Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh has opposed Senior Minister (SM) Lee Hsien Loong's claims that losing key ministers in Parliament because of more opposition Members of Parliament (MP) could place Singapore in "quite a lot of trouble".

At the People's Action Party (PAP) rally held at Jalan Kayu yesterday (April 27), SM Lee said that if voters try to "count" and elect a few more opposition MPs, "you will not get it right and we can mess everything up."

In response to his remarks, Singh told reporters at Tampines Ave 2 this morning (April 28): "I think it's a weak argument because precedents inform us otherwise."

The 48-year-old brought up the example of former Minister for Foreign Affairs and MP for Aljunied GRC George Yeo, who retired from politics in 2011 after losing the ward to WP.

Singh recalled that Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said in 2011 that Yeo was a "core member" of the cabinet.

"We know that within cabinet, there's a smaller group of people," he said.

Goh said in an interview in 2011 that the Prime Minister needs a core team who act as pillars of support. He said then that Lee's core members were Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Yeo.

Singh added: "I take the argument one step further — when George Yeo did not succeed at the 2011 elections, did our foreign ministry suddenly lose its bearings? Because there's so much depth in Parliament, even though you may have one-third of the opposition in Parliament.

"So I am very surprised to hear these arguments, in fact, if you think a little bit harder about it, it just reflects on the PAP."

He also shared that he respects Yeo for holding a significant number of portfolios during his time and his influence continued to be felt today.

Singh is also certain that Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is running for Punggol GRC in the May 2 general election, will continue to retain Yeo's connections and be included in leadership discussions if need.

"I'm sure there's no difficulty in the PAP government to include Gan Kim Yong, even if he is not elected, in some of these discussions if they deemed it to be so critical," he said.

'Building tomorrow's leadership'

Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong said in a lunchtime rally at UOB Plaza Square today that losing several constituencies to the opposition parties could result in a "severely weakened mandate" for PAP.

"This election is not just about forming today's government. It's also about building tomorrow's leadership,' the 52-year-old said.

In response to Singh's comparing WP's candidates to PAP's candidates as "backbencher to backbencher" on April 25, PM Wong shared that that's not how elections works.

He said: "I have experienced ministers contesting in the GRCs... their loss, if it happens, will be immediately felt, and it cannot be replaced... So friends and fellow Singaporeans, a vote for the opposition is not a free vote for more alternative voices in the Parliament.

"It's a vote to weaken the PAP team — the team that is truly working for you."

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