Progress Singapore Party (PSP) MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa will address the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code when it is debated in Parliament at the end of the month, according to the party's secretary-general Francis Yuen.
He was replying to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who had stated on Sunday that Singapore's opposition parties were "missing in action" when it came to sensitive matters, such as the impending repeal of Section 377A, which criminalizes sex between men.
At the National Day Rally in August, Prime Minister Lee indicated that the government would move to repeal the colonial-era law.
He stated on Sunday at the People's Action Party's biennial conference that the opposition cannot just "disappear" if it is to gain more seats in Parliament and eventually become the government.
In response, Mr. Yuen stated in a Facebook post that there are significant challenges affecting jobs and lives, such as the growing cost of living, inflation, and the prospect of a worldwide recession.
"It is unfair for the ruling party to make such broad statements about the opposition parties, especially in such a vital moment as the present. Instead, we should concentrate on how to overcome these obstacles as people and as a society in the near future."
Mr. Yuen stated that the ruling party must avoid from disparaging its political opponents.
"They should be reminded of their pledge to be a more open and transparent administration prepared to engage in discourse with Singaporeans," he added. This should not preclude the perspectives of other parties."
PSP and the Workers' Party, the two major opposition parties in Parliament, have not indicated their stances on the impending repeal, which will be debated on November 28 and 29.
Mr. Yuen also stated that no single political party has a talent monopoly or all the solutions, and that it is more constructive and in the public's best interest to support open competition of ideas than to make unhelpful and cynical statements about alternative political parties.
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