What is your intention?

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I never thought that I will post up something that talks about WP after the last GE. However, this article and the recent developments, as well as some of my discussions with other people after the GE, led me to a tentative conclusion that there may be more than meet the eyes and that PAP's assessment of WP wanting to form the government may be right on the spot. There are a few indicators which suggest these:


1. WP never for once questioned about ministerial pay during the GE. Why? 
2. The idea of a co-driver is a high suspect. A co-driver is very different from a buddy who just watches out for you when you are driving. 
3. Pritam Singh's comments and LTK's reactions after that reflects a lot.
4. The serious contest for a GRC.


I guess it is alright for an opposition party to aim to form the next government. This is a democracy and the people will decide the party they want for the next government. But such avoidance on the part of WP either shows that they are a bit undecided on this issue or they are using political guerrilla tactics to achieve so, not wanting to do it in the open, afraid that the PAP will do all it can to stop it. 


Regardless of the case, I do agree with the author of the article that WP owes the population an answer on their intention and they will have to come clear with it now that Pritam Singh has made the big boo boo.  


A Question of Honesty
Why the Workers' Party should come clean about their true intentions
By Citizen Kane

During GE 2011, Low Thia Khiang consistently downplayed WP's ambitions. Whether it was the "spare tyre" or "co-driver" analogy, he and Sylvia Lim carefully avoided showing any ambition of forming an alternative government.

But Pritam Singh declared on Friday at an IPS forum that WP wants to form the government. And if WP can't do it with a simple majority, they will engineer it via coalition.

"It may be a case in future whereby the PAP only wins 36 (seats) and we may have to form a coalition government. There is only a finite number of individual parties they want to work with. So it's not a case of either PAP government or Opposition government."
- Pritam Singh in TODAY, 9 Jul 2011. "Workers' Party working towards becoming government: Pritam"


Low Thia Khiang must have been displeased. We do not know what transpired afterwards, but now Pritam has retracted his earlier statements, calling them personal remarks and just a "theoretical exercise":

"No,that’s not one of our aims...The party has never discussed the idea of coalition at all."
- Pritam Singh

When pressed by reporters about WP's true political aspirations, LTK and Pritam wereas long-winded as they were evasive:
"I do not wish to respond to hypothetical questions, but as a matter of principle, WP is prepared to work with other political parties to further the interest of Singaporeans and, when it is called upon, to act in the interest of the nation."
- Low Thia Khiang

Had Pritam remained candid, he would have won more respect. Instead his candor has been replaced with WP's usual non-answers. Perhaps Pritam has been told by his seniors to shut up.

As for WP wanting to take over the government, we would advise Low Thia Khiang to follow his own advice: Whether this is a hypothetical question is not a decision made by WP, but by the people of Singapore.

WP seems less than honest about their ambitions. Our honest questions deserve honest answers.

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