GE2025: Only elected opposition MPs can pressure the Government, says Pritam Singh
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(From left) WP chief Pritam Singh, incumbent WP MP for Hougang Dennis Tan and WP chair Sylvia Lim posing for photos with a resident during a walkabout in Hougang on April 29.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
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SINGAPORE – Only elected opposition MPs can pressure and push the Government, and that is why the ruling PAP prefers to have just Non-Constituency MPs in Parliament, said WP chief Pritam Singh.
“Look, let’s be very clear, the NCMPs have no voters, have no residents that they can solicit feedback from. They don’t have an office under a block in the constituency where they have worked,” he told reporters in an interview during a walkabout in Hougang on April 29.
“Essentially, this is where the PAP wants to keep the opposition,” he added.
Mr Singh was responding to remarks by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, who said on April 28 that alternative voices in Parliament are guaranteed because of the NCMP scheme
Under the scheme, introduced in 1984, seats are reserved for losing opposition candidates with the highest vote shares.
Mr Singh, who was accompanied by WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim and the party’s incumbent Hougang MP Dennis Tan, said the purpose of the scheme was to slow down the growth of the opposition.
He added that his party was not just angling for more seats in Parliament without more responsibility.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong pointed out at the April 28 Fullerton rally
“More seats, but not more responsibility,” PM Wong had said.
Asked about this, Mr Singh said: “I welcome him to give us more responsibility. He can have us on committees.”
He cited the all-party committee that was formed in 1959 to decide on the state emblems and flag, adding: “So there’s nothing stopping the Government from reaching out, and we welcome that, because if we want to work in the interests of all Singaporeans, then that is one way to do it.”
Currently, opposition MPs are appointed to some parliamentary committees, such as the Public Accounts Committee.
Mr Singh also reiterated his point that having more opposition MPs in Parliament will not weaken the Government’s mandate.
“I believe when you have a diversity of views in Parliament, as long as we are moving in the same direction, this red dot will continue to be a bright, shining red dot,” he said, citing how the WP had not opposed the Government during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A balanced Parliament will not result in a more divided Singapore.”
Mr Singh was also asked about his pointed remarks about Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong
The WP leader had suggested that DPM Gan, at 66 years old and no longer a member of the PAP’s central executive committee, was near retirement and not all that important a member of PM Wong’s team.
“You mean the (Prime Minister) has no one else in his Cabinet that can negotiate with the United States on tariffs? If this is true, to quote Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, si liao lah,” Mr Singh had said at the rally, referring to the Hokkien phrase which means “we are doomed”.
DPM Gan is leading the PAP’s team contesting Punggol GRC
Mr Singh also took aim at DPM Gan’s remark about asking his “good friend” PM Wong
Asked why he had focused on DPM Gan in his rally speech, Mr Singh said he was “stumping hard” for his teammates in Punggol. “I wanted to put across certain perspectives, which I think the Punggol voters should hear,” he said.
Both Mr Singh and Ms Lim also reiterated their call for voters to vote for the strongest slate the WP has ever fielded.
“This round, the people we have are of superb calibre, and it will be a wasted opportunity if voters do not realise how urgent it is for us to promote this aspect of parliamentary representation,” said Ms Lim.
Meanwhile, Mr Tan, who is defending his Hougang seat, said the WP was not resting on its laurels in Hougang, even though the constituency has been a WP stronghold since former WP chief Low Thia Khiang won there in 1991.
Mr Tan said that since he took over from his predecessor Png Eng Huat in 2020, he has been trying to engage as many residents as possible so that he can address their municipal concerns and also bring up issues in Parliament on their behalf.
He added that the WP has started upgrading the neighbourhoods, such as by building more sheltered walkways, in the past five years.
“We continue to do our best. We can never be perfect but we can try to help our residents... That’s what my team and I aim to do,” said Mr Tan.
