SINGAPORE – Nine hours of debate between the PAP and the WP on Aug 5 produced more consensus than conflict on the future of Singapore’s economy.

More than 20 MPs spoke on a motion tabled by WP’s Aljunied GRC MP Kenneth Tiong, which called on the House to affirm the need for a more inclusive economy and how to drive such an economy.

The two parties reached broad agreement on a host of issues such as economic structure and what support workers need, after the WP accepted three out of four amendments that a PAP MP proposed to its motion.

Going forward, contestation will be on how those things get done – and on a deeper question the WP raised: whether it should be Parliament, not the Government, that sets Singapore’s economic direction.

The discussion centred on a few main themes including the place of multi-national companies (MNCs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economy and how to protect workers in the face of coming disruption related to artificial intelligence.

Much of the debate focused on the structure of the economy – how much it should be driven by either MNCs or SMEs. The PAP argued that MNCs remain vital to the economy, characterising the WP’s position as anti-MNC.

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the WP had portrayed Singapore as a place where “MNCs create wealth, and there’s some ‘Faustian bargain’ where SMEs are held down, and Singaporeans receive the benefits through redistribution”.

Of the four amendments to the motion that PAP backbencher Edward Chia proposed as part of his party’s response, one inserted “global enterprises” alongside local companies into a line describing how the economy should be powered.

Chia argued that the two are not competing choices.

Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim and Tiong subsequently clarified that the WP was not proposing a zero-sum shift away from MNCs.

Both parties landed on a consensu...