SINGAPORE: Former Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidate and Wake Up, Singapore founder Ariffin Sha was called to the Bar earlier this week, a journey that Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal characterised as “anything but” straightforward.

His call to the Bar on Wednesday (Aug 13) was attended by Mr Singh, as well as Eugene Thuraisingam, a noted international arbitration and human rights lawyer. Mr Sha had worked at the latter’s law office for over five years.

On Aug 8, a judgment was released saying Mr Sha would be allowed to be called to the Bar, in spite of having been fined in 2024 for a story in Wake Up, Singapore about a woman’s alleged experience at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH). Her account was later found to be false.

While objections had been raised to Mr Sha’s admission to the Bar, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said that he had been “cooperative and remorseful” during the admissions process, and noted the lengths that Mr Sha went through in taking responsibility for his actions.

In a Facebook post, Mr Singh noted Mr Sha’s extraordinary journey.

“From a humble background to a scholarship overseas, from public interest cases to the recent election campaign trail, his story is one of grit, service, and purpose. And today, Ariffin shares an extraordinary link with one of Singapore’s most respected lawyers,” he wrote, adding that he is the first in the family to have attended university.

He also quoted Mr Sha, who had told him, “It has always been my firm belief that those of us with the privilege and honour of practising law owe a duty to the last, the least and the lost. I feel a strong responsibility to use our positions of relative privilege to help uplift others. I believe the law — just like the pen and the mic — is a potent and powerful tool for advocacy and justice.”