The People's Action Party (PAP) will not have a "blank cheque" to do as it wishes, as voters will make the ruling party pay at the next election if it does not perform well, said Education Minister Ong Ye Kung.
Mr Ong, who helms the PAP team contesting in Sembawang GRC, said Singaporean voters are rational and educated, and will not issue a blank cheque to any party on a whim.
"They have high expectations - if you are given a chance to enter Parliament and if you don't perform well, you will have to pay the price at the next election," he told reporters during a walkabout in Kampung Admiralty yesterday.
The minister was responding to remarks by Workers' Party (WP) candidate Jamus Lim, who urged Singaporeans to vote for the WP and deny the PAP "a blank cheque", during a TV debate last week.
Mr Ong said that because of the level of accountability that the PAP is held to, the ruling party has not let up on its work in serving Singaporeans over the past few decades.
He added: "We have continued to work hard, and we will not make empty promises. And because of this, we have built Singapore up together with our citizens."
He also disagreed with the WP's statement that PAP MPs shy away from questioning the Government on certain issues in Parliament, and that only opposition MPs do so.
In a televised party political broadcast last Thursday, WP chief Pritam Singh said a vote for WP will help the party raise issues that the PAP MPs "cannot or will not raise".
Mr Singh noted, for instance, that not a single PAP MP filed a parliamentary question on the corruption disclosures at Keppel Offshore and Marine, and that only WP MPs did so.
Mr Ong said many PAP MPs have raised questions on a range of topics and issues, and as Education Minister, he has also been drawn into debates and exchanges with MPs in Parliament.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo made similar points to reporters during a walkabout near Whampoa Market yesterday.
She said: "A lot of PAP MPs themselves have a lot of topics they are passionate about, and have the space to air them."
In fact, some of the sharpest questions in Parliament have come from PAP MPs, she added.
And while speaking up is important, Mrs Teo said, taking action is also key. "We are the People's Action Party, not the People's Speaking Party," she added.
For those who are still concerned about the lack of opposition voices in Parliament, Mr Ong said changes to the Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) scheme made in 2016 will guarantee the presence of at least 12 opposition MPs - including NCMPs - in Parliament, up from nine currently.
He said: "Some party candi-dates feel the need to become an elected MP. But if you think about it, both elected MPs and NCMPs have an equal right to speak out in Parliament."
Asked how many seats the PAP will need to win in order to secure a strong mandate from the people, Mr Ong said the key question to ask is what residents need.
He called on those standing in this general election to focus on how they can serve residents' needs, and for them to explain to residents their plans for riding out the Covid-19 crisis with them.
Yesterday, Mr Ong and his team contesting in Sembawang GRC held an e-rally, which was aired on Facebook.
The team, which includes Mr Vikram Nair, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, and new faces Poh Li San and Mariam Jaafar, said it will continue to work to improve amenities for residents in the area, if elected, including expanding transport links and starting more projects to bring communities together. They face a team from the National Solidarity Party.
- Additional reporting by Irshath Mohamed
