Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim welcomed the shift in approach in this year's Budget, but said it stemmed from the Government being too calculating in the past and now wanting to set things right.
In a speech that alternately praised and criticised the Government, Ms Lim said the strengthening of social safety nets signals a move from the traditional emphasis on self-reliance towards collective responsibility.
"This suggests a shift to the left, a direction which I believe is right... Perhaps the Government realises that it has been too calculating with the people and is now making adjustments," she added.
The first opposition MP to speak yesterday, Ms Lim said the rich-poor gap in Singapore is wide, and the country has also gained a reputation as a "playground for the rich".
But two key measures in this year's Budget - the SkillsFuture initiative for adults to upgrade their skills, and the Silver Support Scheme that will give cash payouts to low-income elderly people - would help reduce this income and wealth inequality, she said.
SkillsFuture could help to increase social mobility if it leads to higher wages, she added.
To this end, the programme should not just focus on "upskilling the workforce", but should also help those "who may not have had the best school results to try to catch up".
Silver Support, meanwhile, would provide a "pension" for up to 30 per cent of elderly Singaporeans, and "comes as a surprise", said Ms Lim.
She pointed out that it was a departure from the Government's practice of avoiding welfare schemes for specific groups without taking into account their needs.
While she welcomed Silver Support, she said it was a worrying acknowledgement by the Government that the Central Provident Fund system and family support did not provide adequately in retirement for some.
She praised the Government's "refreshing" decision to raise money for these measures by including as well the contributions from state investment firm Temasek Holdings and hiking income taxes on the rich.
Laying out the Budget on Feb 23, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said the Government would be including Temasek's projected returns in the calculation of its Net Investment Returns, which currently include only those of the GIC and Monetary Authority of Singapore.
On this move, Ms Lim said: "Probably the Government has concluded that there is a better balance to be reached between locking up for the future and investing in the present."
She said it shows the Government has ways to fund its annual expenditure, but also shows that costs imposed on Singaporeans over the years, such as exam fees, "may have been unnecessary".
Citing various new schemes announced in this and previous Budgets, Ms Lim said the Government's budgeting philosophy had changed.
"This and recent Budgets call on the spirit of collective responsibility in several notable ways - providing Silver Support to seniors in need, implementing risk pooling for life's vicissitudes via MediShield Life and emphasising social responsibility of high- income earners to pay more progressive taxes."
Ms Lim also praised the Government's move to use more of the investment returns of Singapore's reserves.
"To a very large extent, the way we raise our national revenue and allocate expenses says something about our values as a nation... These are welcome directions as they carry the ingredients of building social solidarity and a united nation," she said.
This article was first published on March 4, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.