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SINGAPORE – The Workers’ Party (WP) does not have enough MPs in Parliament to form a shadow cabinet, but will organize to examine policies in five areas important to Singaporeans, said the WP chief and opposition leader. (LO), Pritam Singh.
The five areas are: health, aging, and retirement adequacy; jobs, businesses and the economy; education, inequality and cost of living; housing, transportation and infrastructure; and national sustainability, a broad area on how to ensure Singapore continues to prosper into the future for succeeding generations.
Mr. Singh made the remarks during the debate on the President’s speech on Monday (Aug 31), during which he spoke at length for the first time in his new role as LO.
He also laid out the WP’s plans for this legislature in a speech that was themed on the idea of change.
He said, “First, I will talk about certain things that have changed in Singapore. Second, I will talk about things that should not change. And third, I will suggest some things that should change.”
On his appointment to the new role of LO, Singh said that it was a sign of the changes taking place in Singapore’s politics and that it had created expectations between the Government and the people.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced that Singh would be awarded the new role after the WP won 10 seats in the July 10 elections, including Sengkang, its second representative group.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Singh said: “My personal expectation is that my colleagues from the Workers’ Party and I will have to work harder. We will have to ask ourselves difficult questions before criticizing the government’s policy. Chief among which is What would we do if we were in charge. “
Even then, he said there must be clarity on “what the opposition can and cannot do.”
With only 10 MPs in Parliament, the WP is well below the resources available to the government, Singh said, and it was important for Singaporeans to take this into account when forming their expectations of the opposition.
As LO, Mr. Singh will be able to hire three more legislative assistants and one additional secretary assistant. All other secondary deputies can hire a legislative assistant and a secretary assistant.
However, he added that the government has at its disposal 146,000 full-time civil servants in the public service, of which 85,000 are civil servants.
Given this, the LO office “will not have the breadth and depth of the ruling party to propose alternative policies,” he said.
He also reiterated his argument that how much the opposition can do also depends on the quantity and quality of information that the government releases.
Mr. Singh said: “We intend to consult specifically with government departments and public agencies, as such information is essential for developing alternative policies. For its part, the government must consider how it can publish more information without being request, in particular, information and indicators compared to other countries “.
He said that based on his assessment, Singaporeans hope that the WP and the opposition in general will play a constructive role in Singaporean politics, which should advance everyone’s interests regardless of their position on specific issues.
Singh also said that the WP will set its own standards and chart a separate course. “The Workers’ Party has always taken the position that when it is in opposition, it owes its allegiance to the president, the Republic of Singapore and the people,” he said.
In his speech, which lasted 33 minutes, Singh also spoke about things in Singapore that he said should not change, including the nation’s historic position as a trading nation, the government’s position on defense and foreign policy, and values that have become in synonyms. with Singapore, such as multiracialism and the culture of abhorrence of corruption.
Describing Singapore as a “glass half full that can be refilled,” Singh also said that there are things in the country that should change and that, in his opinion, would improve governance.
These include the formation of more select committees to deal with certain divisive issues, as well as a change in the way Singapore manages and accommodates foreigners in the economy.
Also poised for change is a change in the way merchants’ work is valued and also more help for those who need it most, he added.
Summing up, Singh said: “Regardless of how Singapore turns or evolves in the next few years, I believe that reasoned conversation before choices and decisions are made or not will be critical.
“The Workers’ Party will seek to play a positive role in the national conversation both inside and outside Parliament to leave behind a Singapore that our children and future generations can be proud of.”
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