Workers' Party Declines PM Wong's Invitation to Nominate Opposition Leader

SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party on Wednesday (Jan 21) said that it was “unable to accept” Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s invitation to nominate the next Leader of the Opposition. Mr Wong removed WP chief Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition on Jan 15 - a day after parliament voted that he was unsuitable to continue in the role following his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee. The prime minister also said that he had invited the WP to nominate another elected Member of Parliament to serve as the next Leader of the Opposition. The WP said in a statement on Wednesday that it had responded to Mr Wong and that it would not be nominating another party MP to the post. "We are unable to accept your invitation to nominate another Workers' Party Member of Parliament to the Leader of the Opposition post, as the Workers' Party has our own established processes for electing our leadership," said the central executive committee in its letter to Mr Wong. It said the position of Leader of the Opposition in Singapore is a discretionary appointment that the prime minister makes. "Despite not having any constitutional or statutory eligibility criteria, we hold the view that the only tenable candidate for the Leader of the Opposition position would be a Member of Parliament who is the leader of the largest opposition party in parliament, the Workers' Party." In its media statement, posted on the party website and social media pages, the WP said the appointment is conventionally extended to the leader of the largest opposition party in parliament, or decided by the opposition party in question. "The establishment of the office of the Leader of the Opposition was a step forward in our political development. The recognition of a Leader of the Opposition in parliament was introduced by the PAP government in 2020, ostensibly as a result of a recognition of the strong desire among Singaporeans for a greater diversity of views in politics," it said. "To this end, it is important to reiterate that the LO appointment in parliament arose out of the political success of the opposition at the ballot box. “It is the people’s vote that explains the presence of opposition MPs in Parliament. In other Westminster systems, the title of the Leader of the Opposition is established by law and is not the prerogative or choice of the government of the day or the prime mnister. This approach expresses the authority and sanctity of the people’s vote," it added. The Workers’ Party said it is of the view that the leader of the largest opposition party in parliament is the leader of the opposition. "As such, the Workers’ Party has conveyed to the prime minister that we will not be nominating another Workers’ Party Member of Parliament to the LO post," the party said.