A govt that is more open with information key to S’pore’s refreshed social compact: Pritam Singh

SINGAPORE - Rather than turn defensive or dismiss requests for information as a Trojan horse for ulterior motives, the Government should become more open to releasing data, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said on Friday.

By

filling the information vacuum and doing so early

, the Government can puncture xenophobia around issues such as Singapore’s foreign talent policy and prevent tension on the ground from building up, the Workers’ Party (WP) chief said on the last day of the debate on the President’s Address.

Mr Singh cited

the September 2021 debate on jobs and foreign talent

, where he said getting the People’s Action Party (PAP) Government to disclose certain information then had been “like squeezing blood out of a stone”.

At the time, he had asked the Government for the number of intra-corporate transferees from India who worked in Singapore, upon the introduction of the

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

(Ceca) between India and Singapore.

The WP had filed parliamentary questions on the issue since 2016, but answers were not forthcoming, said Mr Singh.

“In the meantime, pressures and tensions on the ground built up, as not a small number of Singaporeans became emotionally charged about Ceca, using it as an adjective and in very uncharitable and downright racist ways,” he said.

When it was eventually released, the number was small, and the Government agreed during the debate that by putting out information, it could have quelled falsehoods around Ceca much earlier, said Mr Singh.

Another potential tinderbox the Government should look closely at is the growth of family offices and the inflow of foreign wealth here, as there are already murmurings of discontent among Singaporeans who see foreigners engaging in a property buying spree, he added.

“When there are requests for detailed figures, the PAP must not turn defensive in response to the parliamentary opposition of the day playing its role checking the government of the day,” said Mr Singh.

Going forward, the

PAP’s fourth-generation leadership

cannot be dismissive or breezily use national security or sensitivity as reasons for withholding information without good reason, he said.

“A greater openness to releasing information will be fundamental to the refreshed social compact that the 4G leadership seeks to forge with Singaporeans through the Forward Singapore exercise.”

In response, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said he had provided

the number of intra-corporate transferees

during the July 2021 debate on Singapore’s free trade agreements.

More fundamentally, holding back the release of confidential information could not be the reason for the ugly xenophobia and racial undertones surrounding Ceca, said Dr Tan.

“Let’s make no mistake about it: That the vitriol and the raw emotions at that particular point in time are something that we should all try to avoid,” he said.

He said he hoped the vitriol was not due to deliberate efforts to frustrate Singapore’s social compact.

Mr Singh said he agreed that the WP does not want the social compact to be overturned, but that his point stands.

“I could not understand why it was difficult to provide the information in 2016, but then when things are descending into an abyss, the numbers start coming out.”

Joining the debate, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the Government took to heart Mr Singh’s feedback that if the data had been released earlier, it could perhaps have quelled the xenophobia.

But releasing the data on intra-corporate transferees of a particular country could have other ramifications if people were to compare the figure with those from other countries, said Mr Ong.

After Ceca became a big issue and the subject of a debate in Parliament, the ministers had a serious discussion and decided to release the information, he said.

“So we take your point, but it is not that straightforward a matter,” said Mr Ong.

Friday’s discussion came a day after Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) reiterated the WP’s call for a Freedom of Information Act to be enacted, with exceptions for matters relating to national security and defence.

She called on the Government to trust that Singaporeans are able to maturely and responsibly handle more information, “rather than assume the worst of them”.

For instance, more knowledge and transparency on how the Budget is put together would let people better understand the difficult trade-offs that policymakers have to make, and get buy-in when unpopular policies have to be implemented.

“Having more information in the public domain leads to a more informed society, and builds a democracy where citizens are exposed to all shades of opinion,” she said. “Because public interest is served through enhanced transparency, and where communities are better able to make informed choices.”