SINGAPORE: News of Pritam Singh removed from the office of LO has struck a chord with many opposition supporters in Singapore, with many commenting that Singapore has lost a strong opposition leader, all in the name of politics. Some online commentators have expressed concerns over the lack of attention to the cost-of-living issues that have made the man on the street struggle to make ends meet.
Earlier this week, a local Reddit user weighed in on the issues discussed in Parliament, saying that they felt these were “really divorced from bread-and-butter issues.” PAP leaders, on the other hand, feel that the government has been addressing issues periodically with a new batch of CDC vouchers given to Singaporean households in January 2026.
On the political stage, the biggest issue to hit the headlines was the motion to consider Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh as unfit for the role as Leader of the Opposition, which was debated on Jan 14 for over three hours.
Nevertheless, MPs tackled a number of other issues, ranging from amendments to the Singapore Sports Council Bill, a review of political appointment holders’ salaries, regulations for pet businesses, noise mitigation, banning smartphones in schools, support for seniors, and the Health Information Bill.
In the post, however, the Reddit user asked others what issues weigh on their minds, and whether the issues debated on in parliament address important issues they care about or real bread-and-butter issues.
“I want to know how jobs are created for us, and how the government is addressing issues of inflation. Somehow I keep seeing reports on news about issues that are not bread and butter,” the post author wrote, adding that they wanted to know if the issues recently discussed even resonate with others.
Dozens of Reddit users have since also weighed in, with the most upvoted comment reading, “They should spend the time debating why property prices have bubbled so much over the last few years and how they expect people, especially the younger generations, to afford housing.”
Meanwhile, another opined that the debate about Mr Singh had been “a massive waste of time and energy which could have been spent debating issues like public transport, cost of living, employment crisis, etc…”.
For one Reddit user, however, some of the issues raised were relevant.
“Mr David Hoe raised the question today whether ‘popular’ schools would be relocated occasionally. Ms Elysa Chen asked about class sizes.
Admittedly, I’m interested in the replies: it affects my work (I’m a teacher) and it may affect the choice of secondary school for my students, my children, and my nieces/nephews,” they wrote.
Another added: “I’m old enough to remember the past and things do change, even if it does so slowly. You’ll only notice it after a long time when you look back. I remember when I was young, there was no MRT, and Bukit Timah used to flood often. Bus tickets were also monitored by a conductor who punched holes in the tickets, and the buses used to flood whenever it rained. Lots of changes in Singapore over the years.”
Nevertheless, other commenters tended to agree with the post author.
“Frankly, I’m hoping they would debate more about more practical issues such as rail reliability and the potential price increase of beverages for the upcoming recycling program,” one wrote.
“I don’t know what issues are weighing on my mind, but I do know this mess with WP certainly wasn’t one of them,” added another. /TISG
