Pritam: Not wrong for political parties to take a position on foreign policy matters

He says WP saw Gaza conflict through the lens of humanity when expressing its views

- Tham Yuen-C

The Workers' Party (WP) saw the conflict in Gaza through the lens of humanity – and not the lenses of race or religion – when it expressed its views on the issue, said WP chief Pritam Singh.

Singapore is not worse off or weakened by the WP having a view on this matter, and it is unrealistic to expect politicians here to speak only on localised issues, he added.

Mr Singh, who is also Leader of the Opposition, said in an Aug 25 episode of local current affairs podcast Yah Lah But that it was not wrong for a political party in Singapore to take a position on foreign policy matters.

At the 2025 General Election in May, the WP had stated in its election manifesto that Singapore should formally recognise the state of Palestine, even before negotiations on a two-state solution are concluded, as "such recognition would lend legitimacy to our two-state position".

People who think the WP took this stance to appeal to certain communities are mistaken, Mr Singh said in the nearly two-hour interview.

Noting that the WP's manifesto also included positions on other foreign policy matters such as Myanmar and the South China Sea, he said: "We're not going to hesitate from sharing our views on these things, given the knowledge that we have."

He added: "I'm not going to fetter the right of the party to have an opinion on these things, but if people think that the WP is using this to appeal to certain communities, I think that's a very mistaken view."