Forum: Important to focus on a party’s policies to judge its mettle

Deputy news editor Grace Ho has rightly set out Singapore’s political context and challenges (The policy shifts and politics of rage in a contested Singapore, April 19).

Negative partisanship has manifested itself in several democracies, leading to protest voting, the choice of wrong leaders and catastrophic consequences. Singapore cannot afford to go this way.

But some of my friends tell me they will vote for the opposition even if they want the People’s Action Party (PAP) to stay in government. They want to send the PAP a message, or desire more opposition in Parliament as a check and balance. We will then have to bear the risk of fluke election results.  

A better yardstick of whether a party should get our vote is the merit of its alternative policies.

I note that the Workers’ Party did not object to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s point that the party should present itself as a contender to form the next government.

If the opposition is serious about becoming the next government, it should take up Mr Wong’s call, put forward its proposals, be upfront about trade-offs and costs, and be judged based on the viability of these alternative proposals.

Terence Lau