WP will continue to hold government to account, regain Singaporeans’ trust after resignations: Pritam Singh
SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh said on Wednesday (Jul 19) that the party will regain Singaporeans’ trust by continuing to hold the government to account and serving residents in its wards, in the wake of an extramarital affair that prompted the resignations of two WP members.
Mr Singh was responding to questions at a press conference where he announced that Aljunied Member of Parliament Leon Perera and WP Youth Wing president Nicole Seah had resigned.
Both were in the opposition party’s Central Executive Committee.
Mr Singh told reporters that while the party leadership was alerted to allegations of an affair around 2021, Mr Perera and Ms Seah denied it then.
But after a video surfaced on Monday in which the pair appeared to be behaving intimately at a restaurant, they admitted to an affair and resigned from the party.
The WP chief added that Mr Perera and Ms Seah had an affair after the 2020 General Election, but it had stopped “some time ago”.
Following his explanation, Mr Singh was asked how the WP will move forward from this episode, with one reporter asking how the party will regain the trust and confidence of Singaporeans.
Mr Singh said that the “important forum” for the party to gain the trust of Singaporeans is parliament.
“I think Singaporeans expect the Workers’ Party to hold the government to account to make sure that we don’t have a one-party dominant state … we have to continue to work hard to encourage and persuade good Singaporeans to come forward and be part of a balancing force, which is in Singapore’s interests,” he said.
He added that the party will continue its work on the ground in its town councils – Aljunied-Hougang and Sengkang.
Pita Limjaroenrat: Thai reformist leader suspended from parliament
ReutersThai reformist leader Pita Limjaroenrat has been suspended from parliament, further weakening his already slim chances of becoming prime minister.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court issued the order after agreeing to hear a case against the Move Forward party leader.
It will decide whether he should be disqualified from parliament for owning shares in a now defunct media company,
If disqualified, he can still run for the premiership, but is unlikely to receive enough votes to win.
Acknowledging the court’s order in parliament, Mr Pita said that he will stop working until the court rules on his case. “I would like to ask my fellow parliamentarians to use the parliament to help the people. I think Thailand has changed and will never be the same since 14 May. The people have won halfway, there’s another half to go. Even though I haven’t got to work, I’m asking my fellow parliament members to take care of the people.”
Move Forward said the suspension will not affect Mr Pita’s nomination. In an Instagram post after the ruling, he acknowledged that he was unlikely to secure the necessary votes to become prime minister.
The 42-year old was due to contest a parliamentary vote on Wednesday after failing to secure enough votes last week to become premier.
Mr Pita needs the votes of more than half of the 749 members in parliament’s two chambers to become prime minister. Last week, he only secured 324 votes, 51 short of the required 375.
But he always faced an uphill battle, as there was little evidence that enough of the 249 unelected senators in the upper house would support him. The senators were were installed by the leaders of a 2006 coup as a brake on any democratic outcome that the military and royalists were uncomfortable with.
The Harvard graduate and former tech executive led his party to election victory in May, running on the promise of major reforms, including a pledge to amend lese-majeste, Thailand’s strict royal defamation laws.
Move Forward is popular among young Thai voters who hope to end nearly a decade of conservative military rule.
Art Chaturongkul, a 39-year-old living in Bangkok, said he and fellow supporters are deeply concerned as they see Mr Pita as representing their voices in the parliament.
“I’m filled with mixed emotions. Utter rage, frustration, and disappointment. It feels like a setback to the democratic process,” he told the BBC.
Move Forward has formed a coalition government with seven other parties, including Pheu Thai, the second most popular party.
Many young voters switched to voting for Move Forward because Pheu Thai had been unwilling to rule out doing deals with the military.
Pro-establishment campaigners have sought to block Mr Pita from taking the reins of power after the shock election results in May.
Two cases have been filed against him in the conservative-leaning Constitutional Court.
The other complaint claims Move Forward’s proposal to amend lese-majeste laws – which have seen hundreds of critics of the monarchy jailed – amounts to an attempt to an overthrow Thailand’s entire political order.
The latest verdict is not the first controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court. In the 2019 elections, Future Forward – the predecessor to Move Forward – was dissolved by the court after it was found to have violated electoral rules.
Since 2008, it has also dismissed three PMs aligned with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by a 2006 coup.
Ironically Pheu Thai – which has been on the receiving end of nearly all of the Constitutional Court’s rulings -is now poised to benefit from this latest ruling against its coalition partner.
It is well known that there is no love lost between Pheu Thai and Move Forward, particularly as the former has taken the latter’s mantle as a champion of democracy
COE premiums dip slightly in latest bidding exercise except for motorcycles, Open category
SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums closed mixed in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday (Jul 19). For Category A cars, or those 1,600cc and below with horsepower not exceeding 130bhp, premiums closed at S$95,202 (US$71,840), down from S$97,000 in the last exercise. Premiums for larger and more powerful cars inContinue Reading
Record heat wave grips China as flood toll rises in South Korea
On Sunday, a remote township in the Turpan Depression registered a maximum air temperature of 52.2 degrees Celsius, smashing China’s national record of 50.3 degrees Celsius set in 2015, also in the basin. On that day, the oasis city of Turpan west of the Flaming Mountains saw the highest airContinue Reading
Some Singapore firms turn to Indian cities for talent pool, production boost, cheaper cost
Another Singaporean business, sofa maker HTL, expanded its production capacity into India in 2021 with manufacturing plants in both Chennai and Pune, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The company hopes its presence in India will help to enlarge its footprint on the global stage.
“(India) has very strong domestic demand, and is a great place to export to different parts of the world, specifically to the US, UK, Middle East and even parts of Southeast Asia,” said the firm’s global brand head Celeste Phua.
With its two Indian facilities, the firm said it can cut down shipping time to regions like the Middle East by 70 per cent.
The large pool of skilled workers is also helping the company boost its productivity.
“The sofa is a handicraft item. So India works very well because a lot of the (workers can) sew and cut. India also provides a very rich and diverse labour workforce for us to tap on, and expand our manufacturing capacity,” Ms Phua said.
WASTE MANAGEMENT SECTOR
Some firms are also looking to harvest growing opportunities in India’s waste management sector, especially as the Asian giant puts in motion efforts to go greener.
This includes turning trash, such as disposed electronic goods, into precious resources.
Chennai is among the most populous cities in India and it produces more than 5,000 tonnes of waste each day.
Hashtags Pita, Constitutional Court trending on Twitter
PUBLISHED : 19 Jul 2023 at 14:35
Hashtags #Pita and #Constitutional Court shot to the top of Twitter trends on Wednesday after the charter court suspended the Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate from duty as an elected member of the House of Representatives.
The Constitutional Court unanimously voted to accept a petition from the Election Commission (EC) against the MFP leader over his shareholding in defunct media company iTV Plc for judicial review.
The court announced that Pita was suspended from duty as a party-list MP until the court delivers its ruling in the case.
Mr Pita previously said he did not own the shares as he only inherited them from his father. The shares were listed under his name as he was the executor of his father’s estate. He had explained the matter to the poll agency before he was sworn in, he said. The shares had later been transferred to relatives.
The law prohibits shareholders in media firms from running for parliament.
The suspension was announced as the elected House and the appointed Senate were sitting in joint session on Wednesday to elect the country’s 30th prime minister. It was the second round of voting after Mr Pita failed to secure the needed majority last Thursday. He was renominated on Wednesday.
The court’s decision fuelled a flurry of social media activity, with the hashtags #พิธา (Pita) and #ศาลรัฐธรรมนูญ (Constitutional Court) immediately becoming top trenders on Twitter. Many social media users commented on the issue.
Mr Pita, 42, whose party won the May 14 general election with 151 House seats, failed in his initial bid last Thursday to become prime minister, after he was unable to secure the required endorsement of more than half of the members of the two chambers of parliament. Many senators abstained.
After the voting last Thursday, the MPF submitted a proposal to parliament seeking to strip the military-appointed senators of their power to co-elect the prime minister.
A woman bursts into tears outside parliament on Wednesday after learning of the Constitutional Court’s ruling to suspend Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat from duty as an MP. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Watch: Sailor and dog rescued after two months at sea
Australian sailor Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella have stepped back on to dry land after being lost at sea for two months.
Sydney resident Mr Shaddock, 51, and his dog left Mexico for French Polynesia in April, but their boat was damaged by a storm several weeks later.
The pair survived by eating raw tuna and drinking rainwater. They were rescued by a trawler this week after a helicopter spotted them.
In full: Aljunied MP Leon Perera’s letter of resignation from Workers’ Party and Pritam Singh’s reply
SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party (WP) senior member Leon Perera on Wednesday (Jul 19) informed secretary-general Pritam Singh of his decision to resign from the party and his position as Member of Parliament for Aljunied due to an affair with party member Nicole Seah.
This is Mr Perera’s letter to Mr Singh, in full:
Dear Pritam,
I hereby resign my membership of the Workers’ Party.
I have, earlier today, submitted to Acting Speaker my resignation as a Member of Parliament.
I apologise deeply to the Workers’ Party and my constituents in Aljunied GRC for falling short of the standards expected of me. I also apologise to the remarkable and committed volunteers in the Serangoon ward of Aljunied GRC and the Workers’ Party Media Team for letting them down. I thank the Workers’ Party and voters for giving me the privilege to serve.
I also apologise for not being forthcoming with information when this issue arose within the Party and I was asked about it some time back.
I hope to devote my time to my family in the weeks and months ahead, so as to address the hurt I have caused to them, which is my greatest regret. I hope that my family and I will be given the space to do that.
This is Mr Singh’s reply to Mr Perera, in full:
Dear Leon,
I accept your letter of resignation from The Workers’ Party (WP) and decision to step down as a Member of Parliament (MP).
As you would know, any electoral victory by an opposition party in Singapore is hard won. It follows that there are significant expectations of WP MPs.
Our Party constitution requires that we are honest and frank in our dealings with the Party and the people of Singapore. You acknowledged that you fell short in this regard and offered your resignation.
In Parliament, you were a committed and dedicated MP, advocating in the interests of Singapore and Singaporeans. This aspect of your contribution will be missed by many. The loss of a steadfast opposition voice in these circumstances is particularly difficult for me, your colleagues in the WP, and beyond.
You have made an impact larger than your person in the WP. You lead the Party’s media team, and built up strong teams in the Serangoon ward of Aljunied GRC to look after the interests of residents.
Your resignation was deliberated by the Party Central Executive Committee (CEC). It was accepted, as the requirement to be frank and honest in our dealings with the Party and the people of Singapore is exacting and non-negotiable.
I thank you for your valued service to the Party and for being a part of the Aljunied GRC team.
I wish you and your family well, and pray you will have space as a family to heal and come out stronger from this difficult moment.
Man gets jail, caning for raping and beating up teenage mother of his child in jealous rage
SINGAPORE: Enraged to see his teenage fiancee with someone else after leaving him suddenly, a 21-year-old man assaulted the girl and drove her to a secluded road where he raped and attacked her. The offender, who is now 23, was sentenced on Wednesday (Jul 19) to 12 years’ jail andContinue Reading
Watch: Fiery crash as train ploughs into truck
One person was injured when a train crashed into a truck in central Java, Indonesia.
The truck had broken down while crossing the tracks and its driver had gone to seek help.
Authorities say the train was too close to be stopped and confirmed there were no casualties.