GE2025: WP chief Pritam Singh to remain Leader of the Opposition, says PM Wong
GE2025: WP chief Pritam Singh to remain Leader of the Opposition, says PM Wong
SINGAPORE - WP chief Pritam Singh will remain the Leader of the Opposition with staff and resources to carry out his duties, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
'The WP fielded a strong slate of candidates, and put up a tough fight in this election,' said PM Wong , who added that he had spoken to Mr Singh.
WP has also consolidated and increased its presence in Parliament , the Prime Minister added in a Facebook post on May 5.
WP consolidated its hold over Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC , returning 10 elected MPs to Parliament.
As the 'best losers' at the polls - narrowly losing to the ruling PAP in Jalan Kayu SMC and Tampines GRC - the party also has the option to take up two Non-Constituency MP seats in the 15th Parliament.
In the five constituencies that it did not win, the party's candidates came close, polling above 40 per cent.
PM Wong said: 'I look forward to the contributions of the Workers' Party members in Parliament,' he added.
Mr Singh was appointed Leader of the Opposition by former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong after the last general election in 2020, which saw the WP win its second GRC - Sengkang.
The Leader of the Opposition's role is to lead the opposition in presenting alternative views in parliamentary debates on policies, Bills and motions.
His duties also include leading and organising scrutiny of the Government's positions and actions in Parliament.
On May 3, WP triumphed in its traditional strongholds of Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC, returning its core leaders - including Mr Singh, its secretary-general - to Parliament.
Despite a national swing towards the ruling party, the five-member WP team in Aljunied GRC maintained its hold over the constituency, with 59.68 per cent of the vote.
In Hougang, WP polled 62.17 per cent. The party also held on to Sengkang, winning 56.31 per cent of the vote.
While the party did not win any new constituency, it polled above 40 per cent wherever it contested, including in Punggol, East Coast and Tampines GRCs, as well as Jalan Kayu SMC.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
Protecting workers before AI widens digital divide
While artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage these days, there is no need for Singapore to 'rush headlong' into AI without first understanding its impact on workers. Such was the message from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at an SG60 conference on Jul 29. Amid fears of AI replacing jobs, especially entry-level ones, the prime minister's nuanced take is refreshing and should offer some reassurance. He said pioneers of cutting-edge technologies do not necessarily become industry leaders, and that economies only reap the real benefits of a technology when there is broad-based adoption – the latter is what Singapore should pursue. Yet, PM Wong also acknowledged concerns about jobs. Even if every new wave of technology over the millennia ends up killing some jobs and creating new ones, history may not guide our future, he said, given how much more powerful AI is. 'I would say that even as we think about broad-based adoption of AI – which we have to do because we have no choice, we have to harness technology – we also have to think equally hard about applying technologies like AI in a meaningful and deliberate manner that creates jobs for Singaporeans,' he said. Last month, a piece in the Financial Times similarly advocated being a 'second mover' in situations of high uncertainty and risk, arguing that 'what you lose in speed, you gain in information'. This presents a difficult balancing act. While a deliberate strategy is wise, the ground is already shifting as global companies rapidly deploy AI. Therefore, the need to protect and reskill workers is an urgent response to a transformation that is already underway. The force of AI is unstoppable, particularly among multinational companies, many of which also operate in Singapore. For example, over three quarters of McKinsey employees now use its proprietary AI tool to create PowerPoint slides, Bloomberg reported in June. As AI tools produce work once done by junior staff, Spanish economist and politician Luis Garicano suggests AI could destroy the economics of professional development. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up He argues that companies have long relied on entry-level roles to function as a self-funded training ground, creating a sustainable talent pipeline. By automating these tasks, AI dismantles the system. This creates a 'supervision threshold', where workers skilled enough to supervise AI thrive by leveraging its power, while those below this threshold compete directly with it, facing wage pressure and obsolescence. In other words, if AI is allowed to cut entry-level roles – which it is starting to do – we could end up with a profound digital divide. In April, a United Nations report sounded a similar warning. While AI is on course to become a US$4.8 trillion global market by 2033, its benefits may remain in the hands of a privileged few 'unless urgent action is taken'. Up to 40 per cent of global jobs are at risk, the report estimated, but government investment in reskilling, upskilling and workforce adaptation may help enhance employment opportunities. Garicano said any viable solution would need to satisfy three economic constraints: first, compress the time required to reach the supervision threshold; second, public policy must create new incentives for private-sector investment in training; third, prepare workers for the possibility that the supervision threshold will continue rising.
Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Straits Times
Malaysian flag hoisted upside down heats up debate ahead of National Day celebrations
The flag incident at a Penang hardware shop caused a rift between the Malay and Chinese communities ahead of Malaysia's National Day celebrations on Aug 31. KUALA LUMPUR – Socks with the word 'Allah' printed on them, 'ham' sandwiches, and now Malaysian flags displayed upside down – Umno youth chief Akmal Saleh does not seem to run out of ways to stoke controversy. This time, he has threatened to 'educate' an elderly Chinese hardware shop keeper in Penang on how to properly hoist the national flag, after the latter flew it upside down outside his hardware shop on Aug 9. 'If there are no charges on this individual by Wednesday, then God willing on Thursday I will go, and we will give a class to educate this Ah Pek on how to properly hoist the flag,' he said in a video on Facebook on Aug 11. This was the second discovered incident of the national flag being improperly displayed, following an earlier debacle at a Chinese primary school in Negeri Sembilan on Aug 1. The Penang shopkeeper, Mr Pang Chin Tian, 59 , was arrested on Aug 9 after more than 15 police reports were made against him. He had earlier apologised to the public saying he did not realise the flag was upside down until it was hoisted. 'Every year, I will hoist the flag on the long pole on my shop since its opening 11 years ago. This is to show my patriotism,' Mr Pang was quoted as saying in Malaysia's Chinese media China Press after his release on Aug 12. Despite this, some in the Chinese community have expressed in social media they would not fly the Malaysia flag this year for fear of being bullied as the issue has become political . The controversy, just ahead of Malaysia's National Day on Aug 31, has created a divide yet again between Malaysia's two biggest ethnic groups. The affair was featured prominently in the front page of the country's largest Chinese newspaper – Sinchew Daily – on Aug 11, while the largest Malay daily Sinar Harian has been focusing on the death of a 13-year-old student in Sabah, who is a suspected victim of bullying in school. Datuk Akmal is no stranger to controversy. In March 2024, he led calls to boycott the popular KK Super Mart chain after a pair of socks was found to have the word 'Allah' in Arabic printed on it. The issue sparked widespread debate with responses from political and religious figures. And the Umno youth chief again stoked tensions in January, inviting angry responses and calls for boycotts, after the discovery of a 'ham' and cheese sandwich with a fake halal label sold at a KK Super Mart outlet in Universiti Malaya. The 'ham' turned out to be chicken meat, but the authorities confirmed that the halal label was used without proper permit. The flag blunders created the feeling among some in the Malay community that the national flag, widely called Jalur Gemilang – Stripes of Glor y – was being disrespected. For Mr Shahriful Saiful, 26, who flies the flag every year during National Day, what happened was unacceptable and warranted stern action. 'We've learned the basics of hoisting the flag since our school days. The top edge of the flag is sewn, so it's clear how to fly it correctly. If the flag is flown upside down, it has to be intentional,' the private sector employee told The Straits Times. Professor Kartini Aboo Talib believes the incidents should be taken seriously by the authorities to prevent their recurrence. 'I think the issue runs deeper and reveals the level of knowledge, experience, and appreciation of Bahasa Melayu, patriotism and nation-building, which are still lacking in daily activities by most non-Malay communities,' the deputy director of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Institute of Ethnic Studies told ST. The view from the Chinese community is that the errors made do not merit threats from Mr Akmal, who is also a state lawmaker from Melaka. He has said that Umno will protest in front of the Penang shop should the shopkeeper not be charged in court soon. In response, Mr Anthony Loke, secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) - the biggest party in Malaysia's governing coalition - said on Aug 12 that the party 'strongly condemns certain quarters for openly pressuring the Attorney-General's Office to charge a shopkeeper in Penang for his mistake while hosting the Jalur Gemilang outside his shop'. Rejecting the 'openly bullying tactics', he said DAP sponsors a giant national flag to be hung outside the Penang shop, and the distribution of 831 free flags , the number chosen to signify Malaysia's National Day on Aug 31. To alleviate the anxiety among Chinese Malaysians, DAP's deputy minister Lim Hui Ying on Aug 10 encouraged the public to fly the flag without fear of making mistakes. But her efforts in distributing the Malaysian flag in her constituency were less successful. Some of the public refused to accept the flag. A similar flag distribution by the DAP was met with a cold reception in a market in Negeri Sembilan . A former assemblyman for the Malaysian Chinese Association, Mr Lee Hwa Beng, said he would not hoist the Jalur Gemilang as he had been doing for the past two decades. 'I fear to be called up for whatever reason, like (the flag is) too old or dirty due to exposure, the wind may blow the flag upside down… So I won't put up this year not because (I am) unpatriotic, but (because I) fear being charged,' Datuk Lee said in a Twitter post on Aug 10. His post had garnered more than 165,000 views as at Aug 12. Political analyst Dr Phoon Wing Keong said that Umno's aggressive approach could undermine Malaysians' emotional connection to the nation. 'Patriotism should be rooted in a citizen's genuine affinity for the country. If the upside-down flag incident is excessively politicised, especially when it's unintentional, it may erode national unity and dampen public enthusiasm,' the head of the Huayan Policy Institute, a Chinese Malaysian community think-tank, told ST.
New Paper
a day ago
- New Paper
No penalties for Bukit Canberra hawkers who cannot provide free meals: Ong Ye Kung
Stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre are not charged for storing supplies in baskets or penalised for not providing free meals, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. Mr Ong, who oversees the ward where the food centre is located, was responding in an Aug 11 Facebook post to concerns raised by veteran food critic K.F. Seetoh about the treatment of hawkers there. In a Facebook post on Aug 4, Mr Seetoh had claimed that the food centre's hawkers were forced to pay $70 each month to use blue supply baskets at the back of each stall. The founder of local food guide Makansutra, in another post on Aug 8, said the stallholders were contractually obliged to offer 60 free meals at their own expense. "What a ridiculous smash and grab management policy," he said in the post, which included a screenshot of what appears to be a contract with the hawker centre's management. Mr Seetoh also claimed that hawkers were forced to offer budget meals of up to $3.50 for everyone, not just "the poor". In March 2023, the budget meal initiative was launched by the Ministry of National Development and the Housing Board to provide Singaporeans with meals typically priced $3.50 and below. Mr Ong, who also leads the Sembawang GRC MPs, said he had investigated the matters raised after finding out about the food critic's online posts. He said the claim that hawkers must provide 60 free meals "does not present the full picture". Mr Ong said stallholders had initially agreed to provide 30 meals each month for low-income residents when the hawker centre first opened, before the figure was adjusted to 100 meals over the three-year duration of their lease. Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, added: "There are no penalties if they do not or are unable to provide the meals. "This simple, well-intentioned initiative was meant to encourage our hawkers to 'pay it forward'." Mr Ong, who said he visits the hawker centre frequently, noted that the initiative has yet to commence. He added: "I appreciate K.F. Seetoh's concern for our hawkers and share his passion for keeping our hawker culture alive and thriving. "However, let's do so without putting down anyone, whether they are patrons, hawkers, the hawker centre operator, or government agencies." On Aug 11, Mr Seetoh thanked the minister and suggested that they meet so that he could get "the full picture". The 44-stall Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened in December 2022 after a three-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of its launch, about 10 per cent of the stalls were run by Sembawang residents. It was the first such facility to open in the constituency after about three decades.
