Singapore—Pritam Singh, the Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party (WP), successfully led the opposition to a historic win in this year’s General Election on July 10 (Friday). WP won 10 parliamentary seats, including four in the newly-created Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC).
Congratulations have flooded the WP’s social media pages, not only for Mr Pritam but toward all the candidates who emerged victorious in the polls, including his teammates at Aljunied GRC, the WP slate at Sengkang, and Dennis Tan, who kept the WP’s seat at Hougang Single Member Constituency.
After the results of the election were tallied, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong formally acknowledged in a media conference the designation of Mr Pritam as the official Leader of the Opposition.
The Prime Minister said that he personally gave the WP chief a phone call, saying, “I told Mr Singh that with 10 MPs, I think it is right that he, the Workers’ Party leader, be formally designated as the Leader of the Opposition, and that he will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties.”
On his part, Mr Pritam wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday morning (July 11) that he looked forward “to serving as the leader of the opposition and will carry out my duties to the best of my abilities,” and added that he would “endeavour to ensure that The Workers’ Party under my leadership will remain loyal to Singapore and all Singaporeans.”
He also took the opportunity to thank the families and loved ones of all the WP candidates. “On behalf of all WP candidates at GE2020, and on a more personal note, thank you to all our families and loved ones, who have marched in step with us, through all the highs and lows over many many years.”
In an interview after the election, the WP leader said that the party’s candidates would need to keep their feet “firmly grounded” after the party’s historic win, and that he was grateful and humbled by WP’s victory at Sengkang.
“I’m not feeling euphoric at all. In fact, I think there’s a lot of work to do and I think we’ve got to work hard,” Channel NewsAsia quotes him as saying.
Mr Pritam added, “I expect them to keep their feet firmly grounded and remember why they’re doing what they’re doing. And if we can move forward in that manner, wanting to speak up for Singaporeans in a rational, responsible way like how a credible opposition should, then I think we can make some progress.”
Netizens congratulated Mr Pritam and the Workers’ Party not only for winning 10 seats in Parliament but also for how they conducted themselves in the campaign.
Others praised his leadership.
-/TISG
Read also: GE 2020: The main results