Topic 1: "Singapore Ambassador asserted that the manner in which the opposition has approached foreign policy does not inspire confidence that they have any concept of the fundamental national interest". Discuss. (Word limit: 2,000 words).

And discuss was what Pritam Singh of the Workers' Party (WP) did.

The WP member of parliament for Aljunied GRC wrote a 1,932 word essay to respond to Ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan's 26-page speech on the relevance of Singapore in a post Cold War.

In the speech, Bilahari criticised the opposition's approach to foreign policy, pointing out that Pritam asked a question in Parliament about Singapore's Middle East policies that could have stirred up the feelings of the Malay-Muslims against the government.

Pritam however argued that "the Palestine issue is on the minds of a not an insignificant number of Singaporeans", adding that one of the 2014 question on the Middle East that Bilahari referred to, "was actually filed by a PAP politician".

In case you prefer not to forgo the latest episode of Game of Thrones by reading Bilahari 26-page speech (his criticisms are on page 7) and Pritam's 1,932 word essay, you can click here for the tl;dr version of Bilahari's speech and read below for the tl;dr version of Pritam's essay:

1. Praising your opponent first: Pritam praised Bilahari for his "acute sense of Singapore’s interests and the trade-offs that determined Singapore’s foreign policies priorities". He patted Bilahari on his back again by complimenting Bilahari's insightful "reflections on the management of rising China in the years to come and importance of avoiding invidious choices".

2. Criticism 1: Pritam felt that Bilahari's point about WP's approach towards foreign policy is partisan, as he anchored them on the basis of one parliamentary question.

3. Pritam's reason for asking the question: He said that some of his Malay-Muslim constituents followed the Israel-Palestine issue closely. Hence, some of them wondered why Singapore, a supporter of a two-state solution, abstained from a vote that brought Palestine closer to the reality.

4. Criticism 2: Pritam felt that Bilahari "would have to offer a compelling reason why he considers such foreign policy questions off-limits", especially in a democratic government.

5. WP's approach on defence and foreign policy issues: Pritam said that WP adopts a "measured approach" to asking questions about defence and foreign policy, and "do so with the interests of Singapore and Singaporeans at the centre of our objectives, and in the context of a multi-racial society where every community has a right to have its reasoned voice heard in parliament".

6. Your move, please: Pritam concluded WP is open to achieving a unity of purpose on foreign policy. He added that "nothing is stopping the government and ambassadors like Mr Kausikan from engaging opposition politicians with a view to achieve this unity outside parliament too".

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