‘Constructive politics’ sparks heated debate between Low, Indranee

SINGAPORE — Sparks flew on the first day of Parliament reconvening after a mid-term break, as Opposition leader Low Thia Khiang yesterday crossed swords with Senior Minister of State (Law and Education) Indranee Rajah over what constitutes “constructive politics”.

Among other things, Mr Low said the phrase could be just rhetoric from the Government and that what mattered was the outcome of the political process — a view that Ms Indranee took issue with.

Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday spoke in response to President Tony Tan’s address when he reopened the 12th Parliament earlier this month.

In a wide-ranging speech, Dr Tan called for constructive politics that would not weaken the country, while he welcomed vigorous debate on the challenges ahead.

Devoting his entire response to the topic, Mr Low, who is an MP for Aljunied GRC, said Dr Tan’s emphasis on constructive politics was “unprecedented” since he entered Parliament as an Opposition MP in 1991.

He added: “We must all remember constructive politics does not happen by the order of the Government, nor does it happen through a national conversation or public consultation.”

The Workers’ Party (WP) chief emphasised that politicians “must be aware of what political culture we are building through our style of political engagement as well as our actions”.

“If the people continue to support a government party that uses high-handed tactics against its political opponents, we are endorsing a bullying political culture. If the people support a governing party that uses governmental resources, including civil servants, to serve its partisan goals, we are condoning the abuse of political power as an acceptable culture,” he said.

When it was her turn to speak, Ms Indranee rebutted some of the points raised by Mr Low. She stressed that constructive politics was about the Government “putting Singaporeans at the heart of what we do” by offering practical alternatives, acknowledging policy trade-offs and being responsible.

Alluding to the WP’s shifting positions on foreign manpower policy, Ms Indranee said constructive politics also means not “flip-flopping when convenient”.

Above all, it means upholding the highest standards of integrity, she said, as she referred to contracts awarded by the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council to a managing agent run by WP supporters and how the Opposition party had sidestepped questions about the matter.

In response, Mr Low said it was “useless for the PAP to keep harping” on the issue, noting that the Auditor-General is auditing the town council’s accounts. “The other things, like whether we flip flop … no, we (do) not. If she wishes to have a full debate on that, please file a motion. We are prepared to debate that,” he said.

Other MPs who weighed in on the issue included Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair, who said constructive politics was not about “playing games” but a way of “getting people to work together as a team to solve problems”.

After the Parliament sitting, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reiterated on Facebook that constructive politics is “key to realising our dreams”.

Uploading a video clip of the exchange between Mr Low and Ms Indranee, he added: “The purpose of politics is to make a difference to people’s lives, to build a better Singapore. Politics purely for the sake of power, without any notion of what we want Singapore to become, will lead us to disaster.”