Working for Singapore
In March 2024, former President and People’s Action Party (PAP) DPM Dr Tony Tan launched his memoirs, titled, My Political Journey. The book looks back at the former President’s storied career, with a part devoted to his assessment of the political environment in Singapore.
While the former President did not - correctly - foresee a change in Government in the immediate term, he posited the PAP would not be the sole party in Parliament as it was previously, and was of the view that Singapore was moving towards a two-party system. He noted that this political evolution represented “a more stable arrangement.”
The Workers’ Party has played its part to promote a more stable political arrangement for Singapore, where alternative views do not just have a voice, but a vote in Parliament.
We have taken our parliamentary responsibilities seriously and raised matters covering cost of living and HDB policy, amongst other subjects, in this term of Government.
However, after 60 years of independence, the evolution of our parliamentary democracy remains fledgling and in its infancy. A Singapore parliament with no elected opposition MPs is completely foreseeable; such are the political margins in all WP constituencies and structural advantages that accrue to the PAP through agencies like the People’s Association, amongst other factors. It also takes a significant effort for the Workers’ Party to grow its ranks with a new generation of Singaporeans who are prepared to make sacrifices and contribute to the development and evolution of a more balanced, and by extension, stable political system in Singapore.
The Workers’ Party firmly believes that constructive parliamentary debates and the diligent responsiveness of policymakers to inquiries results in improved policy outcomes to the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans. Towards this aim, we worked and played our part as a loyal opposition in Parliament in 2024.
Our parliamentary record in 2024
We kicked off the year in January, robustly debating the government in the motion on digital safety proposed by PAP backbenchers. Calling attention to a crisis of confidence in the use of technology and digital tools, MPs Sylvia Lim, Gerald Giam and Jamus Lim advocated for stronger customer protections and measures to address the imbalance of power between banks and customers, urging the government and businesses to lead in loss prevention and equitable liability sharing to safeguard consumer trust.
With the history-making money laundering case of 2023 still fresh in the minds of Singaporeans, MPs Sylvia Lim. Dennis Tan and He Ting Ru scrutinised the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Other Matters Bill when it was debated in August. Ting Ru suggested oversight to include single family offices, fine art and cryptocurrencies. Sylvia queried how victims who are based overseas may receive their monies if recovered in Singapore, how the increased risk of a mistaken person under the bill would be addressed and if the quality of suspicious transaction reports can be improved. Dennis advanced that AML compliance of firms, banks, property agencies, lawyers and other service providers involved in parts of transactions ought to be strengthened if they are required to conduct their AML checks.
Our parliamentary participation in the second half of the year was also noteworthy as it reinforced the need for political and institutional reforms in Singapore.
In my speech during the debate on reforming the electoral boundaries review process, I outlined how the current system historically advantaged the PAP through gerrymandering, and called for a reform of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC). Jamus Lim suggested that the EBRC take advantage of advances in mathematics, political science, and economics to produce scientifically-supported voting district maps, which can be used as benchmarks to avoid gerrymandered outcomes.
Also in August, during the government’s strong defence of German insurer Allianz’s proposed bid for a majority stake in NTUC Enterprise’s Income Insurance, MP He Ting Ru and I gave voice to key concerns shared by many Singaporeans on social media prior to the parliamentary sitting. These covered governance, financial management and controls in Allianz. We also sought assurances over the future of low-cost insurance products, Income’s social mission, and employment outcomes for Income staff. It was noteworthy that one mainstream media outlet found it appropriate to highlight “no labour (PAP) MPs filed any questions or spoke” when the Income-Allianz issue was raised in Parliament on 6 Aug 2024.
Like the rest of Singapore, we were stunned when two months later, the government made a U-turn on this matter and rushed MPs through the amendment of the Insurance Act, giving MPs only two days’ notice. During that debate in October, MP Jamus Lim questioned the lack of information sharing amongst public servants on the true nature of the deal, and the delay in updating the public. MP He Ting Ru expressed reservations about the rushed passage of the Bill which would have potential implications for retrospective law-making, and the resulting impact on legal and regulatory certainty. For these reasons, the WP abstained from voting for the bill, even as we supported the blocking of the deal. As it turned out, Allianz has since withdrawn the offer for Income Insurance, citing Allianz’s “financial discipline”.
The question of whether NTUC operated with the best interests of workers in mind also surfaced during the marathon debate on the Platform Workers’ Bill in September. While the WP supported the bill, MPs Jamus Lim, Louis Chua and I raised the need for incentives to improve CPF adoption by platform workers, equitable cost-sharing and transparency from platform companies, and stronger protections such as work injury compensation and retirement adequacy for platform workers.
At the same debate, MP Gerald Giam’s speech drew strong attacks from Ministers and PAP back-benchers when he questioned how platform work associations which must be formed under the NTUC, would be able to advocate for workers in a situation where government policies conflicted with workers’ interests.
Ironically, these attacks provided the Workers’ Party with an opportunity in Parliament to invoke the reflections of a 1G NTUC Secretary-General, whose’s instructive critique highlighted the value of an independent NTUC which advocated fearlessly for workers. That NTUC Secretary-General was Mr Ho See Beng. In an NTUC delegates conference in 1966, Ho reminded the PAP Government that NTUC’s cooperation with the PAP in the task of economic development was not “one-way traffic”, taking issue with Government leaders, including the-then Prime Minister, for speaking unendingly about labour’s obligations, while hardly touching on labour’s rights and major grievances.
Winning the people’s trust, securing their support in 2025
Looking back on 2024, we have been encouraged and energised by the public’s acknowledgment of our parliamentary work as a loyal opposition, which we have openly shared on the party’s various social media platforms and our party newsletter, Hammer.
In 2025, we will continue to work hard and to secure the people’s confidence and support ahead of the General Elections (GE). To all our residents, volunteers, supporters, donors and Party members, I welcome you to walk with us on the Workers’ Party’s journey towards GE2025 and play your part to build a more balanced and stable political system for Singapore in the years to come.
I wish all Singaporeans and friends of Singapore and your families, good health. Happy New Year!
Pritam Singh
Secretary-General, The Workers’ Party
Leader of the Opposition
MP for Aljunied GRC
