By now, many of us would have heard of the increase in water prices from July this year.

The first water hike in 17 years was one of the changes delivered by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat during his 2017 budget statement on Feb. 20.

According to Heng, the increase will be less than S$25 per month for three-quarters of businesses, and less than S$18 for three quarters of households.

As a 30 percent hike is not small, the issue has attracted the public's attention, as well as taken notice by opposition member of parliament Pritam Singh.

Pritam shares his draft speech online

So what is the next best thing the Workers' Party Assistant Secretary General can do?

He will be raising the issue in parliament during the upcoming Budget debate. But not before adopting a pretty unconventional route.

That is, to crowdsource ideas and feedback for his speech.

Pritam's not starting from zero though

Pritam is not asking Singaporeans to do his homework for him by writing his speech.

In fact, he already has a few compelling arguments to make.

First, Pritam has contextualised the water hikes as part of the rising cost of living that resulted from government policies -- "an almost 20% increase in HDB season parking charges, higher electricity and gas prices this quarter and the announcement of higher Service and Conservancy Charges for HDB flats all in the space of about three months".

Second, he attempts to shine the spotlight on the somewhat under-scrutinised decision-making processes behind water pricing and the future of how Singapore obtains its water (Water Agreement with Malaysia, NEWater, and desalination).

Third, Pritam questioned the public messaging on water conservation policies by highlighting an example of contradiction between a politician and a civil servant.

Pritam noted that the Prime Minister said a month before the 2015 General Elections:

"In Singapore, water will always be a precious resource. Never take it for granted or waste it.”

However, he observed that the PUB CEO said in a Straits Times article ("How Singapore Will Never Go Thirsty"), that Singapore, in spite of being water-poor, had “significantly overcome the challenge of water scarcity” and that “Singapore is not short on water”.

Pritam concluded that there is a risk that over amplifying self-sufficiency could have a dampening effect on efforts to encourage water conservation.

Will this crowdsourcing idea work?

From the initial feedback online, Pritam may be receiving more online rants about the rising costs of living rather than constructive feedback on how his speech on water hikes can be improved.

But it is a move in the right direction for WP to consult Singaporeans for feedback.

For this will highlight to the general public that WP is also listening, just like the government feedback channel REACH, which had ironically identified cost of living as a key pre-Budget concern among Singaporeans.

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Top photos via Pritam Singh Facebook page

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