Former Workers’ Party MP Leon Perera moving to US, dousing speculation he could contest General Election

SINGAPORE: Former Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament Leon Perera will be moving to the United States after taking up a new work role, dousing speculation that he could stand under the Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) banner in the upcoming General Election.

In a statement on LinkedIn on Tuesday (Jan 28), the 54-year-old wrote that he had taken up a new role as executive director at Yamada Consulting Group (YCG) USA. 

Mr Perera, who resigned from WP in July 2023 after an extramarital affair, has been spotted at multiple events with PSP leaders. In August 2024, the party confirmed he was volunteering with it "on an informal basis". 

CNA contacted Mr Perera to ask if the move means he will be effectively ruled out from contesting as a candidate in the upcoming General Election, which must be called by November.

He told CNA that he had “nothing to add” beyond the LinkedIn post and to contact PSP instead. In response to CNA's queries, PSP reiterated that Mr Perera is helping out as a volunteer.

Mr Perera said in his LinkedIn post that from a base in New York City, he will work with YCG colleagues to "grow and develop our business in the US and to build business connections between the US and Asia".

YCG provides consulting services primarily for Japanese companies.

He added in the post that on “a personal note”, he is looking forward to spending time in the US.

"I hope this period of time will help me to develop new perspectives and ideas about what is going on in the world, where it is heading and, most importantly, what is to be done to build a better future," he said.

"I also hope for fresh perspectives about my homeland. It is said that to see clearly, you sometimes need some distance."

He also thanked his wife, who he said has been travelling with him and will divide her time between Singapore and New York City.

Mr Perera added that he remains as chairman of Yamada Consulting and Spire group in Asia, where he will continue engaging Singapore and Asian companies and help to bridge them to investment opportunities in the US and globally.

He said in his post: “In this context, I expect to be back to Singapore fairly frequently - dashing the hopes of any Singaporeans out there who would rather be rid of me permanently.” 

PARTICIPATION IN GE UNLIKELY, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE: ANALYSTS

Political analysts that CNA spoke to said that the move overseas means Mr Perera will most likely not put himself up as a candidate at the upcoming General Election.

“It would seem very unlikely that he will be contesting in the election,” said independent political observer Felix Tan.

“If he is based in the US, then one could not expect that he would be able to contribute significantly in parliamentary debates - if he gets elected that’s to say,” he added.

“Furthermore, given this decision at this juncture ... if he’s even elected, how would he be able to respond to residents during Meet-the-People sessions?”

Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the SMU School of Law said that Mr Perera’s relocation “doesn’t definitively rule him out” of the upcoming election.

“To the best of my knowledge, there are no requirements as to the time an elected Member of Parliament (MP) has to be in Singapore,” said Assoc Prof Tan.

He noted that in the 1970s and 1980s, there were People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs who were also ambassadors of Singapore in foreign countries, such as Dr Chiang Hai Ding and Mr Joseph Francis Conceicao.

However, being based overseas “will certainly affect his work as an MP as you can’t do a good part of the engagement and walking the ground remotely”.

He added that there are also regular parliamentary sittings, which an MP needs to secure a leave of absence from the Speaker if he or she is unable to attend a sitting.

“So an MP based overseas will have to travel back to Singapore to attend parliament (but) this is less of an issue than the constituency work that is a daily occurrence,” said Assoc Prof Tan.

If Mr Perera does intend to contest in the election, Assoc Prof Tan added that this is an issue that “he will have to address on the campaign trail”.

EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR 

In 2023, while Mr Perera was an MP for Aljunied GRC, a video of him and the party’s youth wing chair Nicole Seah surfaced.

The silent 15-second clip appeared to show Mr Perera dining with Ms Seah while holding and stroking her hands. 

The two admitted to an extramarital affair and resigned from the party.

At a press conference addressing the incident, party chief Pritam Singh said at the time: “Had he not offered his resignation, I would have recommended to the CEC (central executive committee) that he be expelled from the party.” 

Mr Perera became a Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) after the 2015 General Election, when he contested in East Coast GRC.

In the 2020 general election, Mr Perera was part of the WP lineup that retained Aljunied GRC. They won 59.95 per cent of the vote against the PAP.

Currently, PSP has two NCMPs – Ms Hazel Poa and Mr Leong Mun Wai – who both contested in West Coast GRC in 2020. 

The next General Election must be held by November. The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has been formed, the Elections Department said on Jan 22 – a key step in the lead up to the election.

According to political observers, the west of Singapore is expected to have its electoral boundaries redrawn by the committee.