Singapore Opposition Lawmaker Quits as Political Scandals Mount

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s main opposition party announced that lawmaker Leon Perera resigned following an affair with a colleague just days after two ruling party members of parliament stepped down over a similar inappropriate relationship.

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Perera sent a letter to parliament today tendering his resignation, Pritam Singh, the opposition leader and Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party, told reporters on Wednesday. WP member Nicole Seah also quit, Singh added.

“Leon’s conduct in not being truthful when asked by the party leadership about the allegations fell short of the standards expected of Workers’ Party MPs,” Singh said. “This is unacceptable.”

The relationship came to light in local media reports just hours before Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Monday that parliament speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and a ruling party lawmaker resigned from their posts after having an inappropriate relationship of their own.

The resignations are the latest in a series of scandals to send shockwaves through Singapore, including a graft probe involving a cabinet minister.

The ruling People’s Action Party has been in power since Singapore’s independence in 1965 and has long touted its corruption-free image, even as neighboring countries frequently battle the graft that undercuts their appeal to foreign investors. The city-state will hold a presidential election in the next few months, and a general vote is due by 2025.

(Updates with quote from party chief in the third paragraph)

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