Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, has penned a New Year's message for Singaporeans.

While sending well wishes to the public, Singh reviewed certain efforts to effect local policy change in the past year.

Policy changes in 2023

The secretary-general of Workers' Party (WP) brought up two full motions that WP raised in Parliament.

This included one on re-imagining sporting success in Singapore, which took place in July, and another in November, during which WP debated the cost of living crisis and the need to look at structural reforms to mitigate the pace of inflation.

During Parliament in February, Singh also spoke up about the need for the government to "intensify" its efforts to meet the demand for affordable and accessible housing.

Advancing towards a "more balanced political system"

Singh further highlighted positive changes made to policies recently.

He stated that WP is "glad" that in his 2023 National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the government would be providing retrenched workers with temporary financial support, enabling them to focus on upgrading their skills for a better long-term job.

He also expressed the party's approval of Parliament seeking to pass amendments to the Stillbirths and Births (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill come January 2024.

This aims to allow parents to register the births of their stillborn children, and to enter the name of a stillborn child in the register of stillbirths.

Singh also brought up the doubling of paid paternity leave to four weeks for new fathers from Jan. 1, 2024, which was revealed during Budget 2023.

The issue of shared parental leave was mentioned in WP's 2020 Manifesto.

Singh vowed that WP would continue to "work hard and make an impact on policies and policy changes for the betterment of all Singaporeans", thanking all those who supported the party in 2023.

"I welcome you to continue to walk together with us on our journey in 2024. There is much to do for Singapore and its people as we continue the advance towards a more balanced political system."

The opposition leader concluded his letter by wishing Singaporeans and their families good health, and a happy new year.

View the full message here:

Top image via Workers' Party/Facebook