The Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP) Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs), Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai, have promised to work closely with Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh, in the wake of his official appointment as Leader of the Opposition.
The PSP contested West Coast GRC in the 2020 general election and lost by a whisker to the ruling party team, with 48.31 per cent of the vote. As the best-performing losing opposition candidates, the party was entitled to nominate two members to join Parliament under the NCMP scheme.
The party appointed Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai to take up the NCMP seats. Ms Poa and Mr Leong, who were the party’s vice-chairman and assistant secretary-general respectively, stepped down from their Central Executive Committee (CEC) roles after their appointments.
Although they remain in the PSP’s highest decision-making body, the party said that the NCMPs were “relieved of internal party responsibilities so that they can focus on their parliamentary duties as NCMPs”. The PSP also launched a parliamentary secretariat to assist the NCMPs with their duties in the House.
Ms Poa and Mr Leong can also count on Mr Pritam for support in Parliament. Although he is from a different political party, Mr Pritam promised to extend support to the PSP NCMPs after he was appointed LO.
This week, it was announced that Mr Pritam would be entitled to double the MP’s salary, access to government data, an office and additional support staff as LO. Hours after the LO privileges were announced, the WP chief promised to extend his support not only to members of his own party but to the NCMPs from the PSP as well.
He wrote on Facebook: “In light of the assignment of staff and resources to support the Opposition’s efforts in Parliament, I will confer with the NCMPs of the Progress Singapore Party and extend my support, as appropriate, to them as well.”
The PSP NCMPs have since promised to collaborate with the LO. Mr Leong said on Facebook that he will “work closely” with Mr Pritam. He added in a separate post that the “dawn of democratic politics” has arrived with the designation of Mr Pritam as LO.
Ms Poa congratulated Mr Pritam on his new appointment in a Facebook post published today (30 July). Calling his appointment a “political milestone,” she expressed her appreciation to Mr Pritam for extending support to her and Mr Leong. She wrote:
“Congratulations to Pritam Singh for being appointed the Leader of the Opposition (LO). This political milestone is a first in Singapore’s history, and we appreciate the offer of support extended by our LO to the NCMPs from the Progress Singapore Party
“I look forward to further our collaboration with our LO and the MPs from The Workers’ Party, for the betterment and progress of Singapore.”
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