Workers' Party has fielded its strongest slate in years, says WP chief Pritam Singh

The Workers' Party (WP) line-up for GE2025 is the party's strongest slate in many years, said its secretary-general Pritam Singh on Apr. 28.

He said:

"I know how difficult it is to get good candidates on your slate, but we've got the best people we can find. I think this is the strongest WP slate many Singaporeans have seen in many years."

Singh was speaking to reporters in Tampines on Apr.28 morning, with fellow WP veteran Sylvia Lim and candidates from WP's Tampines GRC and Tampines Changkat SMC.

Strongest WP slate in years: Pritam Singh

At a doorstop, Singh was asked for his response to a number of comments raised by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at an Apr. 27 rally.

SM Lee had mentioned that while WP is contesting less than one-third of parliamentary seats in GE2025, the People's Action Party (PAP) could still lose their super-majority in Parliament if other opposition parties pull through in their respective contests.

When asked for his thoughts on that, Singh replied, "Do you think that is possible?"

Singh noted that he can't speak for other parties, but only for the strength of the WP's slate, which he felt was its strongest in years.

"We do need to bring in these people into Parliament. And what I would say is there will not be any filibustering in Parliament by the Workers' Party. We're not going to jam up the government or block the government. We're going to behave faithfully in Parliament, behave faithfully towards the people of Singapore and the country itself," Singh said.

Could losing DPM Gan weaken governance?

In response to SM Lee's comment that voting in more opposition candidates would come at the cost of effective governance as PAP could lose ministers, Singh said, "I think it's a weak argument."

Singh raised the example of former foreign minister George Yeo, who was deemed a "core member of the Cabinet" by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, but subsequently lost his seat in Aljunied GRC in the 2011 elections.

"Did suddenly our foreign ministry lose its bearings?" Singh asked, rhetorically.

A reporter also asked Singh if the current scenario involving Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong would be any different, given that Gan heads the crisis response team that currently handles tariff matters with the U.S.

DPM Gan, who was redeployed to helm PAP's Punggol GRC team on Nomination Day, is expected to face a stiff challenge from WP's slate, which includes star catch Harpreet Singh.

Singh said:

"With respect, I think Mr George Yeo held a significant number of portfolios and issues under his influence. His influence is even felt till today. He's got incredible links all over the world.

And I'm sure Mr Gan Kim Yong will retain these links all over the world.

And I'm sure there's no difficulty in the PAP government including Mr Gan Kim Yong, even if he is not elected, in some of these discussions, if they deem him to be so critical."

Income-Allianz deal

Reporters also drew Singh's attention to SM Lee's comments on the Income-Allianz deal, where SM Lee pointed out that WP Members of Parliament (MPs) all abstained from voting to block the deal in Parliament.

"If it had been left to the Workers' Party as government, the deal would have gone through because they didn’t oppose it, right?" Lee had said.

In response, Singh said, "Well, I mean, we're not in government. The way the senior minister characterised the issue is if we were in government or if we were in charge, but we weren't in charge, right?"

Singh highlighted that WP's abstention on the vote was "necessary" and a "good reason" has previously been provided on record.

"Maybe the senior minister has forgotten about it, or only wants to present one side of the facts, but I think that answer is very clear on the Hansard," said Singh.

Singh added that SM Lee had "sidestepped" a separate issue that Singh brought up, that none of the PAP labour MPs had spoke up in Parliament when the deal was discussed.

On SM Lee's comment that six PAP MPs asked questions about the deal in Parliament, as compared to one WP MP, Singh said it puts into perspective the ratio of both parties' parliamentarians.

"The ratio isn't one is to six. It's closer to one is to nine.

And that's something that the voters have to think about very carefully, because even if you look at the entire state, there are 26 candidates that the Workers' Party has put forward.

If Singaporeans vote all these candidates into Parliament, the ratio is still only going to be about two or three to nine.

[The] government has enough space, enough leeway, enough focus, to deal with the issues of today."

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Top image by Mothership