Singapore minister resigns over ‘interactions with a woman’, PM says

The People’s Action Party, which prides itself on ​a clean reputation, has been rocked by a series of scandals recently.

Singapore’s acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim has resigned ⁠over his interactions with a woman, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said.

“Most of their interactions took place through online messages,” Wong said in a statement on Monday. “⁠They also met on the sidelines of public events.”

Both parties made allegations of harassment against each other, and the matter is being investigated by ⁠the police, he added.

The People’s Action Party, which prides itself on a “whiter than white” reputation, has been rocked by a series of political scandals in recent years.

In ۲۰۲۳, then Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran was put under investigation for corruption alongside Malaysian billionaire hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng. A year later, Iswaran pleaded guilty to receiving more than ۳۸۰,۰۰۰ Singapore dollars ($۲۹۴,۰۰۰) worth of gifts from Ong, including tickets for West End shows and football matches, some of them in exchange for advancing Ong’s business interests.

Two senior members of Singapore’s largest opposition party also resigned in ۲۰۲۳ after they admitted to having an affair, while two ministers were investigated and cleared of wrongdoing over their rental of state-owned properties. This prompted former Prime Minister Lee ‌Hsien Loong to say that his party’s image was damaged by a series of scandals.

Wong said no criminal offence had been committed by either party in Faishal’s case, and no criminal action would be taken, but “there was a separate question of whether Associate Professor Faishal’s conduct met the standards expected of a political office holder and member of parliament”.

Faishal has been a member of ⁠parliament since ۲۰۰۶ and became the acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs in ۲۰۲۵. He has now resigned from the ⁠ruling People’s Action Party as well as his cabinet position.

In his resignation letter posted on the website of the prime minister’s office, Faishal said: “While there was no physical relationship between us, ⁠and I did not intend for the interactions to develop into one, there was a lapse of judgment on my part ⁠in the way I handled the interactions, and ⁠in failing to establish clearer boundaries at an earlier stage.”

Wong said he was saddened Faishal was leaving politics under such circumstances.