Raeesah Khan, darling of Singapore millennials, resigns as opposition MP after lying in parliament

Khan had earlier admitted to lying in parliament when she took the police to task over a rape investigation

The 28-year-old lawmaker’s resignation is a setback for the main opposition Workers’ Party after its breakthrough result in last year’s general election

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Workers‘ Party MP Raeesah Khan, 27, admitted on November 1 to lying to Singapore’s parliament earlier this year about details of a rape case that she had said was mishandled by police. Photo: YouTube

Published: 7:00am, 1 Dec 2021Updated: 9:53pm, 1 Dec 2021

A debutant Singaporean opposition MP hailed during last year’s election as one of the faces of the country’s politically awakened millennial generation has resigned, weeks after she admitted to lying to parliament when she admonished the police force for being insensitive towards a rape survivor.

Observers had earlier said Raeesah Khan’s resignation would prove to be a major test for the Workers’ Party, to which she belonged. The party said in a statement that she had resigned from the party, which under the law meant she automatically vacated her seat as an MP in the 104-seat legislature.

The 28-year-old was one of 10 Workers’ Party members who were elected to office in last year’s general election in a breakthrough for the country’s long beleaguered opposition.

Khan stunned citizens – used to a more staid politics – when on November 1 she admitted to misleading the legislature. Subsequently, she was referred to the parliamentary committee for breach of parliamentary privilege.