Workers’ Party Secretary-General Pritam Singh reviews the Party’s parliamentary efforts in 2024, as we work to secure the people’s support for GE 2025
Working for Singapore
In March 2024, former President and People’s Action Party (PAP) DPM Dr Tony Tan launched his memoirs, titled, My Political Journey. The book looks back at the former President’s storied career, with a part devoted to his assessment of the political environment in Singapore.
While the former President did not – correctly – foresee a change in Government in the immediate term, he posited the PAP would not be the sole party in Parliament as it was previously, and was of the view that Singapore was moving towards a two-party system. He noted that this political evolution represented “a more stable arrangement.”
The Workers’ Party has played its part to promote a more stable political arrangement for Singapore, where alternative views do not just have a voice, but a vote in Parliament.
We have taken our parliamentary responsibilities seriously and raised matters covering cost of living and HDB policy, amongst other subjects, in this term of Government.
However, after 60 years of independence, the evolution of our parliamentary democracy remains fledgling and in its infancy. A Singapore parliament with no elected opposition MPs is completely foreseeable; such are the political margins in all WP constituencies and structural advantages that accrue to the PAP through agencies like the People’s Association, amongst other factors. It also takes a significant effort for the Workers’ Party to grow its ranks with a new generation of Singaporeans who are prepared to make sacrifices and contribute to the development and evolution of a more balanced, and by extension, stable political system in Singapore.
The Workers’ Party firmly believes that constructive parliamentary debates and the diligent responsiveness of policymakers to inquiries results in improved policy outcomes to the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans. Towards this aim, we worked and played our part as a loyal opposition in Parliament in 2024.
Our parliamentary record in 2024
We kicked off the year in January, robustly debating the government in the motion on digital safety proposed by PAP backbenchers. Calling attention to a crisis of confidence in the use of technology and digital tools, MPs Sylvia Lim, Gerald Giam and Jamus Lim advocated for stronger customer protections and measures to address the imbalance of power between banks and customers, urging the government and businesses to lead in loss prevention and equitable liability sharing to safeguard consumer trust.
With the history-making money laundering case of 2023 still fresh in the minds of Singaporeans, MPs Sylvia Lim. Dennis Tan and He Ting Ru scrutinised the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Other Matters Bill when it was debated in August. Ting Ru suggested oversight to include single family offices, fine art and cryptocurrencies. Sylvia queried how victims who are based overseas may receive their monies if recovered in Singapore, how the increased risk of a mistaken person under the bill would be addressed and if the quality of suspicious transaction reports can be improved. Dennis advanced that AML compliance of firms, banks, property agencies, lawyers and other service providers involved in parts of transactions ought to be strengthened if they are required to conduct their AML checks.
Our parliamentary participation in the second half of the year was also noteworthy as it reinforced the need for political and institutional reforms in Singapore.
In my speech during the debate on reforming the electoral boundaries review process, I outlined how the current system historically advantaged the PAP through gerrymandering, and called for a reform of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC). Jamus Lim suggested that the EBRC take advantage of advances in mathematics, political science, and economics to produce scientifically-supported voting district maps, which can be used as benchmarks to avoid gerrymandered outcomes.
Also in August, during the government’s strong defence of German insurer Allianz’s proposed bid for a majority stake in NTUC Enterprise’s Income Insurance, MP He Ting Ru and I gave voice to key concerns shared by many Singaporeans on social media prior to the parliamentary sitting. These covered governance, financial management and controls in Allianz. We also sought assurances over the future of low-cost insurance products, Income’s social mission, and employment outcomes for Income staff. It was noteworthy that one mainstream media outlet found it appropriate to highlight “no labour (PAP) MPs filed any questions or spoke” when the Income-Allianz issue was raised in Parliament on 6 Aug 2024.
Like the rest of Singapore, we were stunned when two months later, the government made a U-turn on this matter and rushed MPs through the amendment of the Insurance Act, giving MPs only two days’ notice. During that debate in October, MP Jamus Lim questioned the lack of information sharing amongst public servants on the true nature of the deal, and the delay in updating the public. MP He Ting Ru expressed reservations about the rushed passage of the Bill which would have potential implications for retrospective law-making, and the resulting impact on legal and regulatory certainty. For these reasons, the WP abstained from voting for the bill, even as we supported the blocking of the deal. As it turned out, Allianz has since withdrawn the offer for Income Insurance, citing Allianz’s “financial discipline”.
The question of whether NTUC operated with the best interests of workers in mind also surfaced during the marathon debate on the Platform Workers’ Bill in September. While the WP supported the bill, MPs Jamus Lim, Louis Chua and I raised the need for incentives to improve CPF adoption by platform workers, equitable cost-sharing and transparency from platform companies, and stronger protections such as work injury compensation and retirement adequacy for platform workers.
At the same debate, MP Gerald Giam’s speech drew strong attacks from Ministers and PAP back-benchers when he questioned how platform work associations which must be formed under the NTUC, would be able to advocate for workers in a situation where government policies conflicted with workers’ interests.
Ironically, these attacks provided the Workers’ Party with an opportunity in Parliament to invoke the reflections of a 1G NTUC Secretary-General, whose’s instructive critique highlighted the value of an independent NTUC which advocated fearlessly for workers. That NTUC Secretary-General was Mr Ho See Beng. In an NTUC delegates conference in 1966, Ho reminded the PAP Government that NTUC’s cooperation with the PAP in the task of economic development was not “one-way traffic”, taking issue with Government leaders, including the-then Prime Minister, for speaking unendingly about labour’s obligations, while hardly touching on labour’s rights and major grievances.
Winning the people’s trust, securing their support in 2025
Looking back on 2024, we have been encouraged and energised by the public’s acknowledgment of our parliamentary work as a loyal opposition, which we have openly shared on the party’s various social media platforms and our party newsletter, Hammer.
In 2025, we will continue to work hard and to secure the people’s confidence and support ahead of the General Elections (GE). To all our residents, volunteers, supporters, donors and Party members, I welcome you to walk with us on the Workers’ Party’s journey towards GE2025 and play your part to build a more balanced and stable political system for Singapore in the years to come. I wish all Singaporeans and friends of Singapore and your families, good health. Happy New Year!
Pritam Singh
Secretary-General, The Workers’ Party
Leader of the Opposition
MP for Aljunied GRC
工人党秘书长毕丹星回顾2024年本党在国会的努力，为2025年大选争取人民的支持
为新加坡努力
2024年3月，前总统兼人民行动党（PAP）前副总理陈庆炎博士出版了他的回忆录《我的政治之路》。在书中，他回顾了自己丰富的职业生涯，并剖析了新加坡的政治环境。
尽管他认为我国在短期内不会出现政权更替，他预见人民行动党将不会再是国会中的唯一政党。他表示，新加坡正迈向双党制，而这将给我国带来一个“更稳定的政治局面”。
工人党一直不懈努力，推动新加坡朝这个方向迈进。我们力求让不同声音得以在国会浮现，因此积极争取人民的选票，以代表人民在国会发声。
在国会中，我们认真履行议员的职责。在本届政府的任期内，我们就生活费、建屋发展局（HDB）政策等多项议题提出了一系列质询。
然而，我国虽然已独立60年，我们的国会民主制度仍处于初级阶段，尚未成熟。我们不难想象，新加坡国会可能出现完全没有民选反对党议席的局面——工人党选区的政治优势就是如此微弱，人民行动党通过人民协会等机构获得的结构性优势却是如此显著。此外，工人党要培养新一代愿意为国家做出牺牲，并致力于建立更均衡、更稳定政治体系的新加坡人，也需要付出巨大的努力。
工人党始终坚信，只有通过有建设性的国会辩论，以及政策制定者对国会议员提问的认真回应，才能促成更优质的政策，真正造福新加坡和新加坡人民。为此，在2024年，工人党在国会中积极履行忠诚反对党的职责。
2024年：工人党在国会的努力
2024年1月，针对人民行动党后座议员所提出的“数字安全”议题，工人党议员与政府展开了激烈的辩论。面对公众对数字技术和工具使用的迫切担忧，议员林瑞莲、严燕松和林志蔚主张加强消费者保护，解决银行与客户之间的不平衡。他们呼吁政府与业者携手，加强防范措施，并确保责任分担公平，以维护消费者的信心。
2023年震惊全国的洗钱案还历历在目，2024年8月，在辩论《反洗钱及其他事项法案》时，议员林瑞莲、陈立峰和何廷儒对该法案进行了深入审查。何廷儒建议将监管范围扩展到家族办公室、艺术品交易和加密货币。林瑞莲则质询：海外受害者的资金若在新加坡追回，该如何返还？如何降低误判的风险，提高可疑交易报告的质量？陈立峰则主张加强企业、银行、房产代理、律师及其他服务提供商的反洗钱条规。
2024下半年，工人党在国会中更是进一步强调了新加坡政治和体制改革的必要性。
在选区划分检讨制度改革的辩论中，我指出，现有制度因存在选区划分不公的问题，而有利于人民行动党。因此，我强调政府有必要对选区范围检讨委员会（EBRC）进行改革。林志蔚建议利用数学、政治学和经济学的最新研究，制定科学合理的选区划分方案，以避免人为操控。
同样在8月，政府强烈捍卫德国保险公司安联（Allianz）收购职总英康保险（Income Insurance）多数股权的提议。何廷儒议员和我在国会反映了许多国人在社交媒体上提出的疑虑，包括治理结构、财务管理和安联的内部控制问题。我们要求政府提供保障，确保低成本保险产品延续，并确保职总英康的社会使命不被削弱，职总员工的就业前景不受到威胁。耐人寻味的是，有主流媒体特别报道，在2024年8月6日的国会辩论中，竟然没有任何人民行动党的工会议员就此提问或发言。
两个月后，政府突然改变立场，仓促修改《保险法令》，使不少国人大跌眼镜。对政府的这一急转弯，工人党也感到惊讶。更令人震惊的是，政府当时只给予议员两天时间审议该法案。在10月份的国会辩论中，议员林志蔚质疑政府为何未能及时与公务员分享有关交易的关键信息，也未能更早向公众通报情况。议员何廷儒则对法案的仓促通过表示担忧，指出这可能会影响法律和监管的稳定。因此，虽然工人党支持阻止这项交易，还是决定对该法案投下了弃权票。最终，安联公司以“财务纪律”为由，撤回了收购提案。
9月，《平台工作者法案》的辩论也十分激烈。本党虽然支持法案，但议员林志蔚、蔡庆威和我都提出，政府应提供更多激励措施，提高平台工作者加入公积金（CPF）的比例，并确保平台公司保持透明，公平分担成本。同时，我们也主张加强对平台工作者的保护，如工伤赔偿和退休保障。
同一场辩论中，议员严燕松提出了一个重要的问题：工会既然都必须隶属于全国职工总会（NTUC），那么如果政府的政策与劳工的利益发生冲突，工会是否还能真正独立为工人发声？为此，严燕松遭到多名部长和人民行动党后座议员的强烈抨击。
然而，这反倒让工人党有机会在国会回顾历史，引用一名第一代职总秘书长多年前所作的评论。此评论突出了一点：一个独立的全国职工总会，应当能够毫无畏惧地为工人争取权益——这就是职总的价值所在。这位职总秘书长，就是何世平先生。他曾批评政府领导人（包括时任总理）只顾不断强调工人的义务，而几乎不谈工人的权利和诉求。在1966年的职总代表大会上，何世平先生提醒人民行动党政府，工会与政府的合作“并不是单向的”。
争取人民信任，为2025年大选努力
回顾2024年，工人党因在国会努力履行忠诚反对党的职责，得到民众的认可。对此，我们十分欣慰，也备受鼓舞。我们透过社交媒体和《铁锤报》与大家分享民众的反馈，并持续改进我们的工作。
2025年，我们将继续努力，争取人民的信任和支持，迎接即将来临的大选。在此，我诚挚邀请所有居民、志愿者、支持者、捐助者和党员，与工人党携手迈向2025年大选，共同努力，使新加坡得以建立一个更平衡、更稳定的政治体系。
祝愿所有新加坡人及新加坡之友：阖家安康，新年快乐！
毕丹星
工人党秘书长
反对党领袖
阿裕尼集选区国会议员
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 