DANGER OF WANTING PAP IN POWER BUT MORE ELECTED OPPOSITION
When asked if there is a “magic number” which would cause the political system to tip over, Mr Lee said there is no such thing, adding that the PAP has “to push very hard against this”.
He said that the opposition contested all seats during the general election in 2020, which was unlike the situation when he first called for the elections as Prime Minister in 2006. Of 84 seats, only 47 were contested then.
Mr Lee then referred to a quick response by Workers’ Party (WP) leader Pritam Singh to an editorial published by The Straits Times last month that claimed the party wanted to form the Government in the next election.
Mr Singh stated that WP sought a third of the parliamentary seats “for a better balanced political system”, but not half of the seats.
Said Mr Lee: “(The opposition) want people to feel it is quite safe. Just move a little bit further along the slope. No harm, nothing will happen.
“Life will carry on, PAP will look after you. We will be even stronger checking the PAP and speaking up for you. Have your cake and eat it twice,” he added.
Speaking to the media in Mandarin on Apr 28, Mr Lee said that the trend of voters wanting a check and balance weakens the government’s ability to serve Singaporeans.
Beyond having to spend more time dealing with politics, such rhetoric reduces the likelihood of fielding good talent in parliament, said Mr Lee in Mandarin.
“I think that if the trend (of wanting opposition to be a check and balance) continues, over the long term, or even the not-so-long term, it will certainly affect our political system, our government, or even our policies,” he said.
“This is a completely plausible danger for Singapore, and Singaporeans do not always understand this.”
FUTURE OF PAP AND SINGAPORE
On how the PAP has evolved over the years, Mr Lee said during the English interview that there are new leaders in the party and that policies are updated regularly.
The way the party uses social media to engage people and encourage them to buy into national policies has also changed.
However, the party’s commitment to Singapore and determination to maintain high standards of integrity and competence has remained unchanged, he said.
“Our intention to keep on providing a high-quality government for Singapore, that must always be there. And Singapore depends on that, because if the PAP did not do that, I think any other political party would be hard put to do the same thing,” he said.
When asked about his thoughts about people questioning PAP’s dominance over the years, Mr Lee denied that the PAP was dominant.
To him, the PAP has the people’s mandate.
“We have the people’s support … the people want us to govern. If you call that dominance, well, we are dominant.
“But if you say we are a government with a strong mandate and a system where many other views are heard and not suppressed, I think that is a more accurate description of where we are,” he said.
Mr Lee was then asked whether he is concerned that support for the PAP could be eroded over time.
In response, Mr Lee noted that the party had performed better than expected in 2015, but “results were not as high” as the PAP hoped in 2020.
Mr Lee said that the party will fight hard to persuade people to vote for them, but warned the vote can go to “the wrong place”.
This could happen if the party lets people down and the opposition becomes a “better alternative”.
Mr Lee said he would be sad for the party should the PAP lose power. However, in such a situation, he said the people should vote “for the better team to take care of the country” – even if it is the opposition.
However, he added that PAP losing the vote could also be for another reason – that the political system has malfunctioned and lost support. In this scenario, nobody else can govern Singapore better, said Mr Lee.
Should that happen, the country will be in real trouble, he said. “That can easily happen.”
This article was originally published in TODAY.
