Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh has hit back at Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his speech at the East Coast GRC rally on Tuesday (April 29), accusing the People's Action Party of "negative politics" themselves.
PM Wong, who is PAP's secretary-general, had said during a walkabout at One Punggol Hawker Centre earlier that day that he was "rather taken aback" by the WP's "negative tone", particularly in their criticisms of Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and PAP's Punggol team at a recent rally.
"I would say to Punggol residents, let's reject this kind of negative politics," PM Wong had urged.
Delivering the final speech of the rally that evening in Bedok Stadium, Singh recalled how a "previous Prime Minister" had said that he would have to spend time "fixing the opposition" should they gain seats.
"This is the PAP DNA," he said. "I wonder what Prime Minister Lawrence Wong would say about this. Is this negative politics?"
Singh further claimed that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the People's Association (PA) gave PA grassroots advisers information such as who was recovering from a Covid-19 infection, and these advisers could then deliver care packs to residents.
"The WP MPs, who had secured a mandate from the people, did not have access to this information," Singh said, adding that the party "would have loved" to have such access "to reach out to Singaporeans as well".
Touching on the topic of immigration, Singh said that "democratically elected opposition MPs are kept away when new Singaporeans are welcome to our community".
He added that the WP "would love" to meet new citizens at citizenship ceremonies "presided over by losing PAP candidates" and tell them that unity outweighs party politics.
"With immigration and integration being such a big part of our social landscape in Singapore, I am taken aback by how the PAP does not walk the talk when it speaks of a united Singapore to deal with the challenges of tomorrow," he noted.
"So let me ask Lawrence Wong again, isn't this a textbook example of negative politics?"
Singh further said that Singapore will stand to lose more with "divisive politics" and that policies need to be changed.
In his speech, Singh also cited PAP policies that were "designed to cripple town councils and elected town councillors in opposition wards", such as the Community Improvement Projects Committee funds (or CIPC).
Previously, CIPC funds had to be sought through constituencies' Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCC), which came under PA advisers, including defeated PAP candidates in opposition wards.
In April 2021, the Ministry of National Development then introduced a change, allowing town councils to apply for funding directly from CIPC without approval from the CCCs.
He also raised the matter of PAP and opposition-held wards receiving HDB upgrading plans at different times.
That's no longer seen today as both wards get upgrading at the same time, with some opposition wards even getting them earlier, he said.
"As far as I can see, priority is based on objective criteria across all town councils, which should have been the case all along," he commented.
Singh said this only came about after “continuous advocacy by opposition MPs and by Singaporeans as a result of the last General Election".
However, the PAP leadership did not change their policies "out of the goodness of their hearts" — they only changed it because they lost votes and felt the backlash in other constituencies, he said.
"That is how we, the people of Singapore, can fight unfairness and bring about change — with our vote," Singh declared.
Singh attended the event alongside East Coast GRC candidates Yee Jenn Jong, Nathaniel Koh, Sufyan Mikhail Putra, Jasper Kuan and Paris V Parameswari.
Also present were Tampines GRC candidate Jimmy Tan, Tampines Changkat SMC candidate Kenneth Foo, Jalan Kayu SMC candidate Andre Low and Hougang SMC candidate Dennis Tan.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com