In Your Opinion Podcast: Should the extramarital affairs of Singapore’s politicians end their careers?

Assistant Professor Walid Jumblatt, from SSS@NTU Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, provided insights on the recent news concerning politicians affiliated with the People’s Action Party and Workers’ Party involved in extramarital affairs. He expressed that personal mistakes should stay within one’s private sphere and separate from a politician’s professional duties. He advocated for assessing politicians based on their public performance. He emphasized the importance of evaluating politicians according to their public conduct. As for whether politicians should be punished for having affairs, he said it should be up to voters to decide. He said that if people judged politicians’ personal lives the same way they judged their public work, many important leaders might not be remembered in history, adding that people are complex and act differently in different settings.