A fractious opposition

The Workers Party is no more an aggressive party like during the days of its former leader, the late J.B. Jeyaratnam, and its supporters have been turning against it on the grounds that it is too meek or timid in its enhanced role in parliament.

TWO months before last year’s election, Singapore’s largest opposition did something rather unusual in the history of electioneering.

The Workers Party (WP) admitted publicly that it didn’t have enough leaders to form the government – and ended up with its best ever result.

The seemingly unwise selfappraisal appeared not to have hurt its fortune one bit.

“I am against all kinds of empty promises,” explained WP leader Low Thia Khiang, adding that he did not want to mislead the public.

The declared weakness did not surprise many people. After all, WP could only field 23 candidates to contest the 84 seats.

As public disenchantment rose, the left-of centre WP, formed by the late David Marshall in 1957, emerged with an unprecedented six seats in Parliament.

In contrast, People’s Action Party (PAP) votes fell to a historic low 60%.

Since then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has worked hard and succeeded in cementing some of the government cracks, but resentment against a few of his policies remains.

It is topped by the immigration issue. Part of this anger has apparently shifted to WP, which is accused of doing too little.

“What the heck have you guys been doing since you were voted into Parliament?” demanded an irked supporter.

Instead of major issues like the high cost of living and alleged treatment of Singaporeans, another fan accused WP of being more interested in flippant subjects like bird droppings and traffic offences.

“The WP performance has so far been disappointing to people who are hoping it can be the PAP counterweight,” said Harry Li.

“Patience is already wearing off. Please WP, be mindful of those supporters’ hope and don’t further erode this hope.”

Most are, however, sticking to their faith in the party appealing for patience because it had only six Members in Parliament.

The leadership, led by secretarygeneral Low Thia Khiang and chairman Sylvia Lim is largely non-confrontational, contrary to the former leadership of the late J.B. Jeyaratnam.

The public expectation of a more aggressive performance partly stems from WP’s history.

JBJ, as Jeyaratnam was popularly known as – was often known to slug it out toe-to-toe with Lee Kuan Yew in Parliament exchanges.

At various times it also had antiPAP fighters like Francis Seow and Tang Liang How, who, like JBJ, were severely punished for their efforts. These two are still in exile unable to return.

Low, a child of the times, was a good learner on how the ruling party under Lee Senior exercised its powers on its foes.

When he took over, he probably told himself he wasn’t going to be put in the same predicament.

He stayed away from the confrontational politics, preferring to work on the grassroots to consolidate his Hougang constituency.

As a close aide said: “His first priority is to survive before he can fight for votes.”

JBJ was a good debater but a poor political organiser. His was a virtually one-man party, largely shunned by the well-educated professionals.

His No. 2 being Chinese-educated spoke with simple logic but was not a great English speaker.

He once talked of leadership in an interview: “Being a leader to me is about responsibility, when the party entangles, you demoralise everybody, you also discourage people who may be interested.”

JBJ built the power base of his leftwing party around Singapore’s poor and blue-collar workers who provided a rich ground in the 60’s and 70’s.

But with Singapore’s rapid affluence, this base was steadily whittled down as the majority of poor moved to the middle class.

These days WP has its fair share of problems and criticisms.

Of late, some of its own supporters have been turning against it on the ground that it was too meek or timid in its enhanced parliament role.

They charge the six WP Members of Parliament with failing to take up the bread-and-butter grouses and other big concerns of Singaporeans.

Critics have reminded Low of his pledge to become society’s watchdog which would raise government shortcomings even if they were embarrassing.

The criticism has evoked quick defences from party representatives.

Replying to comments that his party was not aggressive enough and too similar to the PAP, Low said WP is confident of its approach.

Its duty is to check on the government to make sure democracy works in Singapore, he said.

Indirectly agreeing WP is timid, MP and committee member Pritam Singh said: “Don’t mistake timidity for inaction. With more experience, we hope to get better.

“That may not be enough for you, but I have seen how the government has dealt with those who choose a more aggressive path.”

What is the future for Workers Party in the new Singapore?

The answer is the same that is facing the ruling PAP and other parties – how to attract qualified Singaporeans to join them.

Nevertheless the WP has a long history and it retains a strong heartland base among the majority nonEnglish speaking voters.

All parties have a common problem – a mass reluctance of educated Singaporeans to join politics. “Most Singaporeans love to talk politics but few want to join a party, including the PAP,” said a retired banker.

Given the obstacles along its path, it is already a wonder that the fractious opposition can field enough candidates to contest in the 84-seat Parliament.

The majority has rotated towards moderate, non-confrontational parties like WP, National Solidarity Party and the Singapore Peoples party.

But recent trends are beginning to favour the more aggressive Reform Party (RP) and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).