Should the "opposition" parties merge into a single party?

Dear Mr. Tan
Should the opposition parties merge and form a single party to challenge the PAP? Many voters do not wish to support a fragmented opposition.

REPLY
The strategy for the alternative parties is to convince the voters that they should elect full time MPs who can play an active role in Parliament.  The full time MPs should spend time to meet their voters, to understand their concerns, and to bring up these issues in Parliament.

They should also spend time to study and understand the legislation and government policies that are put forward into Parliament for adoption. these legislation and policies have to be actively debated. The elected MPs should get the feedback and views of their constituents, and present them in Parliament.

When the elected MPs put forward the views held by a majority of their constituents, their views will be respected.

The first step is to be elected into Parliament and play an active role in Parliament. If the candidates from the alternative parties are prepared to declare that they will be a full time MP, the part time and sleeping MPs from the PAP are likely to be voted out.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE ALTERNATIVE PARTIES TO MERGE AT THIS TIME.

Why? You only need a strong party if you wish to be the government. The people are not ready to trust a new and inexperienced government at this time. Not in 2020. Maybe in 2025.

If the PAP continues to be the government and there is a strong opposition in Parliament, the PAP will have to change its style of governance to get their policies accepted by Parliament. This will allow the concerns of the citizens to be addressed.

Long standing issues that have been neglected by a "sleeping Parliament" for five decades can be brought up to be re-examined.