PUBLISHED ONSeptember 23, 2025 11:12 AMBYChing Shi JieThe Workers’ Party (WP) must justify its standing in Parliament as the sole opposition presence by presenting its own alternative visions and policies for Singapore, said Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung on Tuesday (Sept 23).
This way, a vote for the Opposition is not just an endorsement for more checks and balances on the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), said Ong in his speech on day two of the debate on the President’s Address.
“If the WP wishes to position itself as the ‘0.5 in a 1.5-party system’, I think it needs to present a principled, consistent and coherent approach to the main challenges facing Singapore,” added Ong, who is also Minister for Health.
WP is the only opposition party this term, with 10 elected MPs and two Non-Constituency MPs — its largest-ever presence in Parliament.
Ong said that Singaporeans want PAP to remain in government, but also want an opposition in Parliament “as an alternative voice, and to provide a check”.
The MP for Sembawang GRC recalled an interaction with residents who told him that “they were happy with the new facilities at Bukit Canberra”.
“When they were about to leave, they said to me, ‘I want to tell you that we did not vote for you. We’ve got to give the opposition a chance.'
“That’s the reality the PAP is facing. We may work hard, deliver for residents, who may even say they like us. Yet they vote for the opposition, while expecting that the PAP will still be returned to government.”
Alternative policies must go beyond tweaking the margins of government proposals or simply jumping on the bandwagon every time an issue goes viral, according to Ong.
“Singaporeans want to see clear, well-considered visions that allow them to weigh real choices about our nation’s future,” the minister said, adding that such a dynamic is institutionalised in other mature democracies.
One example Ong pointed out is in the United States where the Republican Party and the Democratic Party differ in their stands on taxes and the size of government.
Ong said that in Singapore’s maturing democracy, voters deserve more than positions that merely agree with PAP or suggest to “do a little more”.
Offering something that appears to be more generous and compassionate, yet requires fewer hard choices, falls short of being a real alternative, he added.
“A real alternative promises gains with the accompanying trade-offs, so that voters can make informed decisions and not be lulled into comforting illusions.”
Ong was sharing his takeaways from the May general election, saying the results showed that Singaporeans value a stable and effective government amid the global uncertainty.
He argued that WP deliberately chose to contest fewer than a third of the available seats, adding that it is a “considered, strategic decision” after reading the mood of the electorate.
Ong believes that Singaporeans decided to maintain the parliamentary composition which “worked well for Singapore in the previous term of government”.
Responding, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh rebutted the point.
The WP chief said that his party is “not clairvoyant” and had only one-and-a-half months between the release of the electoral boundaries report and Nomination Day to organise and persuade candidates to stand.
“Unlike the Government, we do not have the capacity to conduct survey after survey to understand where the population is on certain issues,” said Singh, adding that WP will do their best to present alternative policies to Singaporeans.
But he said it is “chalk and cheese” when compared to the “tremendous resources” that are available to PAP.
These include reaching out on a day-to-day level in the constituencies through the People’s Association, according to Singh.
In response, Ong said that the Barisan Sosialis came up with alternative policies with a “small number of seats”.
“Should the WP really rise to the occasion… life will be harder for the PAP,” he added. “Contests will be so much more intense. People will be so much more discerning with who they choose, but I think it is the right political direction for Singapore.”
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chingshijie@asiaone.com