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SINGAPORE: Workers\u2019 Party chief Pritam Singh has called for fuller public disclosure of billions of dollars in government spending, pressing for clearer accountability at a time he described as \u201cone of the largest fiscal surpluses in decades\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday (Feb 24) at the start of the Budget debate, Mr Singh also took aim at the timing of the last General Election, saying it was called shortly after global trade tensions flared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PAP (People’s Action Party) government dissolved parliament just days after the Trump administration’s announcement,\u201d he said, referring to the so-called Liberation Day tariffs unveiled by the United States last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe political timing of the general elections was calculated to put the PAP in the most advantageous position, with tariff uncertainty serving as a rallying call for voters to back the tried and tested.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, however, there has been remarkably little information of the sectoral tariffs and their actual impact on Singapore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the \u201cdoom and gloom\u201d surrounding the tariffs then, Mr Singh noted that the government now begins its new term \u201cwith what may be the greatest fiscal surplus any PAP government has seen in decades\u201d.<\/p>\n
Singapore recorded a surplus of S$15 billion (US$11.8 billion) for the 2025 financial year and expects an S$8 billion surplus for the 2026 financial year \u2013 figures Mr Singh said already far exceed the S$2 billion to S$3 billion in additional annual revenue that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hikes of 2023 and 2024 were meant to generate.<\/p>\n
Corporate tax collections are also expected to rise from the 2027 financial year, potentially widening the surplus further.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, Mr Singh said \u201csignificant\u201d public interest surrounds how these surpluses get deployed, particularly as Singapore grapples with an ageing population and persistent inequality.<\/p>\n
Pointing to the S$40 billion Forward Singapore package announced during Budget 2024, he said: \u201cTo my knowledge, there has been no well-publicised tracking of cumulative spending since then.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 plan \u2013 for which funding has increased to S$37 billion \u2013 Mr Singh said \u201cno comprehensive report\u201d existed on how previous allocations were used or what outcomes were achieved. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is much work still to be done in demonstrating how efficaciously taxpayer dollars have been spent. Across most Budgets, there is a lack of easy-to-track outcomes on the headlines that have been announced.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the government should be mindful of the \u201cpublic cynicism and detachment\u201d that can grow when Singaporeans do not see a clear accounting of how public funds are used.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not good for Singapore, and it sits in contradiction with the participatory spirit that Forward Singapore was meant to embody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n