Leon Perera resigns as MP and from WP; Nicole Seah also quits party

Aljunied GRC MP Leon Perera and senior Workers' Party (WP) member Nicole Seah have resigned from their posts after admitting to having an extramarital affair, party chief Pritam Singh said on Wednesday (July 19).

Speaking to reporters in a press conference at the WP's Geylang headquarters, Singh was joined by party chairman Sylvia Lim.

"Both of them (Perera and Seah) admitted that they had an affair, which started after the General Election of 2020, but that it had stopped some time ago," the party chief said.

He added: "The Constitution of the Workers' Party requires candidates to be honest and frank in their dealings with the party and the people of Singapore.

"Leon's conduct and not being truthful when asked by the party leadership about the allegations fell short of the standards expected of WP MPs.

"This is unacceptable. Had he not offered his resignation, I would have recommended to the CEC that he be expelled from the party."

Singh said that around late 2020 and early 2021, he was informed by Perera's driver through WhatsApp that Perera and Seah were meeting very often at hotels, restaurants and had been seen hugging each other and holding hands.

Both Perera and Seah initially denied the allegations.

Perera, 53, and Seah, 36, were not present during the press conference.

Then on Monday, a 16-second clip circulating on social media showed Perera and Seah looking fondly at each other while holding hands at a restaurant.

While WP said in a statement on the same day that they are "looking into the matter", rumours of the pair frequenting hotels and behaving inappropriately since 2020 began swirling online.

On Tuesday, Perera's former driver told AsiaOne that senior party members – including Singh, Lim and Gerald Giam – knew about Perera and Seah's affair as early as three years ago.

In the press conference, Singh shared that he and other members of his party only found out about the video on Monday (July 17) when it went viral.

"We moved as quickly as we could bearing in mind that we needed to be fair to everyone, get to the bottom of the matters and put things right," he said, "And we did so".

Singh shared that Seah had offered her resignation on Tuesday (July 18) due to her "personal misconduct" with Perera, and was accepted the next day.

"My actions were selfish and reckless," Seah wrote in a letter to Singh. "I am also mindful that my public standing means I should have been a better role model towards younger Singaporeans and youth members of the Party."

In Perera's letter of resignation to Singh on Wednesday, he apologised for not being forthcoming with information when this issue arose within the party and he was asked about it some time back.

“Our party constitution requires that we are honest and frank in our dealings with the party and the people of Singapore,” Singh wrote in his reply.

Singh added that Perera's resignation was accepted after deliberation by the party Central Executive Committee (CEC).

WP leaders and CEC members also met at the headquarters to discuss the matter on Monday and Tuesday evening, local media reported.

Perera was the MP for Aljunied GRC's Serangoon division, and headed the party's media team. He is married with two children.

Seah was the president of WP's Youth Wing. She is also married with two children.

On handover arrangements at Perera's ward, Lim said that Aljunied GRC MPs have been rostered to the end of the year to cover Meet-the-People sessions at Serangoon.

chingshijie@asiaone.com