No by-election will be called after Faishal’s resignation, says Desmond Lee

[SINGAPORE] A by-election will not be called in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in the wake of Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim’s resignation on July 20, said PAP chairman Desmond Lee. 

Speaking to reporters outside the PAP branch in Kembangan, Lee said the PAP will provide, in time to come, more details about how it plans to “strengthen the team”. 

Faishal oversaw the Kembangan ward within Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.

Lee said the PAP will also make sure existing MPs “step up and step forward” to look after Kembangan residents.

Faishal resigned from politics over a “lapse of judgment” in his interactions with a woman. 

There was no physical relationship between the two of them, he said in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. However, Faishal added that he had failed to “establish clearer boundaries” and that his conduct “fell short” of the standards expected of him. 

Lee, who is Education Minister, was asked if Faishal’s departure will trigger a by-election, especially because there is now no minority representation in the GRC. 

In response, Lee said there were similar situations in the past, in the former Jurong GRC and Sengkang GRC, and a by-election was not held. 

In 2023, then Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was a Jurong GRC MP, stepped down from politics to contest the presidential election, which he later won.

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In 2021, former Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan from the Workers’ Party resigned from politics after lying to Parliament. 

The remaining members of the GRC team, in both instances, shared the load of serving constituents until the end of their parliamentary terms. 

Lee said what is key is whether residents’ needs are adequately met.  

In Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, four other MPs will “put in extra effort” to ensure that the residents of all communities of all backgrounds are well taken care of, he added.  

The four MPs are Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming, Diana Pang, Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng and Tin Pei Ling. 

In the 2025 General Election, there were 131,820 voters in the GRC, and the PAP team won in a walkover.

There is no law that requires a by-election to be called in a GRC unless all its MPs step down, unlike in a single-member seat, which cannot be left vacant. 

PAP’s rules of conduct 

Lee also addressed questions on why Faishal had to resign and what standards of conduct he had breached. 

He said the PAP has made clear to all political office holders and its MPs that integrity and conduct must be at the highest standards.

“Where an office holder or MP has conducted himself or herself in a way that compromises that, whether it is a lapse of judgment or a failure to draw boundaries clearly, then action has to be taken,” he added. 

Lee said these standards are outlined in a code of conduct sent out by the prime minister. 

The last set of these rules was sent to MPs and the press by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in May 2025. They cover how MPs should behave in various settings, including at work and in interacting with the public. 

The rules say that MPs must always uphold the high standards of the party and not have lifestyles or personal conduct that will embarrass themselves and the party. 

PM Wong, at the time, said: “Any slackening of standards, or show of arrogance or indifference, will erode confidence in the MP, and ultimately in the party and Government.”

Lee did not say which of the rules of conduct Faishal had breached. 

He also did not go into the details about the nature of the interactions between Faishal and the woman, who is a member of the public. 

What is key, Lee said, is that Faishal acknowledged that there was a lapse of judgment and that he had fallen short of the standards of conduct expected of him.

He said: “His action of offering to resign is the correct one. It is a painful decision for him.

“It is a difficult situation for us, but we think this is necessary in order to uphold these standards and to ensure that public trust in our politics is retained.”

Asked if the incident has damaged public trust in the party, Lee said people will be concerned and unsure of the situation.

“We will double down on looking out for their interests and needs in order to maintain public trust,” he added. THE STRAITS TIMES