Raeesah Khan

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In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Khan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Raeesah.

Raeesah Khan
راعيسىه خان
Official portrait, 2019
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Sengkang GRC
In office
10 July 2020 – 30 November 2021
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byWP held
Majority4,898 (4.24%)
Personal details
BornRaeesah Begum bte Farid Khan
(1993-11-10) 10 November 1993 (age 32)
Singapore
Other political
affiliations		Workers' Party
(2018–2021)
Spouse
Mahadhir Caffoor
​
(m. 2018)​
Children2
Alma materMurdoch University (Bcom.)
Occupation
  • Social activist
  • Former politician

Raeesah Begum binte Farid Khan (Jawi: راعيسىه خن; born 10 November 1993) is a Singaporean social activist and former politician. A former member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), she was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Compassvale division of Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) between 2020 and 2021.

On 30 November 2021, Khan resigned from both the WP and Parliament after admitted to repeatedly lying in Parliament on multiple occasions.[1]

Early life

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Raeesah is the daughter of ethnic Malay parents of mixed-race ancestry. Her father, Farid Khan bin Kaim Khan, is a marine service businessman of mixed Indian-Pakistani descent and a candidate in the 2017 presidential election. His wife, Naeemah Shaik bte Abu Bakar, is of Arab descent.[2][3] She has a younger brother, Yusuf Khan.[4]

Raeesah studied economics and marketing at Murdoch University.[5]

Career

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In 2016, Raeesah founded the Reyna Movement, an organisation aiming to empower marginalised women and children through up-skilling programs and community engagement.[6][7] It has worked with women's shelters, the homeless, at-risk children and low-income families in Singapore.[7]

Political career

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Raeesah at a press conference in 2020

Raeesah became a member of the WP in 2018, having previously volunteered in the party's grassroots activities. On 30 June 2020, she, Jamus Lim, He Ting Ru, and Louis Chua were announced as the party's candidates for Sengkang GRC in the 2020 general election.[8] She was also the youngest WP candidate in the general election.[5]

Before Polling Day, two separate police reports were lodged against Raeesah for allegedly making two online comments, both regarding racial and religious discrimination.[9][10][11][12] The WP later supported Raeesah; she also apologised and released a statement stating that her intention was "never to cause social divisions but to raise awareness on minority issues", adding that she regretted her "insensitive" comments.[13][14][15] Netizens claimed that the resurfacing of her past comments was a political move, with hashtags such as "#IStandWithRaeesah" trending on Twitter.[16]

At the election, the WP team won 52.12% of the vote, defeating the governing People's Action Party (PAP) in an upset victory that secured a second GRC for the WP.[17][18][19]

On 17 September of the same year, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) issued her with a warning over her reported posts.[20][21]

Allegations against the police

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On 3 August 2021, Raeesah made an allegation against the SPF during a parliamentary debate on empowering women. She alleged that, in 2018, a police officer made inappropriate comments about a 25-year-old rape victim whom she had accompanied to make a police report, and gave recommendations to increase sensitivity in investigations. Desmond Tan, Minister of State for Home Affairs, subsequently called the allegations "serious" and "[needing] investigation". When asked for details, Raeesah declined, saying that she did not wish to retraumatise the victim, affirming that the anecdote was not an isolated case. She also agreed to file a parliamentary question if it was about questions related to the issue, adding that the speech was not to cast aspersions on the police and clarifying later that the police can be the solution. She also said she was unsuccessful in contacting the victim after the incident happened, adding that she would communicate directly with the Ministry of Home Affairs in the future if a similar situation occurred.[22]

On 4 October, K. Shanmugam, Minister for Law and Home Affairs, said the police had checked their records and found no cases that fit Raeesah's description; he asked her to provide more details about the alleged mishandling of the case. In response, Raeesah reaffirmed her statement but, citing concerns about confidentiality, declined to reveal any further details, including the police station they went to.[23] On 20 October, the police said that an extensive search had not managed to identify the case in question, adding that Raeesah had also not responded to their requests to provide more details about the case.[24]

On 1 November, Raeesah admitted that she had lied on three occasions about the alleged incident in Parliament. She had not accompanied the victim to make a police report, and had heard about the incident from a support group for women who had been victims of sexual assault. She also did not have the victim's consent to share the incident in Parliament. In explaining why she had lied, Raeesah claimed that she had been sexually assaulted at 18 while studying abroad.[25] In response, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah expressed sympathy towards Raeesah but raised an official complaint against her for breaching parliamentary privilege and asked for the matter to be referred to the Committee of Privileges.[25] As Indranee and Shanmugam recused themselves from the committee on a one-time basis, Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Rahayu Mahzam, Parliamentary Secretary for Communications and Information and Health, were nominated to the committee by Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin. Later on, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad was appointed to replace Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who recused himself too.[26][27]

The following day, the WP approved the formation of a separate disciplinary panel to investigate Raeesah's conduct, chaired by Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap.[28][29]

Resignation

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On 30 November 2021, Raeesah submitted her resignation from the WP and Parliament following the probe over her admission of lying.[30][31][32] Raeesah also posted on her social media accounts her letter of resignation addressed to Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin. Despite the resignation, the Committee of Privileges announced that it would continue its investigations.[33][34]

Two days later, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the WP claimed that, despite having known about the lies the week after her speech, after knowing her circumstances, they allowed her to clarify herself, with Singh, the secretary-general of the party, asking her to make her best efforts in contacting the victim or the individuals involved in that sexual assault case. The matter was supposed to have been clarified in Parliament in September, but a shingles episode made that unlikely. When Raeesah returned to Parliament in October, she repeated her assertions instead of clarifying. The leadership of the WP voted overwhelmingly to ask Raeesah to resign before she did so, otherwise threatening her with expulsion from the party. Instead, before the CEC met on the matter, Raeesah informed Singh that she would resign. The remaining MPs for Sengkang GRC would not step down for a by-election; the Compassvale division was physically divided among them for representation in Parliament. Faisal Manap, vice-chair of the WP and incumbent MP for Aljunied GRC, was also made an advisor to the Sengkang MPs. Additional support was announced for the Sengkang team during house visits, which were to resume in January. The party also stated that it would "review how candidates [were] selected for elections as well as vetting of speeches", while "[not being] deterred from fielding young and progressive candidates in future elections". Before the speech was made, Raeesah was told to substantiate the anecdote, an instruction she did not follow. Separately, after Daniel Goh, a former WP non-constituency MP (NCMP), told the party leadership in comments to "take responsibility", the party said that it would investigate the comments, given that cadres did not share opinions openly. Goh replied that he had every right as a citizen to comment.[35][36][37][38][39] He was subsequently expelled from the party in 2023 due to his comments.[40]

Investigations by the Committee of Privileges

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After investigations, on 10 February 2022, the Committee of Privileges recommended that Raeesah be fined S$35,000, with Singh and Faisal being referred to the Public Prosecutor for prosecution.[41] A parliamentary debate was held on 15 February, with the recommendations accepted.[42] On 29 April, the case was referred to the Police to allow them to interview further witnesses related to the case.[43]

Personal life

[edit]

Raeesah first met Mahadhir Caffoor in 2017. They married on 14 July 2018. Together, they have a son and daughter.[44][45][46]

References

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  1. ^ "No by-election in Sengkang GRC after Raeesah Khan's resignation: WP". CNA. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  2. ^ Tang, See Kit, Chew, Hui Min. "GE2020: Workers’ Party introduces five more prospective candidates Archived 24 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine". Channel News Asia. 26 June 2020. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  3. ^ Tan, Audrey., Kurohi, Rei. "Singapore GE2020: Workers’ Party confirms Aljunied GRC slate, introduces second batch of candidates Archived 8 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine". The Straits Times. 26 June 2020. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Giving back to society: Why Salleh Marican and Farid Khan want to be Singapore's next president".
  5. ^ a b "WP GE 2020 candidate Raeesah Khan: Being an elected official does not make one "more important than the person cleaning our tables"". 29 June 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  6. ^ Anis Nabilah. "10 young candidates to look out for in Singapore’s GE2020 Archived 11 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine". Youth SG. 1 July 2020. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan - The Workers' Party of Singapore". www.wp.sg. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  8. ^ Abu Baker, Jalelah (30 June 2020). "GE2020: PAP and WP to face off in new four-member Sengkang GRC". CNA. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  9. ^ Tee Zhuo (5 July 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Police investigating WP's Sengkang candidate Raeesah Khan over alleged online comments on race and religion". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Police investigating WP candidate Raeesah Khan over alleged online comments on race, religion". CNA. 5 July 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Police investigating WP candidate Raeesah Khan for social media posts which allegedly promote enmity between different groups". Today. Singapore. 5 July 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  12. ^ Belmont Lay (5 July 2020). "2 police reports made against WP's Raeesah Khan over alleged comments on race". mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  13. ^ Rei Kurohi (5 July 2020). "Singapore GE2020: WP's Raeesah Khan apologises for comments on race and religion which are under police investigation". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  14. ^ Chia Han Keong (5 July 2020). "GE2020: Workers' Party stands by Sengkang GRC candidate Raeesah Khan following 2 police reports". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  15. ^ Ashley Tan (5 July 2020). "WP's Raeesah Khan apologises for alleged racial comments, Pritam Singh says no regrets fielding her". mothership.sg. Mothership. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Despite police report, support for WP's Raeesah Khan is growing – The Independent News". 7 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  17. ^ "GE2020: Workers' Party claims Sengkang GRC in upset win". TODAYonline. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  18. ^ "GE2020: WP scores stunning win in Sengkang, 2nd GRC ever to be won by opposition". sg.news.yahoo.com. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  19. ^ "ELD | 2020 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  20. ^ "Police issue 'stern warning' to Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan over online comments on race, religion". CNA. 17 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Vital to frame difficult conversations in considerate and accountable manner, says WP's Raeesah Khan after police warning". CNA. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  22. ^ Lai, Linette (3 August 2021). "WP MP's allegations of police mishandling sexual assault case are serious, says Desmond Tan". The Straits Times.
  23. ^ Kurohi, Rei (4 October 2021). "Police to interview WP MP Raeesah Khan over allegation of mishandled sexual assault case". The Straits Times.
  24. ^ Kurohi, Rei (20 October 2021). "Alleged mishandling of sexual assault case: No response from WP MP Raeesah, say police". The Straits Times.
  25. ^ a b Kurohi, Rei (1 November 2021). "WP MP Raeesah Khan referred to committee after admitting she lied to Parliament about sexual assault case". The Straits Times.
  26. ^ Tham, Yuen-C (3 November 2021). "Edwin Tong, Rahayu Mahzam to sit on committee looking into MP Raeesah Khan's admission of lying in Parliament". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  27. ^ Chew, Hui Min (27 November 2021). "Committee of Privileges has begun work on complaint on MP Raeesah Khan, will hold meetings in private". CNA. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  28. ^ Baharudin, Hariz; Kurohi, Rei (2 November 2021). "WP forms disciplinary panel to look into Raeesah Khan's admission she had lied in Parliament". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Workers' Party forms disciplinary panel to look into Raeesah Khan's admission of lying in Parliament". CNA. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Raeesah Khan resigns from WP, steps down as Sengkang MP (FULL STATEMENT)". Yahoo Singapore. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  31. ^ Baharudin, Hariz (30 November 2021). "Sengkang MP Raeesah Khan resigns from WP following probe over admission of lying in Parliament". The Straits Times. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  32. ^ "Raeesah Khan resigns from The Workers' Party and as MP after admitting to lying in Parliament". CNA. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  33. ^ Goh, Yan Han (1 December 2021). "Raeesah Khan resigns from WP: Parliament's Committee of Privileges to continue probe into admission of lying". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  34. ^ "Committee of Privileges will continue to look into Raeesah Khan complaint following her resignation as MP". CNA. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  35. ^ Baharudin, Hariz (2 December 2021). "WP leaders told by Raeesah Khan in August she had lied, decided to give her time to deal with matter: Pritam Singh". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  36. ^ Kurohi, Rei (2 December 2021). "No by-election in Sengkang after Raeesah Khan's exit, 3 remaining MPs will stay on: Sylvia Lim". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  37. ^ Kurohi, Rei (2 December 2021). "Workers' Party to review candidate selection, speech vetting process following Raeesah Khan incident". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  38. ^ Lin, Cheryl (2 December 2021). "WP leadership knew about Raeesah Khan's 'untruth' a week after her original speech in August: Pritam Singh". CNA. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  39. ^ Lin, Cheryl; Mahmud, Aqil Haziq (2 December 2021). "No by-election in Sengkang GRC after Raeesah Khan's resignation: WP". CNA. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  40. ^ Iau, Jean (1 June 2023). "Former WP NCMP Daniel Goh expelled from party, says his retirement from politics 'is complete'". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  41. ^ Chew, Hui Min (10 February 2022). "COP proposes fine of S$35,000 for Raeesah Khan, further investigation into WP leaders Pritam Singh, Faisal Manap". CNA. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  42. ^ Tham, Yuen-C (15 February 2022). "Parliament votes to refer Workers' Party leaders Pritam Singh, Faisal Manap to Public Prosecutor". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  43. ^ Abdullah, Ahmaz Zhaki (29 April 2022). "Committee of Privileges report: Public prosecutor refers case against Pritam Singh, Faisal Manap to police for investigations". CNA. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  44. ^ "WP MP Raeesah Khan reminisces about how her young family began". The Independent Singapore News. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  45. ^ Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan. "Personal Profile Archived 12 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine". Workers’ Party. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  46. ^ "Double baby joy for Sengkang GRC MPs". The Straits Times. 3 January 2021.
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