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Speaker Seah Kian Peng Reads PM Wong’s Letter on Pritam Singh’s LO Role Cessation

 



On February 3 2026, the Singapore Parliament officially implemented a change in its seating arrangements, moving the Workers’ Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh from his prominent position in the House. For several years, Mr Singh had occupied the seat directly opposite Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, a position traditionally reserved for the Leader of the Opposition (LO) to facilitate direct debate and oversight of the government. However, following his formal removal from the LO role on January 15 2026, Mr Singh has been relocated two seats down in the same front row.

According to the updated seating plan released on the Parliament website, Mr Singh is now seated between Jurong GRC MP Xie Yao Quan, who is also a Deputy Speaker, and Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jaafar. This new placement puts Mr Singh directly across from Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung, rather than the Prime Minister. The seat previously held by Mr Singh across the aisle from PM Wong is now occupied by Deputy Speaker Christopher de Souza.

This shift is the latest development in a political process that began in mid-January. On January 14 2026, Parliament voted in favor of a motion brought forward by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah, which declared Mr Singh unsuitable for the role of Leader of the Opposition. This followed his criminal conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee during the investigation into former MP Raeesah Khan’s conduct. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong subsequently announced that it was "no longer tenable" for Mr Singh to continue as the LO, citing the need to uphold the dignity and integrity of the House.

In the wake of this removal, Prime Minister Wong invited the Workers’ Party to nominate another elected Member of Parliament to fill the vacancy. The Workers’ Party, however, declined the invitation on January 21 2026. In their official response, the WP leadership argued that the position of Leader of the Opposition is not a discretionary government appointment but a role that should naturally be held by the leader of the largest opposition party based on the electoral mandate of the people. They maintained that because they consider Mr Singh their leader, they would not nominate a replacement.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) responded by stating that the government accepted the WP’s decision not to nominate a successor. In a letter read by Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng at the start of the February 3 sitting, PM Wong formally notified the House that the position of Leader of the Opposition will remain vacant until such time that the Workers’ Party is ready to nominate a suitable candidate. This vacancy means that the specific privileges previously afforded to the LO—such as double the allowance of an elected MP, additional speaking time, and the right of first reply—will no longer be exercised.

The transition was handled with formal procedural oversight. Speaker Seah Kian Peng confirmed that he had received the Prime Minister's letter, effectively closing the chapter on Mr Singh’s tenure as Singapore’s first formally designated Leader of the Opposition since 2020. While Mr Singh remains a Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC and the Secretary-General of his party, his physical relocation within the chamber serves as a visual marker of his changed status within the parliamentary hierarchy. As the session continued on February 3, the House moved on to debate other legislative matters, including bills on land transport and food safety, while the prominent seat across from the Prime Minister remained occupied by the Deputy Speaker.

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