Raeesah Khan has brought Singapore politics to an inflection point

Not all inflection points happen with a bang. Most are subtle, but society’s reaction to the change will have far-reaching implications.

Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan’s claim of police misconduct, during the 3 August debate on empowering women, is an inflection point for Singapore politics. The outcome will signal Singaporean’s acceptance or rejection of Trumpian politics — describe as blustering, narcissistic behavior, and a brazen disregard for the truth.

During the debate, Khan highlighted an incident of the police mishandling a sexual assault case by making inappropriate comments when interviewing the rape victim. Khan said she witnessed this misconduct three years ago as she had personally accompanied the 25-year-old rape victim to a police station to make the report where the incident happened.

As allegations of misconduct by government institutions can lead to loss of trust in the agency, they are taken seriously. The Ministry of Home Affairs has checked their records and found no cases that fit Khan’s description. When pressed for further details so that the police can investigate the allegations, Khan has repeatedly declined to give any information to substantiate her claim citing the privacy of the victim. Even with the assurance that the victim’s…