SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh said on 28 April that the Government has “enough space, enough leeway, enough focus to deal with the issues of today and tomorrow,” even if all opposition candidates were voted into Parliament.
Speaking to reporters during a walkabout at Tampines on the sixth day of the 2025 General Election campaign, Singh noted that even if all 26 WP candidates were elected, the ratio of WP Members of Parliament (MPs) to ruling party MPs would still be only “about two or three to nine”.
He was responding to comments made by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the People’s Action Party (PAP) rally held at Fern Green Primary School in Fernvale on 27 April.
SM Lee had warned voters not to vote against the PAP simply to give opposition parties “a little bit more votes” in hopes of getting two or three more opposition MPs into Parliament.
Singh also addressed SM Lee’s warning that the Government would be “in trouble” if it lost more MPs who could serve as ministers.
Calling it a “weak argument”, Singh referenced former Foreign Minister George Yeo’s loss in the 2011 election.
“Did suddenly our Foreign Ministry lose its bearings? It did not, because there’s so much depth in Parliament,” he said.
He emphasised that Singapore’s political system has diversified, and voters want greater plurality to be reflected in Parliament.
“The Workers’ Party record in Parliament speaks for itself – very rational debate. Where we agree, we are not hesitant to say we agree. Where we disagree, we will explain why we disagree,” Singh added.
Allianz-Income
SM Lee also touched on the proposed merger between NTUC Income Insurance and German insurer Allianz, highlighting that six PAP MPs and one WP MP had raised questions about the deal.
This was in response to Singh’s earlier remark on 26 April, where he pointed out that no PAP labour MPs had queried the deal when the issue first arose in Parliament.
On 28 April, Singh said SM Lee had sidestepped the point he raised about PAP labour MPs’ silence.
He added that while six PAP MPs and one WP MP eventually asked questions, the ratio still reflected a nine-to-one dominance.
“The way the Senior Minister characterised the issue is as if we were in Government or in charge, but we weren’t in charge,” Singh said.
The proposed $2.2 billion deal was ultimately called off in October 2024 following public scrutiny, and Allianz officially confirmed the withdrawal of the deal on 16 December 2024.
SM Lee further argued that the merger would have proceeded had WP been in charge, pointing to the WP’s decision to abstain from voting on a Bill to amend legislation aimed at blocking the deal.
Defending WP’s decision, WP chair Sylvia Lim said: “To suddenly change the law to affect a live transaction, business certainty-wise, is actually not good for Singapore.”
She added that such legislative changes should be referred to a parliamentary select committee to properly assess potential risks to involved parties.
“We didn’t oppose the Bill, but we had to abstain because we value Parliament as a check on government actions. People have a right to talk to the parliamentary select committee,” she explained.
Separately, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng, who is contesting in Jalan Kayu SMC under the PAP banner, rejected Singh’s description of the labour movement as a “trampoline” for defeated PAP candidates.
Ng stated there was “no safe harbour“, citing his own re-election requirement in 2023 to continue as NTUC chief.
Singh, however, disagreed with Ng’s rebuttal. “Have workers been disenfranchised in any way because of his leadership in NTUC and also not being in Parliament at the same time? I don’t think so,” he said.
WP Reiterates Rejection of Foreign Interference
Touching on the issue of foreign interference, Singh reiterated that the WP “categorically rejected” any involvement by foreign elements in Singapore’s politics.
He had extended his rally speech 26 April to underline this point, after the authorities directed Meta to block access to posts by three foreigners – two Parti Islam Se-Malaysia politicians and a former Singaporean Internal Security Act detainee – who had attempted to interfere in the election.
One had expressed support for WP vice-chair and Tampines GRC candidate Faisal Manap.
Singh clarified that he was unaware of the Facebook posts until the authorities made their statement.
Separately, WP also addressed claims made by religious teacher Noor Deros that its candidates had agreed to take up concerns raised by asatizah (Islamic religious teachers) regarding the Malay/Muslim community. Singh dismissed these claims.
“I knew one or two days earlier that there’s this gentleman who’s saying that there’s some secret handshake that the WP has done with him, which was not true,” he said.
WP’s Tampines Slate Pledges Commitment to Residents
WP’s Tampines GRC team said that they are committed to serving residents if elected.
Candidate Michael Thng said the team had received a warm reception from residents, many of whom expressed that they had “waited a long time” for WP’s presence.
Thng said the team would draw on WP’s experience in Aljunied, Sengkang, and Hougang to maintain the estate.
“We will lean on the experience that we have had… to ensure that we keep the corridors clean, the plants pruned, the paint fresh, and to ensure that they would have a very nice living environment,” he said.
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