No further action needed against WP’s Sylvia Lim, Faisal Manap: Leader of the House Indranee Rajah

Ministerial Statement: No Further Action on Lim and Manap

Indranee Rajah makes a ministerial statement explaining why Parliament will not take further action against Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim and Mr. Faisal Manap following the Committee of Privileges findings about untruths told during a 2021 Parliament committee inquiry.

Key Points and Reasoning

1. “Outstanding unfinished business”

On 14 January 2026, Parliament passed a motion addressing the implications of the High Court judgment and the Committee of Privileges findings for Lim and Manap. However, the question of what action to take had previously been left unresolved.

2. What the Committee of Privileges found (2021)

During the inquiry into a complaint involving Raeesah Khan, the Committee found that Lim and Manap lied to the Committee about what was discussed at an 8 August 2021 meeting.

As quoted in the speaker’s statement, the Committee’s key finding was that Lim and Manap attended the meeting, agreed with advice to bury the untruths, and did not tell the truth to the committee.

3. Why action was deferred

The Committee considered Lim and Manap’s roles to be “subsidiary”, and recommended deferring any decision on their conduct until after investigations and/or criminal proceedings against Pritam Singh concluded.

Parliament accepted this approach to ensure fairness and to allow consideration of any potentially contradictory evidence.

4. High Court findings confirm a contradiction

The speaker states that, following full court processes, the High Court (judgment delivered 4 December 2025) expressly found that the untruth was discussed at the 8 August 2021 meeting.

The High Court also found that Pritam Singh lied when denying telling Khan to “take it to the grave.” The speaker argues this directly contradicts Lim and Manap’s evidence to the Committee, thereby effectively confirming the Committee’s findings regarding them as well.

5. Legal time limits prevent further PPIPA penalties

Although Parliament could ordinarily initiate proceedings under the Parliament Privileges, Immunities and Powers Act (PPIPA) 1962 for knowingly lying to a parliamentary committee, the speaker argues that Section 22 imposes a time bar:

• The relevant conduct occurred during the first session of the 14th Parliament (in 2021).
• By the time proceedings concluded (after 4 Dec 2025), the 14th Parliament had been dissolved and the 15th Parliament had begun.
• Under Section 22, the 15th Parliament can only punish offenses from specified earlier sessions—so penalties for the 2021 conduct are no longer available.

6. What Parliament can still do—and why it won’t

The speaker says Parliament could still pass a motion expressing regret/disapproval.

However, she concludes that no further action should be taken regarding the Committee’s findings for Lim and Manap because:

• Parliament had already signaled disapproval of lying in the earlier January motion (during Singh’s case), and
• the current outcome is effectively determined by timing constraints after the benefit-of-the-doubt decision.

Final Decision

Unless a member objects, the speaker proposes that Parliament close the matter, citing the PPIPA time-bar as the decisive constraint.

Presenters / Contributors

• Indranee Rajah — Leader of the House; Ministerial statement speaker