SINGH CALLED THE SHOTS ON SERIOUS ISSUES: NATHAN
Mr Nathan was also questioned about why he did not raise any alternative even though he was surprised by the course of action Singh and party leaders allegedly wanted Ms Khan to take on her lie.
On Aug 7, 2021, Mr Nathan and Ms Loh had a Zoom meeting with Ms Khan where told them about her lie and that she was a survivor of sexual assault.
Mr Nathan said they did not tell Ms Khan to tell the truth because their approach was “to wait and see what the party leaders would decide on this very serious issue”.
On Aug 8, 2021, Ms Khan sent Mr Nathan and Ms Loh a WhatsApp message saying that WP leaders “agreed that the best thing to do is to take the information to the grave”.
Mr Nathan explained why he did not reply to this message at the time: “I was initially surprised that the leaders wanted her to take it to the grave, but after a while I accepted it.”
He said that party leaders “would have the authority to come up with whatever solution they wanted to”, and that he did not bring up further investigation “because (he) understood that the party leaders had taken a position”.
At an Aug 10, 2021, meeting with Singh and Ms Loh, Mr Nathan also agreed that Singh did not tell them what was to be done about Ms Khan’s lie, and that he did not question Singh about the position.
He explained why: “Because Mr Singh is party leader. Ms Khan is my MP. And first of all, I trusted what she had said in the message. And secondly, I think if Mr Singh had wanted action to be taken, he probably would have conveyed that to Ms Loh and I at some point.”
He said that Singh being party leader meant that “on such a serious issue as this, he would be the one calling the shots”.
When Mr Jumabhoy asked whether Mr Nathan had questioned Singh on “serious issues” before, he agreed. In 2019, Mr Nathan had criticised a speech that Singh gave on LGBTQ issues to a university.
Mr Nathan agreed that on LGBTQ issues, Singh being the party leader was not a bar for him to challenge what the secretary-general was saying.
“I would say I’m capable (of articulating disagreement), but I don’t necessarily see a need to do it all the time. It’s a case-by-case basis kind of thing,” he said.
Asked again whether he did not say anything about the decision Ms Khan said the party leaders had taken on her lie, Mr Nathan said he took Singh’s directions on party issues “most of the time” when they worked together.
