GE2020: PAP should not try to ‘fool, frighten’ voters about change in Govt, says Tan Cheng Bock

• Dr Tan said the PAP should stop trying to scare voters about a change in government 
• Even if government were to change, the civil service would continue running the country, he said
• WP’s Pritam Singh said a third of Parliament should be in opposition hands
• Govt would still have strong mandate but would not be able to change Constitution so easily, he adds

SINGAPORE — It is “very unlikely” that the People’s Action Party would be ousted from government after the general election (GE), and the ruling party should not try to fool or frighten voters into thinking this could happen, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chief Tan Cheng Bock said on Friday (July 3).

He was responding to comments made by PAP’s Chan Chun Sing, who said during a televised dialogue organised by Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao on Thursday that PSP, the Workers’ Party (WP) and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) could form a coalition government should they win enough seats.

All 93 Parliamentary seats are being contested in the upcoming GE on July 10, with the PSP fielding 24 candidates, the WP 21 and the SDP 11. They are the three opposition parties contesting the highest numbers of seats.

“From our point of view, we do not view them as the opposition,” Mr Chan had said during the dialogue. “We view them as people who might eventually replace the Government after July 10.”

When asked for his views on Mr Chan’s comments, Dr Tan said: “(I would) tell them: Don't frighten the Singaporeans. You know, I think you can fool people one time, I think you cannot fool people all the time. They have tried this strategy before, telling people, ‘What happens if you wake up tomorrow after Polling Day and you find no PAP governing Singapore?’”

He added: “But these things, you need not worry, because first and foremost, it’s very unlikely it will happen. And to me, it’s a political ploy again.”

Dr Tan was speaking to reporters while conducting house visits at Teck Whye Lane with PSP’s candidates for Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency.

He added that even in the very unlikely situation that opposition parties were to assume power and make up the Government, Singaporeans would not need to worry about the running of the country, because the civil service will still continue to operate as per normal.

“That is the role of the civil servants, and any political party taking power will have to work with the civil servants who are very well-acquainted with running this country,” he said.

“We pride ourselves that our civil servants (are) the best in the world, and you tell me that they cannot run (without) the PAP? I think something is wrong,” he added. “So don’t use those old arguments in trying to convince Singaporeans.”

Separately, WP chief Pritam Singh reiterated his call for one-third of Parliament seats to be in opposition hands.

During a walkabout with WP’s candidate Ms Tan Chen Chen for Punggol West Single Member Constituency (SMC) on Friday morning, Mr Singh was asked to elaborate on a point he made during his party political broadcast on Thursday evening that the WP has a “long-term dream” for a healthy democracy of two or three parties who can form a competent and honest government.

In response, he said that one-third of the house should be in opposition hands, which would still leave the Government with an “incredibly strong mandate”, as it only needs 50 per cent of seats plus one in order to pass bills.

But with fewer than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament, the Government would not be able to change the Constitution as easily, and would have to spend more effort explaining to Singaporeans whenever they want to amend it, he added.

He cited as an example how Parliament passed constitutional amendments in 2016 to reserve the elected presidency for candidates of a particular racial group if there had not been a president from the group for the five most recent presidential terms.

“So those numbers are important,” he said.

“They are not numbers that are plucked out of thin air. I think people have seen that a Government becomes more responsive and more sensitive to the public when it loses elected seats, and the PAP is in a position where they’ve got an incredible super majority and I think that needs to be cut down for the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans.”