Quora Answer: What Distinguishes Singapore Opposition Parties from Each Other?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Given their lack of any distinct ideology, and their broadly similar policy stances, what distinguishes Singapore Opposition parties from each other?”

One of the inadequacies of most of the smaller Opposition parties is that they are essentially personality cults.  Even the larger political parties, in the Opposition, are largely dominated by specific personalities, which reflects the inconsistency of the standards of the candidates.  This is not to say that the PAP has good candidates all around.  They have their share of substandard candidates, but their deeper pool of talent is evident, as the incumbent.

The Workers’ Party was founded in 1957 by David Saul Marshall, Singapore’s first chief minister, out of the wreckage of the Labour Front.  It is a venerable party with a storied history.  Its last competent leader was Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, before his own party abandoned him to litigation, after he brought them back from near obsolescence when he won the Anson SMC by-election in 1981.  The current secretary-general is Pritam Singh, leader of the Opposition, and one of the most competent Opposition politicians that we have.

Among all the Opposition, the Workers’ Party is the most competently run, with a growing stable of credible candidates.  They have brand recognition, and a storied history.  Workers’ Party policies are carefully calibrated to be variations of the PAP policies.  This is a clever strategy, since they recognise that the electorate is generally conservative. They also recognise that while PAP policies are generally sound, the inadequacy of PAP policymakers is their lack of ground perspective.

The Singapore Democratic Party was founded by Chiam See Tong in 1980.  In contrast to the Workers’ Party, which is socialist, the Singapore Democrats are more liberal in their political outlook.  Until 2017, Chiam See Tong was the longest serving Opposition member in Parliament.  In 1993, there was an ugly dispute with Chee Soon Juan, and he organised a coup, and the founder of the party was forced to leave.  It was ugly, and it was unethical.

The current party revolves around two big personalities: Paul Anantharajah Tambyah, the President; and Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary-General.  The other candidates are not people of note, or recognised calibre.  SDP is shaped largely by the personal animosity between Chee Soon Juan and the ruling party, not actual policies.  The SDP’s Manifesto is intentionally populist and incendiary, with little considerations for the economic and national development consequences.  The core support of the SDP is the “Never-PAPs’.

The National Solidarity Party was founded in 1987, and was a component party of the Singapore Democratic Alliance.  It is a party of no achievements, and mediocre candidates.  It has done little to stand out from the pack, and plays the part of spoiler.  The so-called Manifesto of the NSP is vague, with little real details.  Their signature proposal for comprehensive medical coverage is to take what we already have with integrated shield plans and move it into the public sphere, with no suggestions on how to address medical inflation.

The Singapore People’ Party was formed by a splinter faction of the SDP in 1994, after Chiam See Tong and his faction were ousted from the latter.  The SPP was the primary driver in the formation of the Singapore Democratic Alliance with three smaller political parties: the aforementioned National Solidarity Party, the Singapore Justice Party, and Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura – once UMNO’s Singapore branch.

The SPP has always been a personality cult of sorts, first based around Chiam See Tong, and now, the vehicle of Steve Chia.  To be fair, however, they have some comprehensive positions on areas as varied as mental health, and media freedom.  That being said, they have not done enough to stand out in this electoral cycle, and are very much in the shadow of the larger parties with their veterans.  If they could build on these positions, and recruit more calibre candidates, they may become a credible alternative voice in the national conversation.

The Singapore Democratic Alliance is currently led by the Singapore Justice Party’s President, Desmond Lim Bak Chuan.  It was formed with the aim of being a credible Opposition coalition, the first post-independence.  Instead, the fractious nature of the heads of political parties in Singapore meant that it was a stillbirth.  Its policies are populist welfare, with little consideration for the economic consequences.  It has little credibility in the policy sphere, and its candidates lack calibre.

The Reform Party was founded, in 2008 by the former secretary-general of the Workers’ Party, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam.  It is essentially a one-man party, currently headed by its secretary-general, Kenneth Andrew Jeyaratnam, the son of Joshua Jeyaretnam.  One of its notable positions is its antipathy towards National Service, which is short-sighted.  Due to Joshua Jeyaretnam’s history with the judiciary, the party focuses greatly on judicial reform.  The party is hamstrung by a lack of charisma and connection with the electorate.  It is also known for fielding what are essentially joke candidates, such as Roy Ngerng Yi Ling and Ravi Madasamy.

The People’s Power Party was founded in 2015.  It is led by Goh Meng Seng.  This party is there to make up the numbers.  It has no credible position on any issue.  Its candidates have little credibility.  Goh Meng Seng himself is known for party-hopping, and actually stays in Hong Kong.  He has little credibility to speak about representing a people he has little relationship with.

Peoples Voice has a name that is grammatically incorrect.  They could not even get that small detail correct.  It is solely a vehicle for Lim Tean.  The other notable candidate is Leong Sze Hian.  The manifesto has nothing to differentiate it from other Opposition parties, with a call to reduce the GST being one of them, and the total return of the CPF at age 55 being the other.  These are populist in nature.

The Progress Singapore Party was founded by Tan Cheng Bok in 2019.  They are rapidly building up to be a credible Opposition party, with the support of Lee Hsien Yang.  It has a number of former PAP cadres, and has institutionalised experience in policymaking and running a GRC.  PSP was named such because if they called themselves the Singapore Progress Party, their abbreviation, SPP, is already linked with the older Singapore People’s Party.

In terms of policy proposals and issues raised, the PSP has been consistent and vocal about a variety of issues, setting forth comprehensive proposals with a reasoned basis.  They function like the PAP, considering the origin of many of its cadres, but with an emphasis on welfare as opposed to economic growth.  They are left of the PAP on many issues.

Red Dot United was formed by Ravi Philemon.  Its name is like that of a soccer team, instead of a serious political party.  This election came too early for them to stand out, and put forth a comprehensive manifesto.