Pritam Singh (born 2 August 1976) is a Singaporean politician, author, and lawyer who has been the Secretary-General of the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

(WP) since 2018, and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

since 2020. Singh has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Eunos division of

Aljunied GRC The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. It consists of a large part of Hougang (excluding Hougang SMC), Paya Lebar, Serangoo ...

since 2011. Singh graduated from the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

in 2000 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. In 1999, he won the Straits Steamship Prize for being the top undergraduate student in history and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He was later awarded the

Chevening Scholarship The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship, funded by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and partner organizations, that enables foreign students to study at universities in the United Kingdom. History The C ...

for postgraduate studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, where he completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in war studies in 2004. Singh joined the Workers' Party and was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the 2011 general election, and has retained his parliamentary seat in subsequent elections. That same year, Singh completed a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree at the

Singapore Management University Singapore Management University (SMU) is a publicly funded private university in Singapore. Founded in 2000, SMU is the third oldest autonomous university in the country, modelling its education after the Wharton School. The university is trip ...

as well as qualifying for the bar. In 2013, Singh joined the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Donaldson & Burkinshaw, Singapore's oldest law firm. Singh was elected Secretary-General of the Workers' Party on 8 April 2018 as part of a leadership renewal, succeeding

Low Thia Khiang Low Thia Khiang (; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician and the secretary-general of the Workers' Party (WP) between 2001 and 2018. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) betw ...

. Singh was the '' de facto''

from 2018 to 2020. After the 2020 general election, his party emerged as the largest opposition party in Parliament when the party secured

Hougang SMC The Hougang Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. The current Member of Parliament is Dennis Tan from the Workers' Party (WP). History The constituency was first for ...

and Sengkang GRC, a total of 10 seats. Subsequently, Singh was appointed as the first ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

Early life and education

Singh was born on 2 August 1976 in Singapore. He was the younger child of his parents' two children. His father was a former district judge and former military officer. He attended Woodsville Primary School, Belvedere Primary School, Saint Thomas Secondary School — under the Normal (Academic) stream, and

Jurong Junior College Jurong Junior College (JJC) was a junior college located in Jurong West, Singapore. It was the ninth junior college to be established by the Ministry of Education of Singapore. History Jurong Junior College was first situated at West Coast, ...

. He graduated from the

with a

degree in

in 2000 under the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

's Local Study Award scholarship. He also graduated from

in 2004 with a

degree in

war studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

under the

. Singh also completed a diploma in

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

from the

International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is a public university in Malaysia. Headquartered in Gombak, Selangor, IIUM has six other campuses all over Malaysia: two medical-centric campuses and a Centre for Foundation Studies in Gam ...

in 2005. In 2007, Singh founded Opinion Asia, an online commentary syndicate with a focus on issues related to Asia and Asians. He obtained a

degree from the

in 2011.

Career

Military career

Singh enlisted in the

in 1994 and served as a commissioned officer between 1996 and 2002. During his service, he was a

combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, Tunnel warfare, tunnel and l ...

. At present, he is a reservist commander with the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Legal career

In 2013, Singh joined the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Donaldson & Burkinshaw, Singapore's oldest law firm., Donaldson & Burkinshaw website, retrieved 3 February 2013.

Political career

Singh joined the Workers' Party while completing a juris doctor degree at the Singapore Management University, citing its "level-headedness and leadership" as his primary motivator. During the 2011 general election, Singh was part of the five-member Workers' Party team which contested in

. The team included the party's secretary-general

, chairwoman

Sylvia Lim Sylvia Lim Swee Lian (; born 28 March 1965) is a Singaporean politician, lawyer, former police officer and former Temasek Polytechnic law lecturer. She has been the chairperson of the Workers' Party (Singapore), Workers' Party (WP) since 2003 a ...

and members Chen Show Mao and Faisal Manap. They faced the team from the incumbent

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP), which was led by Foreign Affairs minister George Yeo. The Workers' Party's team defeated the PAP team by 72,289 votes (54.7%) to 59,829 (45.2%), marking the first occasion in Singapore's history in which an opposition party had won an election in a GRC. Since the election, Singh has represented the Eunos ward within the constituency in Parliament. Singh was appointed as the assistant secretary general on the party's executive council. Singh was also previously the chairman of the Aljunied–Hougang Town Council (AHTC) from 2016 to 2020.

Leadership of the Workers' Party

In 2017, after

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 would have been scheduled to be held by 2021. 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.

2020 general election

The results of the 2020 general election saw Singh, together with

, Faisal Manap and former NCMPs

Gerald Giam Gerald Giam Yean Song ( zh, s=严燕松, p=Yán Yànsōng; born 22 November 1977) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), Giam has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok Reservoir– Pun ...

and

Leon Perera Leon Anil Perera (born 28 September 1970) is a Singaporean activist and politician. He was previously a Non-constituency Member of Parliament, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament between 2015 and 2020. Perera was the 14th Parliament of Singapo ...

, being re-elected to represent the Aljunied GRC constituents, with an increased share of the vote of 59.95%, defeating the PAP team that received 40.05%. The Workers' Party had also won

, its stronghold which has been held since 1991, and the newly created Sengkang GRC, the first time the Workers' Party had won a general election in a second GRC. Singh is the Town Councillor of the Public Relations Committee in the Aljunied–Hougang Town Council (AHTC) as an elected member of Aljunied–Hougang Town Council since 2020 alongside with Fadli Fawzi and

Leader of the Opposition

Following the 2020 general election in which the Workers' Party won ten seats, Prime Minister

decided to formally designate Singh as

, and said that he would be "provided with appropriate staff support and resources" to carry out his new parliamentary appointment role. Prior to this, the leader of the opposition was an unofficial ''de facto'' position in Parliament as the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

and standing orders of Parliament did not provide for such a position. With the creation of the formal office, Parliament announced that the appointment holder will draw an annual salary of S$385,000, double the salary of a regular Member of Parliament. Singh decided to donate half of the allowance increase from his new appointment for his party, charitable causes as well as his residents' needs. In 2020, Singh recommended a universal monthly minimum wage of S$1,300 in place of progressive wage. In 2023, Singh advocated for a mandatory knowledge of the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

when assessing aspirants of

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

in Singapore.

Prosecution for falsely testifying to Committee of Privileges

Following Raeesah Khan admitting to lying to Parliament in November 2021, in February 2022 the Committee of Privileges (COP) recommended that Singh (as well as Faisal Manap) be referred to the Public Prosecutor for review so as to determine if criminal proceedings ought to be brought against them for their conduct before the COP. On 15 February 2022, Parliament voted to proceed with this referral to the Public Prosecutor. On 19 March 2024, two years after the police originally initiated investigations into his conduct before the COP, the Public Prosecutor charged Singh in the State Courts with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee, under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act 1962. Singh was unrepresented when he was charged, and pleaded not guilty, claiming trial. He would remain as an MP when he was on trial. On April 17, it was reported that Singh had appointed Andre Jumabhoy and Aristotle Emmanuel Eng Zhen Yang as his defence counsel. On 31 May, it was reported that Singh's trial had been scheduled to begin on 14 October, lasting 16 days, until 13 November, and that the presiding judge would be Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan. On 17 February 2025, Singh was convicted of lying under oath to the COP and given a $7,000 fine for each counts. He has since lodged an appeal. Under the

, Singh remains eligible to stand for election as each of the separate charges do not meet the threshold requirements for disqualification (of at least a $10,000 fine or a imprisonment for at least a year).

2025 general election

In the 2025 general election, Singh contested in Aljunied GRC as the leader of the Worker's Party, and as an incumbent MP. His team consists of incumbent MPs

and

, Fadli Fawzi who replaced Faisal Manap following his wish to contest in

Tampines GRC The Tampines Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the eastern region of Singapore. The GRC encompasses Tampines and is managed by the Tampines Town Council, with five divisions: Tampine ...

and Kenneth Tiong, who replaced

following his resignation in 2023. They faced a team from the PAP, consisting of five new candidates, and won with 59.68% of the votes.

Personal life

Singh is of Punjabi ancestry and is a practising

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

. He married Loveleen Kaur Walia, a Singaporean theatre practitioner, in 2012. The couple have two daughters.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Pritam Singh
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

Workers' Party of Singapore profile
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Pritam Singaporean people of Indian descent 1976 births Living people National University of Singapore alumni Alumni of King's College London Singapore Management University alumni Members of the Parliament of Singapore Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians Singaporean people of Punjabi descent 21st-century Singaporean lawyers Singaporean Sikhs Singaporean politicians of Indian descent