PAP invites non-members to its party dialogue
For the first time in the history of the People’s Action Party (PAP), some 300 non-members out of approximately 1000 has been invited to its party dialogue, held one week ahead of PAP’s biennial party conference on 2 December.
The first of its kind seminar will discuss Singapore’s future and findings from the dialogue would be presented at the party’s seminar on Saturday.
Mr Chan Chun Sing, a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee, said it is the first time an internal party debate involves non-members on this scale.
The substance of what we do has not changed, which is to constantly trawl and find better ideas. But the way we do it will evolve with the times. And times have changed. People don’t just want to know there are debates, they want to see it, hear it and participate in it. So we adjust accordingly.
We talk about engagement, so everything has to start internally.
Our own people must be energised; they have to believe in the process. So we must have that robust system within the party to do this. We should also allow Singaporeans to know that the party is not so monolithic.
The open-ended dialogue process was also a departure from previous, more functional party dialogues, Mr Chan noted.
Party activists say that the frequency of dialogue has increased since the 2011 general election, where the PAP garnered its lowest vote share since independence.
