Approach to policies is to bring S'poreans together, that's the PAP's DNA: PM Wong

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong addressed the Workers' Party's (WP) rebuttal to his prior call for a rejection of "negative politics".

PM Wong said that he was referring to "a different kind of negative politics, a negative politics where, in the case of the WP in the earlier rally, they targeted Gan Kim Yong the entire night with personal negative attacks.

"That kind of negative politics, in my view, is unwarranted."

WP chief Pritam Singh shared that the party had not had access to community clubs (CCs) since 1981, but "the CCs remain open and PA programmes continue to run."

Singh also claimed that during the pandemic, People's Association (PA) grassroots advisors, including unelected ones, were given information about which residents were recovering from residents, and were thus in a position to deliver care packs to them.

These, Singh described as part of the People's Action Party's (PAP) "negative politics".

Always fine-tuning policies

At a doorstop following a walkabout in Tampines GRC on Apr. 30, PM Wong, alongside the PAP's Tampines GRC candidates, acknowledged there will always be differences between the opposition and the government when it comes to policies.

On the policies regarding the PA, PM Wong shared that there have been "robust debates" in Parliament, and he is sure there will continue to be debates on the PA's role.

This is despite previously explaining that the PA is non-partisan, he said.

"But the WP and the opposition parties will have a different view, and we are happy to debate and make adjustments along the way, if we think it's necessary."

He added that he does not take the view "that all our policies are perfect".

"They continue to be improved, fine tuned, and we do keep on doing better, as our policies have been over the decades."

PM Wong went on to expand that their approach to policies is to "try and bring all Singaporeans together".

"That's what we try to do, particularly when handling difficult issues like 377A, like the wearing of tudung, or even more recently, like the Israel-Hamas conflict.

We try to forge as wide a national consensus as possible on these issues and to make sure we continue to expand our common ground and bring Singaporeans together so as to not accentuate our differences nor to seek to exploit these differences.

That's the PAP way. That's the PAP's DNA."

Support the Tampines team

When asked about his presence in Tampines just after Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit, PM Wong shared that they go wherever they are needed, particularly the senior leaders.

"So wherever we are needed, we will be there to support our teams," he said.

He added that this shows not only do they take the national elections seriously, they also take the local constituencies seriously.

"We want to provide the assurance to all residents, including the residents here in Tampines, that they will have a good, strong team with the full capabilities of the PAP behind them to serve them and to make sure we improve their lives."

Top photo via Khoo Wen-En/Mothership