Hep-C Outbreak: WP Flip Flops on the Call for COI

Wow! It is amazing how a few weeks and perceived changes in public perception influence the Workers’ Party’s (WP) position on matters.

When the Hep-C Outbreak was made public, the WP was adamant that the Government convene a Committee of Inquiry (COI). To the WP (then), nothing short of a COI was good enough to get to the truth. Not even the formation of an Independent Committee of Inquiry (IRC) which included international experts from the US and the World Health Organization. This resulted in a very public to and fro between the WP, the Ministry of Health and the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

Fast forward to this week and the release of the Independent Review Committee’s (IRC) report where procedural failures by nurses was cited as the cause of the outbreak. Suddenly, when no Government conspiracy or cover-up was found and sympathy fell on the nurses working at the hospital, the WP switches tack and accepts the IRC’s report as adequate. To the WP, a COI is no longer necessary.  To add insult to injury, WP’s Daniel Goh smeared the ruling party by saying that the WP’s flip-flop was a pragmatic approach used by the governing party. And this, in Daniel Goh’s opinion, is the key success factor in Singapore politics.

As we reflect on WP’s actions over the Hep-C outbreak, we are reminded of the adage that if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything. It is very clear to us that the WP is a party that has no clear values or positions on matters regarding Singapore or Singaporeans. Their value, as they see it, is to simply attack the Government for the sake of being an Opposition.

For Singapore to reach SG100, what the country needs is constructive politics by reputable opposition who care for Singapore and Singaporeans. Unfortunately, the WP is not that party.