WP won't form shadow Cabinet, but will focus on five critical areas: Pritam Singh

THE Workers' Party (WP) will not be forming a shadow Cabinet in Parliament, but will instead focus on five areas that the party's chief says are critical for Singapore.

Making his maiden speech as Leader of the Opposition (LO) in Parliament on Monday, Pritam Singh, who is also the WP secretary-general, said: "With just 10 Members of Parliament, far from the more than one-third necessary to check the PAP's super majority, it is not feasible for the Workers' Party to set up a Shadow Cabinet in the tradition of Westminster parliaments."

He added that there are 16 ministries in Singapore with 37 political-officeholders.

Instead, the WP is organising its MPs to look into five areas. These are:

* Health, ageing and retirement adequacy;

* Jobs, businesses and the economy;

* Education, inequality and the cost of living;

* Housing, transport and infrastructure; and

* National sustainability.

"The Workers' Party intends to raise matters in Parliament that are important to the people of Singapore that the government and PAP backbenchers may not. We intend to scrutinise policies to the best of our abilities," he said.

Explaining the WP's relationship with the two Non-Constituency MPs (NCMP) - Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa from the Progress Singapore Party - Mr Singh said the Leader of the Opposition is not considered the leader of all opposition parties in Parliament, much like other Westminster parliaments.

"It is possible that they may support government policies that we disagree with, or vice versa. However, where our positions match and are in the best interests of Singapore, I look forward to collaborating with PSP NCMPs."

Mr Singh spoke for over 30 minutes, after Leader of the House Indranee Rajah moved a motion to give the LO a longer speaking duration of up 40 minutes, equivalent to that of a political officeholder. He took the seat directly opposite the prime minister, similar to the practice in countries that formally recognise the role of the LO.

In a ministerial statement, Ms Indranee reiterated the privileges and duties that the LO will be accorded, including staff support and resources.

Mr Singh said the government has allocated a budget for three more legislative assistants (LA) and an administrative assistant for the Office of the LO, noting that each elected member is given a budget to hire an LA and a secretarial assistant.

He also said that it would be an "understatement" to say that announcement on the creation of an LO came as a surprise to WP after polling day, but added that he was looking forward to a different sort of political engagement.

Ms Indranee said the greater diversity of views is likely to bring more robust debate, but cautioned against polarising the country or people.

"Experience elsewhere shows that unity in diversity is not an assured outcome. Our goal should be to harness this diversity of views in a constructive manner, so that we can, as a Parliament, better serve the interests of Singaporeans and Singapore," she said.

However, even when the WP is the opposition, Mr Singh said the party has always taken the position that it owes its loyalty to the President and the people, and that it does not oppose the government for the sake of opposing.

"We back the government when national interests are at stake," he said.

He named three key policies areas that "must not change in Singapore" and which the WP supports - Singapore's position as an economically open trading nation, the government's positions on defence and foreign policy, and Singapore's intolerance of corruption.

However, he also proposed several changes that would improve governance in Singapore.

The first is the formation of more select committees, which can provide a framework for discussing potentially divisive issues and become an agent of positive conversations that could have a direct impact on policies, he said. This is especially significant in today's world, where misinformation and disinformation campaigns can hijack narratives, he added.

There are two possibilities for select committees, Mr Singh said; one is to have more standing select committees, comprising MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties, to be set up to scrutinise the spending policies and administration of each ministry, similar to what is being done in the US and UK.

The other possibility is to form more ad hoc committees, which are already part of Singapore's parliamentary processes. Their purpose would be to investigate a specific issue and report back to Parliament, such as the select committee of deliberate online falsehoods formed in 2018.

Mr Singh also urged a change in how Singapore manages and accommodates foreigners in its economy. Acknowledging that this is a hot-button issue, he said a parliamentary select committee can assist by investigating the limitations of the workforce and the needs of the economy, as well as the reality of the Singaporean worker in the face of competition, as well as the constraints faced by employers.

At the same time, the value of the work of Singapore tradesmen should be raised, and more can be done to protect their trades, for example by regulating who can practice trades such as air-conditioner servicing and plumbing, he said. This enables them to earn a wage that is protected from undercutting by the unqualified.