PAP rebuts WP's Harpreet Singh's comments on President Tharman & minorities becoming PM

The People's Action Party's publication Petir rebutted comments by Workers' Party candidate Harpreet Singh about minorities becoming prime minister.

PAP lite

In two articles published on Apr. 20, Petir responded to comments by Singh on the Yah Lah But Podcast published on Apr. 10.

Singh was introduced as a WP candidate on Apr. 19, although it has yet to be confirmed where he will be running.

During the interview, about an hour and seven minutes into the show, when responding to a question about whether the WP is "PAP lite".

Singh first mentioned the things that he felt that all Singaporeans agreed on and that the WP would seek to preserve, such as Singapore's system of meritocracy, commitment to incorruptibility, race relations and a world-class civil service.

But he pushed back that just because the WP considered these "parts of Singapore's rich legacy" as "non-negotiable", it did not mean that they are "PAP lite".

He gave examples of how the parties differed, saying, "You remember when the PAP said Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam will not be put up as PM because some Singaporeans are just not ready for a non-Chinese PM?"

"That, I think, was a slap on every Singaporean's face," Singh said. "It went against our principle of meritocracy, went against our principle of equality of all races; you will never, ever hear that from the Workers' Party."

"We are committed to multiculturalism, committed to, you know, multiracialism, meritocracy, and the best man or woman for any role will be pushed forward, and that's why you see Mr Low Thia Khiang passing on the mantle over to Mr Pritam Singh, a Teochew man to a Sikh gentleman."

He then went on to voice a number of other disagreements, such as on constitutional amendments, as well as on education and housing policy.

Untrue

Petir has taken issue with these comments, publishing two articles on Apr. 20 on Singh's comments.

In Petir's first article, it said that Singh had claimed that the PAP had "gone against the principles of meritocracy and equality of all races by not putting Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam as Prime Minister."

"This is untrue."

Petir said that Tharman had ruled himself out of the running for PM many times, quoting the first time he said as much in 2016.

"Just to be absolutely clear, because I know of this talk that's going around, I'm not the man for PM. I say that categorically. It's not me. I know myself, I know what I can do, and it's not me… I'm good at policymaking; I'm good at advising my younger colleagues, and supporting the PM – not being the PM. That's not me."

Petir said that Tharman had said again in 2023 that he did not want to be PM.

"I never liked being centre forward," he told reporters back then during the Presidential Election. "I didn't particularly like being the person who scored goals."

However, he enjoyed -- and was quite good at -- guarding the back, being centre half, half back, and full back, and also planning the game.

Those are supporting roles, but he stressed that "we all play critical roles in that same team".

Petir then said that as Tharman was now president, his name should "not be bandied about misleadingly to make tendentious political points."

Tendentious means to express or intend to promote a particular cause or point of view, especially a controversial one.

Petir ended the first article by saying that the presidency must be respected.

Distorted, one-sided

Petir's second article went into comments made by PAP leaders in recent years, directly rebutting the initial comment made by Singh.

Petir said that Singh "presented a distorted, one-sided picture" of what PAP leaders had said.

First, Petir addressed the initial comments made in 2019 by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Petir said DPM Heng was sharing his observations that segments of Singapore's population, especially older Singaporeans, were not ready for a non-Chinese PM.

In doing so, Petir says, he was "acknowledging the different mindsets of our diverse population, not endorsing their views".

It then shared then-DPM Lawrence Wong's comments in 2021, where he clarified the PAP government's view, saying he "would welcome the prospect of having a PM from a racial minority and looked forward to that day."

It wrote:

"While a minority should be aware of prevailing attitudes on the ground – e.g. surveys do indicate that some Singaporeans felt more comfortable with someone of their own race as PM – Mr Wong emphasised that such mindsets should not be accepted, and we must work hard to change them."

This view was reiterated by K Shanmugam in 2022, who said that it was inaccurate to say a racial minority could not become PM but that it was "entirely possible and should not be ruled out".

Shanmugam said that a good candidate from a minority race "can bridge the gap", and fellow MPs felt confident that they could lead them and win elections.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong had similarly said in 2024 that Singapore "must have the best leader", regardless of race.

Petir quoted him as saying, "It does not matter; if he can win Singaporean support and mobilise Singaporeans and command respect in the world, he should be the Prime Minister."

Singh's reply

Later in the same day, Singh posted a reply on Facebook, addressing Petir's articles.

Noting that Petir is a PAP publication, he pointed out the article title: "Mr Harpreet Singh misrepresents our views", and quotes the opening lines: "This is another about Mr Harpreet Singh's suggestion that the PAP doesn't think a minority can or even should become Prime Minister. He presented a distorted, one-sided picture of what PAP leaders have said recently on this score."

Singh disagreed with this interpretation of his comments, saying that it "does not reflect the words or purport of what I said."

He then continued: "Fair-minded Singaporeans can judge for themselves what I actually said (and did not say)", giving the time stamp of his comments at 1:07:15.

Top image via Yah Lah But/Youtube

This article was amended to include Singh's reply on Facebook.