Not wrong for political parties to take position on foreign policy matters like Palestine: Pritam Singh

SINGAPORE - The Workers’ Party (WP) saw the conflict in Gaza through the lens of humanity – and not the lenses of race or religion – when it expressed its views on the issue, said WP chief Pritam Singh.

Singapore is not worse off or weakened by the WP having a view on this matter, and it is unrealistic to expect politicians here to speak only on localised issues, he added.

Mr Singh, who is

also Leader of the Opposition

, said in an Aug 25 episode of local current affairs podcast Yah Lah But that it was not wrong for a political party in Singapore to take a position on foreign policy matters.

At the 2025 General Election in May, the WP had stated in its election manifesto

that Singapore should formally recognise the state of Palestine,

even before negotiations on a two-state solution are concluded, as “such recognition would lend legitimacy to our two-state position”.

People who think the WP took this stance to appeal to certain communities are mistaken, Mr Singh said in the nearly two-hour interview.

Noting that the WP’s manifesto also included positions on other foreign policy matters such as Myanmar and the South China Sea, he said: “We’re not going to hesitate from sharing our views on these things, given the knowledge that we have.”

He added: “I’m not going to fetter the right of the party to have an opinion on these things, but if people think that the WP is using this to appeal to certain communities, I think that’s a very mistaken view.”

Mr Singh was responding to a question by one of the podcast’s hosts about his thoughts on WP candidates talking about contentious issues, including the conflict in Gaza.

During the hustings, the WP’s Punggol GRC candidate, Ms Alia Mattar, had spoken up about her experience raising concerns about the Israel-Palestine conflict, and being fobbed off.

She said it made her decide to run for the election, as she wanted to speak up for other Singaporeans as an MP.

The podcast host noted that some had commented that politics should “stop at the water’s edge”. This was a phrase the PAP used in its statement criticising Mr Singh for

going on Malaysian podcast Keluar Sekejap in June

to discuss Singapore’s political landscape.

Mr Singh replied that it was no surprise that people, including Singaporeans, have strong views about the situation in Gaza.

While some donated to various charities, others channelled their humanity on the issue by seeking to change the city state’s position on the matter, he added.

“That is to be expected – it’s such an emotive issue, and it is unrealistic to say that you are going to recruit people or candidates who don’t have a view on this issue, or (say) ‘can you this one (issue), seal it, don’t say anything’,” he said.

He added: “As a party, we need to be clear where we’re coming from. As long as we’re clear, we defend the point in public. I’m prepared to defend the point.”

Mr Singh said that since the WP issued its manifesto, other countries

such as Australia

have declared that they will recognise the state of Palestine.

He also pointed to Singapore’s

July 29 statement to a United Nations conference

that Singapore was prepared in principle to recognise the state of Palestine, with the key consideration that such a move should help foster progress towards peace and a negotiated two-state solution.

There was a “nuance” to the Government’s statement, said Mr Singh.

He suggested that stopping collaboration with Israel would have an impact on Singapore’s air defence, given that the Republic uses some Israeli platforms, such as the Spyder ground-based missile system.

“So if you’re saying we need to move away (from Israel), that’s going to take time,” he said. “(The) Government may not be in an easy position to explain this.”

Mr Singh also mentioned that “statistics like the largest number of child amputees on a per capita basis anywhere in the world are found in Gaza”. “If that doesn’t move your heartstrings, you probably are some AI model or something,” he said. 

Mr Singh also spoke about why his party picked Ms Eileen Chong

as its second

Non-Constituency MP

, given that there were four other members in the Tampines GRC team, which was the second-best losing team at the polls.

The WP’s candidate for Jalan Kayu, Mr Andre Low,

had the best results among those who lost in GE2025

, and is the other NCMP.

Mr Singh said the WP wanted more women MPs in Parliament and also wanted more women to take up leadership positions in the party.

“That was one important consideration insofar as Eileen is concerned, apart from the fact that, of course, she will be an excellent Member of Parliament,” he said.

The WP chief said he was heartened that Mr Low and Ms Chong had “wanted to try new things” and had started a podcast to document their journey as NCMPs, though he also felt protective of them as party leader.

Mr Singh spoke on the podcast about “trip wires” in the political arena here, and that being in the opposition meant being under greater scrutiny. But as long as politicians do not criticise others unfairly, veer into racial politics or make chauvinistic comments, they should not be afraid to speak their minds.

“You can also be so careful that you don’t step out at all, and you don’t have anything to share, anything to say,” he said.

“And that makes politics very impossible, actually, if you’re not engaging (on) the issues.”