The PAP won 82 of the 84 seats in last weekend's general elections including 55 that were not even contested by the feeble opposition and grabbed 75 per cent of the votes cast, up from 65 per cent in the 1997 polls.

''We will pursue the idea of an alternative policies group. Call this the People's Action Forum. They can speak their mind, vote against us,'' Mr Goh told the Singapore media on Tuesday after attending an East Asian summit in Brunei.

The PAP, founded by Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has dominated the political scene since 1959. It has been credited with delivering prosperity and stability, but criticised for tight political controls.

Mr Goh, quoted by the Straits Times, said under the novel plan, party discipline rules would be eased for 20 PAP MPs who are not holding government office and they will be given free rein except on constitutional bills.

Elaborating on an idea first aired right after the election, Mr Goh said these PAP backbenchers would be limited to one or two years in this role so that other PAP members could have a turn.

There will be three opposition members in the new parliament.

Incumbents Low Thia Khiang of the Workers' Party and Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), both of them veterans popular in their wards, retained their seats, but with considerably reduced margins. Steve Chia of the SDA is in line to take the non-constituent seat reserved for the highest-polling loser.

Mr Goh, 60, who took over from Mr Lee in 1990 and vows to step down before the 2007 polls, said the PAP members tasked with the alternative role should reach out to Singaporeans and convey the issues that need to be debated. ''I hope it will not just be a critique of government policies. I hope to get alternative ideas on how to solve problems.''

''If they reach out to all Singaporeans, then we have a model of a successful Parliament which can develop constructive, interesting debate,'' he said.

Mr Goh said it was not the task of the PAP to develop an alternative to itself, and vowed the party would not prevent ''the possibility of a viable alternative emerging''.

''We must always allow the possibility of a good [alternative] team emerging, but we cannot set out to create that,'' he added.

Mr Goh said the opposition found it difficult to recruit good talent because the PAP had tried to get all the best people.

''That has come about because of the uniqueness of Singapore. We need to have the best people to serve the people,'' he said.

''The people are satisfied with the system. I regard this victory as an endorsement of the system we have,'' Mr Goh added.

A veteran critic of the PAP, former opposition MP J.B. Jeyaretnam, has lamented the party's near-sweep of the recent polls. He said only opposition MPs who would not challenge the system were allowed to win.

''I am sorry for our people,'' Mr Jeyaretnam, who for many years stood out as a lonely voice fighting against the PAP, said in a post-election statement.