Workers’ Party to table motion calling for an ‘economy of the future’ for all Singaporeans

SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) will be introducing a motion in parliament on Tuesday (Aug 4) calling for an “economy of the future” that works for all Singaporeans.

Tabled by WP Members of Parliament (MPs) Kenneth Tiong (WP-Aljunied) and Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang), the motion will present the opposition party’s vision for such a future and its own “economic playbook”.

The motion proposes that the House believes “in a more equal and inclusive economy, with opportunities for entrepreneurs to experiment, households and businesses to succeed, workers to thrive, and ideas and innovation to flourish; and in an economic engine driven by dynamic local companies, healthy domestic demand, and Singaporeans and Singaporean capital venturing abroad”.

This is notwithstanding suggestions in the Economic Strategy Review (ESR) report on the future Singapore economy, said the party.

In a press briefing at the WP headquarters on Saturday (Aug 1), Mr Tiong described the motion as a “meaningful statement” of what the party believes to be an economic structure that works with Singaporeans at its heart.

“If I could sum up the motion in a question, it would be: ‘How does an ordinary Singaporean get a lasting share of our country’s success?'” he said.

“This is our attempt to answer the pressing questions of the day and to write our own economic playbook.”

Associate Professor Lim said that the party hopes to convey “a sense of complementarity” to the government’s vision for the future economy based on the ESR, which released its final report on Jun 24.

“We want to ensure that the message that we send both reacts to the report, but is also distinct from the report, so that we’re not just reacting to the government’s vision, but presenting our very own,” he added.

“We think that there are still some gaps in that vision, and we provide both an alternative vision and a way forward that we think fills in many of these gaps.”

The last time the party tabled a parliamentary motion was in November 2023. 

The motion by WP chief Pritam Singh and MP Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang) called on the government to review its policies to lower cost of living pressures on Singaporeans and their families. An amended motion was passed after more than seven hours of debate.