Heng Swee Keat meets Workers’ Party MPs during break in Parliament debates

Singapore — Workers’ Party leader Pritam Singh has shared that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat met WP MPs during a break in parliamentary proceedings last week.

On Friday (March 6), the WP Secretary-General went to Facebook to share some highlights during the tail end of the annual Budget and Committee of Supply debates.

“One key functional role of the opposition in Parliament is to scrutinise the Government’s Budget, make enquiries, raise clarifications and objections,” said Mr Singh, who used the Government’s taxation plans as an example. “The process is a central ingredient of our parliamentary democracy, regardless who is in Government and which party is in opposition,” he added.

In his post was a photo of the Budget outline speeches for the past five years.

Mr Singh added that Mr Heng joined the WP MPs for a break during the debate. A photo of them was included in the post.

During the discussion, the “upside and downside of different political systems, the ongoing Democratic Presidential primaries and China’s initial response to Covid-19, especially towards whistle-blowers, came up”, Mr Singh said. He added that everyone could “speak freely” during the discussion.

“While we keep an eye on the changing world around us, the Singapore that we call home – and are proud to call home – is at the centre of the work my WP colleagues and I undertake, both in and out of Parliament,” said Mr Singh. He expressed how the past few days in Parliament had made the WP MPs “look forward to getting back on the ground”.

The WP speeches and suggestions in Parliament during the two weeks of the COS debates can be accessed on its Facebook page. The party covered issues such as CPF usage, job concerns of Singaporeans in their 40s and 50s, better healthcare for the elderly, the country’s reserves and climate change.

There was praise online of the discussions.

Others lauded the maturity of both sides in having such a discussion.

At least three people commented on what they expected the government to be like after the next elections.

/TISG