Pritam Singh | |
|---|---|
| ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਸਿੰਘ | |
.jpg) Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| Assumed office 24 August 2020[a] | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Preceded by | Office established[b] |
| 9thSecretary-General of the Workers' Party | |
| Assumed office 8 April 2018 | |
| Chairwoman | Sylvia Lim |
| Vice-Chairman | Faisal Manap |
| Preceded by | Low Thia Khiang |
| Member of Parliament forAljunied GRC | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | PAP held |
| Majority |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pritam Singh (1976-08-02)2 August 1976 (age 49) |
| Political party | Workers' Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | National University of Singapore (BA) King's College London (MA) Singapore Management University (JD) |
| Occupation |
|
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Singapore Army |
| Years of service | 1994–2002 |
| Rank | Major[1] |
Pritam Singh[c] (born 2 August 1976) is a Singaporean politician, author and lawyer who has served as the secretary-general of theWorkers' Party (WP) since 2018 and theleader of the opposition since 2020. He has been theMember of Parliament (MP) for the Eunos division ofAljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2011. Singh is the firstde jure leader of the opposition in post-independence Singapore.
Singh graduated from theNational University of Singapore in 2000 with aBachelor of Arts degree inhistory, winning theStraits Steamship Prize in 1999 for being the top undergraduate student in history andpolitical science.[2] He went on to pursue postgraduate studies atKing's College London on aChevening Scholarship, earning aMaster of Arts degree in war studies in 2004.[3][4] Singh subsequently returned to Singapore and enrolled in theJuris Doctor programme at theSingapore Management University, completing his legal studies and being called to thebar in 2011. In 2013, he joined the litigation and dispute resolution department ofDonaldson & Burkinshaw, Singapore’s oldest law firm.
Singh joined the WP in 2010. He made his political debut, and won, in Aljunied GRC at the2011 general election, defeating the governingPeople's Action Party (PAP); it was the first time the opposition won aGRC. He succeededLow Thia Khiang as secretary-general of the WP on 8 April 2018 as part of a leadership transition. Between then and 2020, Singh functioned as thede facto Leader of the Opposition. Following the party’s performance in the2020 general election, where it won the newly createdSengkang GRC while retaining its existing constituencies,Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Aljunied GRC, Singh was formally appointed byPrime MinisterLee Hsien Loong as the firstde jure Leader of the Opposition; the role granted him additional parliamentary responsibilities and resources.
Singh was born on 2 August 1976 in Singapore.[5][6] He is the younger of two children. His father served as a district judge and had earlier held a commission as a military officer.[7][8] Singh attended Woodsville Primary School and Belvedere Primary School before moving on toSaint Thomas Secondary School, where he studied in theNormal (Academic) stream. He subsequently enrolled atJurong Junior College before being awarded theSingapore Armed Forces's Local Study Award to pursue undergraduate studies. He graduated from theNational University of Singapore in 2000 with aBachelor of Arts degree inhistory.[9][10]
Following his undergraduate education, Singh pursued postgraduate studies atKing's College London, where he obtained aMaster of Arts degree inwar studies in 2004 under theChevening Scholarship.[1] He later completed a diploma inIslamic studies from theInternational Islamic University Malaysia in 2005.[11] In 2007, Singh co-founded Opinion Asia, an online syndicate that focused on analysis and commentary about Asian affairs and communities.[12] He returned to Singapore to read law at theSingapore Management University, where he graduated with aJuris Doctor degree in 2011.[1][13]
Singh enlisted in theSingapore Armed Forces in 1994 and served as a commissioned officer between 1996 and 2002. During his service, he was acombat engineer.[14] At present, he is a reservist commander with the rank ofMajor.[1]
In 2013, Singh joined the litigation and dispute resolution practice atDonaldson & Burkinshaw, Singapore's oldest law firm.[13][15]
Singh joined the WP around 2010[16] while completing a juris doctor degree at the Singapore Management University, citing its "level-headedness and leadership" as his primary motivator.[17]
During the2011 general election, Singh was part of the five-member WP team forAljunied GRC. To lead said team, secretary-generalLow Thia Khiang had left the party stronghold ofHougang SMC. They faced the team from the incumbent PAP, which was led byGeorge Yeo,Minister for Foreign Affairs. The WP team won 54.72% of the vote, marking the first opposition victory in GRCs since their creation in 1988.
Since the election, Singh has represented theEunos ward within the constituency in Parliament.[18] Singh was appointed as the assistant secretary general on the party's executive council.[19] Singh was also previously the chairman of the Aljunied–Hougang Town Council (AHTC) from 2016 to 2020.
In 2017, afterLow 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 had to be held by 2021.[20] 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.[21]
In the2020 general election, Singh led the WP team for Aljunied GRC, which defeated the PAP with 59.95% of the vote.[22] The party also retained Hougang SMC, their stronghold held since 1991,[23] and the newly createdSengkang GRC;[22] they became the first opposition party to hold multiple GRCs at once.[24]
FollowingRaeesah 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 severalWorkers' Party leaders. On 10 February 2022, the COP recommended that Singh andFaisal Manap be referred to the Public Prosecutor to assess whether criminal proceedings were warranted for potentially providing false statements to the committee.[25] Parliament voted on 15 February 2022 to endorse this recommendation.[26] 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.[27][28] Despite being charged, Singh retained his seat in Parliament, as the legal proceedings did not meet the constitutional thresholds for disqualification.[29]
On 17 April 2024, Singh appointed lawyers Andre Jumabhoy (grandson ofRajabali Jumabhoy) and Aristotle Emmanuel Eng Zhen Yang to act in his defence.[30] 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.[31] On 17 February 2025, Singh was found guilty on both charges and fined $7,000 for each count.[32][33] 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 theConstitution.[34][35][36]The trial for his appeal is set for 4 November.[37]
In the2025 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 MPsGerald Giam andSylvia Lim, alongside two new candidates.Fadli Fawzi replaced Faisal Manap who chose to contest inTampines GRC, a decision Singh later described as fulfilling a long-standing wish for Faisal.[38] 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.[39] 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.[40]
Following the 2020 general election, in which the WP won ten seats in Parliament, Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong announced the formal designation of Singh asLeader of the Opposition.[41][42] 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 theConstitution 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.[43]
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 existingprogressive wage model, arguing that a uniform wage floor would better uphold the dignity of low-income workers and address income inequality more effectively.[44] In February 2023, Singh further proposed that anEnglish language proficiency requirement be introduced for applicants seekingSingaporean citizenship orpermanent residency, contending that it would aid integration and align with the country's linguistic and civic norms.[45]
In 2025, during his first podcast appearance onKeluar Sekejap with Malaysian politiciansKhairy Jamaluddin andShahril Hamdan, Singh said that the WP aimed to be ready to govern should the PAP suffer a "serious failure", calling it a form of "political insurance" for Singapore. He stressed that he did not aspire to be Prime Minister, but instead sought to "normalise the idea of an opposition" and grow the party in line with the "pragmatic outlook of Singaporean voters", additionally saying that the WP aimed to stay "relatable and effective" within the incumbent political context of Singapore.[16][46]
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".[47] In response, the WP called the interview "well received by Singaporeans" and of "no negative impact on Singapore's national interests". It stated that the Leader of the Opposition did not belong to the executive and was hence not subject to any known restriction on such engagements, while noting that PAP leaders regularly gave interviews to foreign media.
In a response, the PAP acknowledged that ministers often spoke to foreign outlets on a range of topics, but called it "unusual" that the Leader of the Opposition had given his first detailed interview after the election, focused on Singaporean domestic affairs, to Malaysian hosts. 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 vice-chairpersonFaisal Manap and his contest inTampines GRC as well as public endorsements by politicians from theMalaysian Islamic Party (PAS).[d] It argued that these issues "raise serious questions" about the need to safeguard against foreign influence in Singapore's domestic politics.[48]
Singh is ofIndian ancestry and is a practisingSikh.[49][50] He married Loveleen Kaur Walia, a Singaporean theatre practitioner, in 2012.[7][51] The couple have two daughters.[52]
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| Parliament of Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition 2018–present (de jure: since 2020) | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forAljunied GRC 2011–present Served alongside: (2011 - 2015):Low Thia Khiang,Sylvia Lim,Faisal Manap,Chen Show Mao (2015 - 2020): Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim, Faisal Manap, Chen Show Mao (2020 - 2025):Gerald Giam, Sylvia Lim, Faisal Manap,Leon Perera (2025 - present): Gerald Giam, Sylvia Lim,Kenneth Tiong,Fadli Fawzi | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary-General of the Workers' Party 2018–present | Incumbent |
