1. Pritam Singh should learn Mandarin.

According to a report by todayonline.com, Workers’ Party leader Pritam Singh on Thursday (July 2) issued an apology after the opposition party failed to send a representative to a Mandarin debate, which aired live on national television on Wednesday (July 1).

The debate brought together the four parties who are contesting the most seats in the General Election, and had two parts — one in English and the other in Mandarin.

The debate in English involved the People’s Action Party’s Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Progress Singapore Party’s Francis Yuen, the Singapore Democratic Party’s Dr Chee Soon Juan and the Workers’ Party’s Jamus Lim.

The Mandarin debate, on the other hand, involved the PAP’s Ong Ye Kung, the PSP’s Leong Mun Wai and the SDP’s Bryan Lim. The WP failed to send a representative to the forum.

Mr Singh said: “I do have to apologise for the party not sending a representative to the Channel 8 debate yesterday… Thank you for your forbearance and understanding.” According to the report, the lapse on the WP’s part sparked conversation among netizens, who saw it as a loss for the opposition party as it missed a chance to get its ideas across to voters who speak Mandarin.

On the SG Talk forum, Singaporeans discussed the matter. While many expressed their disappointment that the WP was not in the Mandarin debate, others called for Mr Singh to learn Mandarin himself.

2. Some hot, some cold towards Reform Party’s “Green Manifesto”

According to a report on channelnewsasia.com, the Reform Party (RP) on Thursday (July 2) launched its Green Manifesto.

The document put forward a proposal for Singapore to eventually reach an emissions level “as close as possible net zero” by the year 2050. The party proposed that this be tackled by “putting pressure on the government to enact the legal changes required to meet an emissions target and other measures”.

In response to this, however, many netizens did not match the enthusiasm of the RP on the matter. Many argued that there are much more important things for Singapore to tackle. One even said: “You could all be greener by printing fewer manifestos, for a start.”

Others, however, sided with the RP and rallied behind the cause for the environmental goal.