Singapore acting minister Faishal Ibrahim resigns over conduct concerns
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Faishal Ibrahim quit his cabinet role and the ruling party after interactions with a woman drew scrutiny.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Singapore’s acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Faishal Ibrahim, has resigned from his cabinet post and the ruling People’s Action Party after questions over his conduct involving a woman. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Monday the case raised issues about the standards expected of office holders, even though he said no criminal action would be taken.
Wong said most of Faishal’s contact with the woman occurred through online messages, and that they also met at public events. He said both sides had made harassment allegations against each other and that police were involved in the matter.
Wong said neither party had committed a criminal offence and that the case would not lead to criminal action. He said the remaining issue was whether Faishal’s behaviour met the expectations placed on a political office holder and member of parliament.
Faishal, who has served as a member of parliament since 2006, became acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs in 2025. Wong said he was saddened that Faishal was leaving politics in these circumstances.
Faishal cites lapse in judgment
In a resignation letter published on the prime minister’s office website, Faishal said there had been no physical relationship with the woman and that he had not intended for their contact to become one.
Faishal said he had shown poor judgment in how he dealt with the interactions and in not setting clearer boundaries sooner. His resignation removes him from both the cabinet role and the People’s Action Party, which has governed Singapore since independence.
The PAP has long promoted a reputation for clean government. Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that the party has faced a series of political controversies in recent years, putting pressure on that image.
Recent pressure on political reputation
In 2023, then Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran came under investigation for corruption alongside Malaysian hotel billionaire Ong Beng Seng. The following year, Iswaran pleaded guilty to receiving more than 380,000 Singapore dollars, or about $294,000, in gifts from Ong, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Those gifts included tickets to West End theatre productions and football matches, with some linked to advancing Ong’s business interests, according to the reports. The case was one of several episodes that drew public attention to conduct among Singapore’s political figures.
Also in 2023, two senior members of Singapore’s largest opposition party resigned after acknowledging an affair, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. Separately, two ministers were investigated and cleared of wrongdoing over their rental of state-owned properties.
Those incidents led former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to say the PAP’s image had been damaged by the run of scandals, according to the reports. Wong’s statement on Faishal framed the latest resignation as a standards issue rather than a criminal case.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.