a nomination and could wait until WP's disciplinary panel, looking into Singh's conduct, has completed its findings.

"So the LO office may be vacant for the next two to three months," Tan explained.

On Jan. 3, WP's Central Executive Committee (CEC) directed a disciplinary panel to be formed to determine if its Secretary-General and Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, had “contravened the constitution of the party”.

Mustafa noted that even if WP chooses not to nominate anyone for the LO position, they are still elected MPs and they still have seats in Parliament, so "their work will continue".

Ball is in WP's court

While Tan and Mustafa said the motion's outcome was unsurprising, both commented that PM Wong has "thrown the ball back into WP's court" by inviting WP to nominate another MP.

"For PM Wong, it is indicative that he sees that the LO, in some circumstances, need not be the first among equals in the opposition party with the most number of parliamentary seats," Tan said.

Mustafa added that PM Wong's statement may have taken into account ground sentiments as well as the voting in parliament when he made his decision.

Tan opined that by asking WP to nominate another MP to be LO, PM Wong has effectively responded to critics who may see the removal of Pritam as a partisan political move or that the ruling party is having second thoughts about the LO office.

"These are skilful moves by PM Wong," Tan noted.

LO as a constitutional post?

Former NMP Calvin Cheng shared his thoughts on the motion, positing that losing the LO position would not weaken Singh's standing among his supporters.

Nor would it weaken the WP supporters who will still consider him the leader of the opposition even without the designation.

Cheng went on to state that the office of the LO should not be "a gift of the ruling party".

"The ruling party and government should not have the right to appoint or remove the leader of the parliamentary opposition," said Cheng.

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Top photo via Workers' Party/YouTube & MDDI/YouTube