The Workers’ Party (WP) has come out to congratulate Singapore's Paralympian medallists Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh.

At the same time, the party also called for them to receive the same prize awards as their able-bodied counterparts from the Singapore National Olympics Council (SNOC).

Following Yip's record-breaking gold medal swim, online debate over the weekend centred on the prize money differences between an Olympic champion (S$1,000,000) and a Paralympian champion (S$200,000).

WP added that Singapore's Paralympians "deserve the same respect and value as our able-bodied athletes", and "demonstrate what we can achieve as an inclusive sporting nation".

"Paralympians" was a topic seldom discussed by both sides of the House

In a jibe at then Senior Parliamentary Secretary Teo Ser Luck's 2008 parliamentary statement that Olympians compete against a larger base of athletes around the world than Paralympians, WP said that "the smaller pool of competitors at the Games should not be reason to deny our paralympians the recognition and compensation that is due to them".

Fair point.

Except that the 2008 parliamentary question was posed by then Nominated Member of Parliament Eunice Olsen and not a WP parliamentarian. Olsen asked "whether there is a difference in per capita funding between a Team Singapore able and disabled athlete and, if so, how is the funding prioritised".

In fact, if one were to check the Hansard (an official report of parliamentary debates), the term, "paralympians" was mentioned a grand total of just 10 separate times (see below).

This included Minister Tan Chuan-Jin's motion to congratulate Joseph Schooling on his Olympic achievements. In Tan's speech, he mentioned the Paralympics Gold medal won by Yip Pin Xiu in 2008 and the 12 Paralympians who would carry the torch for Team Singapore.

Nominated MPs are the MVPs for Paralympians

In fact, the NMPs are the true advocates for the welfare of Paralympians.

In 2004, Braema Mathiaparanam was the first NMP and parliamentarian to question then Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Vivian Balakrishnan.

She asked if he will consider implementing a reward scheme, under the Singapore National Olympic Council, for disabled athletes who make it to the Special Olympics and who also show improvements, beyond their personal best records.

After Olsen's question in 2008, Asian Games medallist Benedict Tan asked then Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong about the significant barriers faced by the physically-challenged to sports participation. Tan argued that sport offers the disabled "a beacon of hope and is an important avenue for reintegrating into society".

Palmer 2 WP 0

And the parliamentarian who spoke up the most (twice) for Paralympians?

A certain Michael Palmer. In the 2007 Budget debate, Palmer urged MCYS and the various agencies to invest in the development of Paralympians like Theresa Goh.

He was also the only parliamentarian who asked Teo (after Olsen's question) whether MCYS can consider increasing the government funding, "given the sterling results of our Paralympians".

In contrast, WP has yet to mention about doing more for Paralympians over the past 25 years in parliament under Low Thia Khiang.

It is encouraging that WP is leading the conversation this time in terms of recognising the efforts and achievements of Paralympians.

Let's hope they can continue this support for Paralympians in future parliamentary debates and in the years to come.

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