Nicole Seah and Leon Perera resign from WP
The resignation of MP Leon Perera and senior party leader Nicole Seah following an extramarital affair has shaken the Worker’s Party (WP). WP chief Pritam Singh revealed the news during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Geylang.
The controversy surfaced when a video circulated online. The video showed Leon Perera and Nicole Seah touching hands at a restaurant while having a glass of wine. Both were part of the party’s central executive committee (CEC), the top decision-making body. Due to this, WP deemed it necessary to address the situation.
Rumors of the affair had been circulating within the party since late 2020. Allegations of the two frequenting hotels and behaving inappropriately. The issue was brought to the attention of party leaders in early 2021. Leon Perera was mentoring Nicole Seah at the time, leading some to believe that their interactions went beyond a professional relationship.
Party leaders, including Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim, and Jamus Lim, discussed the matter at a meeting held at the WP headquarters. The following day, the CEC members held another meeting. In that meeting the trio made the decision regarding the party’s next steps, which they planned to communicate at the subsequent press conference.
Leon Perera, aged 53, represented Aljunied GRC’s Serangoon division and was in charge of the party’s media team. Nicole Seah, aged 36, was the WP’s Youth Wing president. She was also a candidate for the party in the 2020 General Election.
Leon Perera, a former civil servant and co-founder of a business research and consulting agency, joined politics in 2015. He became a Non-Constituency MP from 2015 to 2020 before securing a seat in East Coast GRC.
Nicole Seah, the youngest female candidate when she entered politics with the National Solidarity Party in 2011. She later joined the WP’s media team after the 2015 general election. She married in 2015 and welcomed her second child in April 2022.
The situation has raised concerns within the party. It has become a significant political event in the country, prompting the resignations of the involved members due to the affair.
