SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party (WP) has convened a disciplinary committee to look into the Facebook posts of cadre member Daniel Goh regarding former WP MP Raeesah Khan.
On Saturday, the former non-constituency MP said on Facebook that he had declined to be interviewed by the committee, which had asked to hear the rationale behind his public statements.
Associate Professor Goh said the committee alleged his posts had revealed the inner workings of the parliamentary caucus of the WP MPs, allowed political opponents to have an inside understanding of how the WP operates and cast a cloud over the character of the leadership of the party.
Ms Khan resigned from the party and as an MP for Sengkang GRC last November after she admitted to lying in Parliament.
Prof Goh then posed several questions regarding her resignation and said that it had left "many inconvenient questions" for the WP leadership unanswered.
In a separate post, he said the party's leadership must take some responsibility for allowing the transgression to persist.
He also related his own experience in which speeches were shared, reviewed and debated among MPs, and if a mistake was made, it was rectified immediately.
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In Prof Goh's post on Saturday, he said that his earlier posts were questions based on public information as he had stepped down from his party posts in 2020.
He also said he had asked the questions as a concerned citizen and as a party member who believes that "public accountability and integrity are non-negotiable values demanded of our political leaders".
"In issues of grave public interest, questions must be asked about the inner workings of any organisation. If asking those questions carries a price, I am willing to pay it, and count it inexpensive," wrote Prof Goh, the associate provost of undergraduate education at the National University of Singapore.
He added that he has no intention of participating in party matters, including the Cadre Members' Conference in a few months' time to elect the party leaders.
Prof Goh urged the party leaders to make public the grounds of their decision to convene the committee and explain any disciplinary sanctions they would impose on him.
He also questioned what the committee had meant when it said his posts had cast a cloud over the character of the leadership of the WP, as it suggested to him that his questions, rather than the leaders' actions and responses, had caused people to lose their trust in the WP leaders.
When asked by The Straits Times on Sunday if he was planning to remain a member of the party, Prof Goh said: "I have no intention of resigning."
When contacted by ST, the WP declined to comment on the disciplinary committee and the sanctions it may impose on Prof Goh.
He stepped down from his party posts prior to the general election in 2020 owing to his health. He was a non-constituency member of Parliament between 2016 and 2020.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
