WP MPs Kenneth Tiong, Jamus Lim fire back after 'mischaracterisation' of economic policy from ex-SMS Lee

SINGAPORE: On Sunday (Aug 16), former Senior Minister of State (SMS) Lee Yi Shyan published a social media post critical of the policies proposed by Workers’ Party Members of Parliament (WP MPs) Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied) and Jamus Lim (Senkang) last week in a motion concerning Singapore’s economy.

Mr Lee’s post gained a lot of attention, especially since it was widely shared, including by some prominent government officials such as K Shanmugam, Ng Chee Meng, and Chee Hong Tat, as well as several well-known pro-government accounts.

Since then, however, Mr Tiong and Assoc Prof Lim have written posts countering Mr Lee’s arguments.

Mr Tiong called out the mischaracterisations in the former SMS’s post, calling these regrettable.

“We are best served by a politics that puts policy first and leaves the point-scoring aside. We had a fruitful airing of ideas in the House. The mischaracterisations of a few should not be the last word on it.

After all, democracy is built on a contestation of ideas,” he wrote.

Assoc Prof Lim, meanwhile, expressed disappointment that “the PAP has chosen rhetoric over substance, in what could otherwise have been a serious debate about the economy. One may differ in beliefs and prescriptions, but we don’t make progress when politicking trumps policymaking.”

What Lee Yi Shyan said

The former SMS and East Coast MP claimed in his post that while the opposition MPs said their economic proposal differed significantly from a model led by multinational companies and foreign investments to SMEs and domestic demand, when this was challenged, they “backed down” and acknowledged the importance of MNCs and SMEs, as well as foreign and domestic demand.

He added that therefore, instead of being an “alternative playbook,” the WP’s economic proposal simply meant doing more for SMEs instead of anything fundamentally different.

Kenneth Tiong’s rebuttal

Mr Tiong clarified the false binary Mr Lee had claimed, showing that this misrepresented what the WP actually proposed.

He explained that the party supports both MNCs and SMEs, and proposed a “supercharging” of local enterprises through endeavours that include automatic support for new businesses, bigger R&D tax deductions, grants to help SMEs match MNC salaries, and apprenticeships and internships similar to those in Germany.

In perhaps his most direct response to the former SMS, Mr Tiong pointed out that from the outset, Assoc Prof Lim already said in his speech that the WP did not propose to abandon MNCs or foreign capital. Mr Tiong also pointed out how Mr Lee quoted provocative phrases such as “wean ourselves,” “pivot toward SMEs” and “conscious shift,” while neglecting the fact that Assoc Prof Lim had stated that the WP was not proposing a wholesale overhaul of Singapore's MNC-led model.

Jamus Lim’s arguments

Assoc Prof Lim, meanwhile, asserted in his post that while Singapore's old growth model worked extremely well, it is now reaching its limits, pointing out diminishing returns due to rising costs, weak productivity growth, and workers and SMEs getting squeezed.

For him, the solution would be to change the model’s emphasis toward more SME or local-enterprise-led, productivity-driven growth, but this does not mean abandoning MNCs or foreign capital.

“The willingness to shift from an old model that has served us well, while scary, offers the promise of a new, sustainable, people-centred and SME-driven economy. This is creative destruction, of the best kind,” he wrote. /TISG

Read also: Jamus Lim concerned over Chee Hong Tat’s rhetoric at the Economic Society of Singapore speech as it “perpetuates a sense of fear”