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This Week in AsiaPolitics

Is Singapore facing ‘public fatigue’ over ex-MP Raeesah Khan saga?

It would be in the interest of all political parties to focus on economic issues affecting citizens, analysts say

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Former Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan has admitted to lying in Singapore’s parliament about accompanying a rape victim to a police station in 2021. Photo: YouTube
Jean Iau
It has been nearly five years since then Workers’ Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan uttered her first lie in Singapore’s parliament but its aftershocks continue to reverberate, as some political observers argue that public fatigue has set in.

They say it would be in the interest of both the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) and the WP to avoid further drawing out the issue when there are more pressing matters to address for citizens.

Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said that as far as the WP was concerned, the line had been “drawn in the political sand” and that the chapter was closed.

“The saga has been so long and drawn-out that it has resulted in public fatigue over a political matter. It is therefore in the interest of both government and opposition to focus their attention squarely on issues that directly impact the lives and livelihoods of Singaporeans,” Mustafa said.

Implications from the case have rippled across multiple parliamentary debates and court hearings since Khan lied about accompanying a rape victim to a police station in August 2021.

In the wake of the incident, Khan stepped down from the party and as MP. A parliamentary committee was convened, which resulted in her being fined S$35,000 (US$27,000) and WP chief Pritam Singh prosecuted and later convicted and fined S$14,000 for lying to the committee over his handling of the matter.
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