SINGAPORE: Pritam Singh’s guilty verdict may affect his standing but the case is unlikely to be an election game changer for the Workers’ Party (WP), political analysts said.
How this will change the way the public views him will depend on how closely voters followed the case and their initial perspective of Singh, said Dr Teo Kay Key, research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
If they were originally on the fence, the guilty verdict could negatively affect their views, but supporters and detractors are both unlikely to be swayed, she added.
“Supporters are unlikely to have a complete change in their view of Pritam because of this case, since there are many individuals involved in this issue, while detractors would already not have a very positive view of him in the first place,” she said.
The WP chief was found guilty of two charges of lying to parliament on Monday (Feb 17), over false testimonies he gave at a Committee of Privileges (COP) inquiry into former WP Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan’s conduct.
Singh told journalists after the hearing that he would appeal his conviction and sentence. He was fined a maximum of S$7,000 (US$5,200) for each of the charges.
While the case is a “setback” that would “minimally impose a reputational hit” for Singh, how he responds matters immensely and could further affect his standing, said Singapore Management University’s law don Eugene Tan.
“As he is WP’s leader, any possible fallout for Singh is also something that the party will have to shoulder,” added Associate Professor Tan.
“But this will not be an election game changer given WP’s standing as the leading opposition party in Singapore.”
