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SINGAPORE – The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has promised to engage more widely with Singaporeans, including through new channels to foster two-way dialogue. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on June 8 that the PAP will create two new groups within the party to address cross-cutting issues of mental health and climate change, while he will personally do more in his public communications. The party will also step up its engagement efforts through its government parliamentary committee (GPCs) - party organs organised along ministry lines - he said at an event to cap off a six-month exercise to refresh and strengthen the PAP. Addressing a 400-strong crowd at a thank-you event for party activists and partners, PM Wong said PAP MPs want to engage not just within the party but also wider community groups and stakeholders. This is so that “we can represent your views in Parliament, and we can have more effective discussions and debates in Parliament”, said Mr Wong, who is also the PAP’s deputy secretary-general. While the PAP currently has various groups such as its women’s wing, Young PAP and PAP Seniors Group that actively engage their respective communities, he said that key challenges facing Singapore increasingly cut across traditional demographic lines. As such, the party will set up a new mental health group to be led by Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and for Health Janil Puthucheary, and a climate action group under Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon. “These happen to be, amongst other things, two key national issues and also priorities for the PAP government,” said PM Wong. “As a party, we want to use these groups to better engage our activists and also all stakeholders, be it healthcare professionals, environmental groups, community organisations, or individuals,” he added. He urged people with views and ideas around these issues to join the two groups in their deliberations, so that the PAP government’s policies and plans in these areas are better informed. Those who join need not be a party activist, he stressed. “You may not be an activist. You may be just a citizen with an interest in these issues. Join the groups too,” he said. “We will engage you, involve you in our deliberations and discussions.” The PAP said it will also pave the way for its GPCs to give greater voice to Singaporeans in specific topic areas. GPCs are an existing set-up within the PAP, where certain MPs are assigned scopes that are carved out along broad ministry clusters, such as trade and industry, and national development. In essence, they were set up by the PAP to scrutinise legislation and programmes of various ministries and to let its MPs give feedback to the Government, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said Ministries do not have to brief GPCs, but can choose to do so when they want to seek the input of GPCs, she added. PM Wong said MPs will step up their engagement efforts through GPCs. This will pave the way for GPCs to better act as proxies for Singaporeans in Parliament, said the PAP. PM Wong said one area where the PAP gets a lot of feedback is on the need to communicate better. As the party in government, some of its outreach is government communications, such as to explain public policies, he noted. “But as a political party, we too need to have our own effective communication channels - we cannot just rely on the civil service or government to communicate policies,” he said. He said the PAP will learn and improve on this aspect, and added: “I too will strive to do more, and do it better.” PM Wong said he will meet the media more regularly to address issues of the day and explain the thinking behind certain policies, and that he will continue to make use of various social media platforms to reach out to a wider segment of Singaporeans. He also promised to conduct more ground visits to engage Singaporeans face to face and to garner their feedback. On meeting the media more regularly, PM Wong pointed out that he had in fact done it during the Covid-19 pandemic by meeting the press almost every other day. While remarking that he does not intend to do it like this since “there is no crisis”, he said: “I think having some more regular sessions with the media through press conference can be useful to explain our thinking and how why we are implementing certain policies.” At the party level, the PAP will do more through digital channels to amplify its outreach, on top of relying on more traditional modes such as market walkabouts, house visits and dialogue sessions, he said. Recognising that good communication is two-way, PM Wong went on to say that he wants to hear from Singaporeans on their views and suggestions – anything from policy suggestions to feedback on how the party can serve each neighbourhood better. was announced by PM Wong at the party’s Awards and Conference in November 2023. Led by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who is also the PAP’s assistant secretary-general and other fourth-generation leaders, the exercise involved the participation of more than 2,300 party activists across its branches. Wrapping up his speech, PM Wong noted that this is the PAP’s 70th anniversary, and that the party had continually updated how it does things over the years, while keeping one thing constant. “We are always a party that serves the people, that puts the interests of Singaporeans first. We are also a party of action. It’s not just about words, but deeds, and we are a party that will always strive to make life better for all Singaporeans,” he said.