It is disappointing that after all these years in Parliament, having 10 elected MPs and having Mr Pritam Singh appointed Leader of the Opposition, the Workers' Party (WP) still has not designated at least one shadow minister (WP intends to scrutinise policies and offer alternatives, Sept 1).

Having a shadow minister would help with the WP's scrutinising of policies and presenting of alternative views, and demonstrate a genuine intention to run the country in the future.

Mr Singh says the WP does not have the resources. But the WP does not need to have the whole civil service at its disposal.

All it needs is a small group of people to do in-depth research, seek feedback from constituents and come up with good alternatives.

With the existing 13 legislative assistants at the WP's disposal, there are enough resources to form at least one shadow ministry.

If this shadow minister does a good job, Singaporeans can then entrust the WP with more responsibilities in future elections. The WP cannot continue to run "by-election" strategies for future general elections.

Colin Loh Yoon Fui