S’pore Parliament Reopens On 24 Aug, PM Lee Hopes For Constructive Debates

PM Lee Looks Forward To Insightful Discussion When S’pore Parliament Reopens

With GE2020 now behind us, many of us are now keen to watch the elected Members of Parliament (MPs) in action as they debate issues and policies that affect Singaporeans.

And unlike some TV dramas that go on hiatus for years, the ‘action-filled’ parliamentary discourse is set to resume in slightly less than a month — on 24 Aug to be exact.

PM Lee took to Facebook on Tuesday (28 Jul) to share what he hopes to see when Parliament resumes.

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Largest number of Opposition MPs in S’pore’s history

For the first time in Singapore’s history, there will be a total of 12 Opposition MPs — 10 from the Workers’ Party (WP), and 2 Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP) from Progress Singapore Party (PSP).

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We will also see for the first time, WP’s Pritam Singh taking up the role of Leader of the Opposition.

This not only means that he will receive staff support and resources, but also several parliamentary privileges such as the right of first response among MPs and increased time for speeches.

PM Lee hopes for constructive debate when S’pore Parliament reopens

With the unprecedented high number of opposition MPs in Singapore’s 14th Parliament, PM Lee shared that he hopes to see more constructive debates between the ruling PAP and those across the aisle.

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However, PM Lee also hopes that the opposition will also be providing effective alternative policies to Parliamentary debates.

He believes that this will help Singaporeans better understand the issues we are facing and will also improve “policies and plans”.

Ending his post, PM Lee concluded that he is looking forward to working with opposition members to build a better and stronger Singapore.

Important to set aside differences

Although each of us may have different political opinions and views, most of us share the same goal in creating a better Singapore.

Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin with Mr Pritam Singh
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Now more than ever, we are optimistic that both sides will set aside their differences and work together to combat the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak and economic recession.

Featured image adapted from Facebook.