WP intends to scrutinise policies and offer alternatives

The Workers' Party (WP) does not have enough MPs in Parliament to form a shadow Cabinet, but will organise itself to scrutinise policies in areas important to Singaporeans, said WP chief and Leader of the Opposition (LO) Pritam Singh.

The WP will also do its best to raise issues ruling party MPs may not, and offer alternative policies - even if it is limited by the resources it can muster compared with the Government, he added.

He mapped out the party's plans for this term during the debate on the President's Address in Parliament yesterday.

His speech focused on "certain things that have changed in Singapore", things that must not change and suggestions on some things that should change. He listed five areas the WP will focus on:

• Health, ageing and retirement adequacy;

• Jobs, businesses and the economy;

• Education, inequality and the cost of living;

• Housing, transport and infrastructure; and

• National sustainability, a broad area about how to ensure Singapore continues to thrive far into the future for successive generations.

Mr Singh said his appointment as LO was part of the changes happening in Singapore politics.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the new role after the WP won 10 seats in the July 10 polls - including Sengkang, its second group representation constituency.

Yesterday, Mr Singh said the formalising of the LO role has created expectations and there needs to be clarity about "what the opposition can and cannot do".

Singaporeans, he added, expect the WP and the opposition in general to play a constructive role in Singapore politics. "It should advance the interests of all Singaporeans, whether they may be in the majority or minority on any particular issue, without fear or favour," he said.

But with just 10 MPs in Parliament, he said the WP does not have the same resources as the Government and it was important for Singaporeans to take this into account.

As the LO, he will get the funds to hire three more legislative assistants and one more administrative assistant. All other MPs have one legislative assistant and one secretarial assistant.

But Mr Singh, who is an MP for Aljunied GRC, said the Government has at its disposal 146,000 full-time officers in the public service, of whom 85,000 are civil servants.

Given this, the LO's office "will not have the breadth and depth of the party in government, in coming up with alternative policies", he said. Nonetheless, the WP will offer meaningful policy alternatives like redundancy insurance, he added.

He also reiterated his argument that how much the opposition can do also depends on the quantity and quality of information the Government releases.

He said his party intended to make targeted inquiries of government departments and agencies as information was essential for the crafting of alternative policies.

He also urged the Government to consider how it can put out more information without being asked, particularly information and indicators benchmarked against other countries. Acknowledging that some data could be sensitive, he said the Government would have to find new ways of dealing with such difficult matters.

Mr Singh also clarified his role in relation to the two Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MPs Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai. Similar to other Westminster systems, he said he will not represent all opposition parties as the LO, as the PSP has its own principles and ideology, which are distinct from those of the WP.

He added that he looked forward to working with the two NCMPs "where our positions match and are in the best interests of Singaporeans". He said the WP will set its own standards and chart an independent course, something that it has done over the years in the face of resistance even from "many personalities in the opposition camp".

The WP's position, he said, is that it owes its loyalty to the President, the Republic of Singapore and the people. "We have proven that we do not oppose the Government for the sake of opposing," he added.

In his 33-minute speech, he also spoke about things in Singapore he said must not change, including the nation's historical position as an open trading nation, the Government's position on defence and foreign policy, and values that have become synonymous with Singapore, like multiracialism and the culture of abhorring corruption. He pledged the WP's support for the Government's position in these areas.

He also made suggestions about things that should change. Describing Singapore as a "glass half-full that can be topped up", he said: "There is much that is right and which should remain the same. But there is also much that can and should change."

Among his suggestions was the formation of more Select Committees to deal with potentially divisive issues. "This House and the Government need to reframe the public narrative on our more pressing issues," he said.

Summing up, Mr Singh said: "The WP will seek to play a positive role in the national conversation both in and out of Parliament to leave behind a Singapore our children and future generations can be proud of."