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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singaporeans cannot take for granted that the government will be able to govern effectively unless the ruling party is given a strong and clear mandate.

Moreover, governing Singapore is “never only about doing the easy things” and it involves making hard choices, he said at the People's Action Party (PAP) biennial conference on Sunday (Nov. 6)

PM Lee, who is the PAP Secretary General, said that the opposition is missing in action when "spiky issues" like the repeal of Section 377A, which criminalises sex between men, happen.

But an opposition cannot just “lie low and disappear” because it does not want to displease anyone, PM Lee said.

Singapore in a fractious and troubled world

PM Lee said that Singaporeans needed to remain vigilant and united in a fractious and troubled world.

He also observed the impact caused by western economies likely entering into recession and China's Covid zero measures, which will affect Singapore's own growth.

PM Lee said that Singapore faced its own economic challenges in the form of higher inflation and cost of living, as well as the rising price of HDB resale flats, which the government aims to assist with by introducing measures such as cost of living support packages or accelerating flat building.

He went on to highlight several government initiatives to grow Singapore's economy and to support Singaporeans, such as redevelopment plans in Changi T5 and Tuas Port, jobs upskilling programs, the launch of Healthier SG, and making raising children more affordable as well as improving the quality of preschools.

Singapore's unique political landscape

At the next GE, PM Lee said, the PAP would be able to report to Singaporeans that they "kept faith" with Singaporeans and delivered on their manifesto promises.

He added,

"We [PAP] have kept you safe through the pandemic, in a turbulent world; and we are steadily achieving progress for you and for the nation. And we have the team and the ideas to secure and build our future together. The PAP has delivered, and will continue to deliver, for you."

PM Lee, however, said that Singapore faces a unique challenge - Singaporeans wanted the PAP to continue governing, because they believed the party was doing a good job and that no one could do it better.

But he noted that Singaporeans also voted for more opposition MPs to keep the PAP government on its toes, believing that others will vote the PAP to return it to power.

PM Lee said that "Singaporeans cannot have it both ways", that the government will continue to "function as effectively and deliver on all our plans and programs" regardless of the support it receives.

PM Lee rejected this, saying that the strength of the government's mandate made a big difference both at home and abroad.

A government that clearly had a strong mandate would be able to take the measures needed for Singapore, but a government with a weak mandate, "hanging on to power by its fingernails" would be "pushed from pillar to post by other countries".

In order to combat this, the party need to do three things to win the political battle: put across their political message, counter opposition moves, and work the ground.

Putting across its political message

First, PM Lee said that PAP politicians needed to convince Singaporeans why the policies mattered to them.

This is despite the fact that PAP politicians adopted policies because of their conviction, and because they believed that it is good for Singapore, PM Lee said.

PM Lee gave the example of the progressive wage model. It was not just about extra income for low wage earners, but a determination to build a more equal society, he said.

The PAP must crystallise what the policies meant for all Singaporeans, and had to engage all platforms and channels, face to face, mainstream media, including social and emerging media, "even Tik Tok!"

Countering opposition moves

Secondly, the PAP needed to "counter the opposition moves" to show voters where the opposition falls short.

PM Lee said that in a parliamentary democracy like Singapore's, the opposition had to highlight the government's mistakes or shortcomings, and present better ideas, and show that they could do better.

But in turn, it was the government's role to "turn on a torchlight" and show when the opposition don't "quite reach the mark".

PM Lee said it was easy for the opposition to take credit for good things that the government had or was doing; but criticising when the policy was difficult or unpopular.

Giving the example of the government's inflation support packages, he said the opposition claimed credit and then called for more generous help. But on issues like raising of GST, they asked for postponement saying "Surely you're very clever, you can think of some other painless solution".

PM Lee said that it was the government's job to point out when opposition proposals did not add up, "which quite often happens".

"It is our job to point this out and to produce 'a little calculator'", he said.

On the issue of 377a, PM Lee said that the government's ministers - Masagos Zulkifli, K Shanmugam, Edwin Tong and Desmond Lee - had spent months meeting with contending groups, to listen, explain, and to broker a compromise.

PM Lee questioned the opposition on whether they are critiquing the government's approach. He also asked whether they support or oppose what the government is doing.

PM Lee subsequently criticised the opposition for being "Missing in Action" on the issue of 377a, and that they had not revealed if they were for or against the current proposals.

Nor did they have any alternative proposals, saying nothing so far and declining to comment, he noted.

He said that the opposition had not even revealed if there was a party position, of if it would lift the whip on its MPs and allow them to vote their conscience.

Their fear of displeasing anyone has meant that they have gone "AWOL", something they could not be if they ever hoped to govern Singapore.

They could not lie low and disappear when it suited them, PM Lee said.

PM Lee however saved the majority of his ire for politicians and political parties that he said "stirred up resentment in order to gain political advantage".

"They tear relentlessly at fault lines", he said "residents versus foreigners, citizens vs PRs, even old citizens versus new."

PM Lee accused such politicians as veering "into racist territory" and that "they talk about a certain trade agreement, but actually they're talking about a certain race".

He said that they were not asking questions in parliament to find information or solve any problem, but were exacerbating tensions and creating dissatisfaction in order to win votes.

PM Lee said that Singaporeans were "not naive", but neither were they immune to such emotional rhetoric". The PAP had to "get Singaporeans to recognise such rabble rousing for what it's worth and repudiate it."

"The PAP will never give way to such divisive politics. We will never hesitate to fight such rabble rousers and charlatans."

To these he urged PAP members to remember that politics was not just about "taking wefies, hugging babies, or distributing vouchers", but they had to fight. Not everything was "sweetness and light", he said.

They would need to courage and resolve to fight, make logical arguments that appealed to the mind, articulate the values and ideals of the party, and "never fear to engage tactically on the ground with the opposition to deny them a free pass".

This was so that "Singaporeans can make the link between the policies, the politics and their lives".

Working the ground

PM Lee's final point was that all PAP members, from MPs to branch activists would have to work together to show residents how the party makes a difference in their lives.

The party needed to make up for time lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, where many branch activities had to be put on hold, and cover the ground comprehensively while identifying as the party; "wearing party whites".

They needed to show the party was there in good times and bad, and build the friendships and emotional ties that showed the party members cared for the residents.

"Your patient, hard work on the ground makes all the difference" he said.

He cited the work of party activists who continued to work in wards which had been lost to opposition parties, who he said had the hardest jobs. In those wards not every door would open, with some opposition supporters being openly hostile.

Citing the example of MP Sitoh Yih Pin, he said that hard work in such wards could bear fruit, as Sitoh did in Potong Pasir. "We will keep working at it, and one day we will win them back, as we have done before, more than once", he said.

He also gave credit to activist such as PAP GE 2020 candidate Raymond Lye, who continued to work in his ward of Punggol East even after it fell in a by-election in 2013, and continued to do so after it was part of the Sengkang GRC that was lost in 2020.

Renewal

PM Lee warned that Singapore and Singaporeans had "no magic in our land, water, or air," and were not "inherently better, smarter, or more virtuous than people in other countries".

He gave examples of both the United States and United Kingdom. The U.S. was undergoing a moment of profound disunity, where the UK has had three prime ministers in the same year, with PM Lee quipping that "he had to write many letters of congratulations".

Things, he said, could go wrong in Singapore too. And that it was the "blood, sweat and tears of many generations" to "create what we enjoy today"; and in order maintain it "the PAP must stay true to its founding mission."

PM Lee spoke about leadership renewal in the party, with the Fourth Generation leaders choosing Lawrence Wong to lead them, and that the CEC election "will see the renewal follow through in the party leadership."

Saying that the 24 new MPs in the 2020 election represented a major changing of the guard, PM Lee said that the party was already hard at work to find a new group of "talented, diverse, and representative" candidates to "work with votes and take Singapore forward".

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Top image via the People's Action Party.