Social media posts of Singapore politicians taking public transport amid the global energy crisis have divided public opinion online, with some users hailing the move as leading by example while others call it showmanship.

Cabinet ministers, members of parliament and even a retired defence minister have followed with their own public transport posts after Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong urged Singaporeans in an April 7 ministerial statement in parliament to take public transport as part of efforts to conserve energy amid rising global oil and natural gas prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

In Singapore, where politicians are among the highest paid in the world, driving is a luxury. A Certificate of Entitlement, which gives buyers the right to own a vehicle in Singapore, costs at least S$118,000 (US$92,000) as of this month, on top of the sale price. In 2023, about a third of Singaporean and permanent resident households owned cars.

After Gan’s statement, opposition Workers’ Party leader Pritam Singh was pictured on the MRT, newspaper in hand, with some online users lauding him for being “down to earth” while others recalled previous encounters with him on public transport.

Later on April 10, Gan posted on social media about travelling along the new Punggol East LRT loop, part of Singapore’s light rail network, with fellow Punggol MPs. He said in the caption that the trip was in light of the roll-out of new two-car light rail vehicles for his constituency.