Harpreet Singh’s ‘Singaporeans save 3 ministerial salaries’ comment draws mixed response from netizens

Netizens say Harpreet Singh delivers ‘solid points’, but 1 comment draws mixed views

At the Workers’ Party (WP) third rally on Monday (28 Apr), all eyes were on Harpreet Singh, the Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) newcomer who once again captivated the crowd with his confident delivery and pointed critiques.

Held at Yusof Ishak Secondary School, Mr Singh delivered a speech that quickly gained traction online, with many praising his calm yet cutting remarks.

One Redditor wrote a breakdown of the 59-year-old candidate’s speech in a post uploaded yesterday (28 April), saying that they “loved” these points in particular:

• Stepping back on legal practice to focus on MP duties if elected
• WP victory in Punngol would “save” three ministerial salaries
• “The question to ask is, who put DPM Gan at risk in Punggol?”
• Response to Deputy PM Gan Kim Yong’s comments about referring to PM Wong as his “good friend”
• Response to the wealth tax comments made by PM Wong

The thread, titled “Harpreet Singh has delivered in tonight’s rally!”, racked up more than 240 comments overnight.

But one particular comment — about saving money on ministers’ salaries — stirred debate.

Harpreet Singh’s saving 3 ministerial salaries point draws mixed response from netizens

In a move that drew both cheers and scepticism, Mr Singh told Punggol residents that there is a beauty to voting for WP.

He claimed that Singaporeans save “not one, not two, but three ministerial salaries” by doing so.

“You’ll get the calibre of our team without paying a single cent in ministerial salaries,” he said, estimating each minister’s pay at S$1 million per year.

He then did the maths: three ministers multiplied by five years of service. “That’s 15 million dollars,” he pointed out.

While this point earned cheers and applause from the crowd, online netizens weren’t entirely sold.

One Redditor pointed out that the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) would simply appoint new ministers elsewhere.

“[They] will still replace them with three other PAP MPs,” they wrote.

“Agreed on this point being weird,” one user wrote. They had similar sentiments, believing that the PAP would ultimately reappoint others as ministers anyway.

Another commented that this will unlikely result in savings as Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong would still need to replace the outgoing ministers.

Also read: ‘Very promising candidate’: Netizens captivated by WP newcomer Michael Thng’s ‘impressive’ rally speech

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Featured image adapted from The Workers’ Party on YouTube and Facebook.