SINGAPORE: On the morning of the inauguration day of Mr Lawrence Wong as the fourth Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Pritam Singh, the Leader of the Opposition and secretary-general of the Workers’ Party, issued a statement to mark the occasion.
The WP congratulated Mr Wong, who became Minister of Finance in 2021 and assumed the office of Deputy Prime Minister the following year and thanked outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for his long years of service, including 20 years as Premier.
“Mr Wong is taking over the leadership of our nation during an era of greater political contestation, with voters expecting greater transparency and a greater say in public policies,” WP’s statement, published on the party’s Facebook page, reads.
The WP acknowledged that the change in leadership comes during a challenging time due to a “more unpredictable external environment on the one hand, and significant generational shifts on the domestic front on the other.”
“To meet these challenges, a greater diversity of voices by way of elected opposition members in Parliament can be an important stabiliser for our politics, a source of strength, and expression of confidence in our people and our nation,” the party added, before stating well-wishes toward Mr Wong.
“We wish incoming Prime Minister Wong the very best as he steps into his new role as Prime Minister.
Under Prime Minister Wong’s leadership, the Workers’ Party will continue to play our legislative role to advance the interests of Singapore and Singaporeans.”
WP’s gains under PM Lee
In the final years of Mr Lee’s tenure as Prime Minister, the position of Leader of the Opposition was formally recognized.
In the most recent General Election in 2020, Mr Singh successfully led the WP to a historic win of 10 parliamentary seats, including four in the then-newly-created Sengkang GRC.
After the election results were tallied, PM Lee personally called the WP chief, saying in a media conference:
“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.”
Mr Singh wrote in a Facebook post the day after the election that he looked forward “to serving as the leader of the opposition and will carry out my duties to the best of my abilities.”
He added that he would “endeavour to ensure that The Workers’ Party under my leadership will remain loyal to Singapore and all Singaporeans.” /TISG
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